Kailindo (Exclusive) (alt: Kai Lin Do)

The Way of Fluidity

Hunted and pursued by their enemies, the Stargazers turned their inner fortitude into an outer expression of their will, creating a powerful martial art. Using this martial art and a newfound sense of caution, the Stargazers were able to protect some of their land from the encroachment of their enemies. Who were these enemies, these destroyers of life and light? They called themselves... human.

You see, the Stargazers were not men, but were rather of the species mortal man often refers to as "werewolves," though they call themselves Garou. The art of Kailindo, which is based heavily on Aikido and Tai Chi, is a natural extension of the powers and abilities of that race, namely the potent ability of shapeshifting and the incredible advantage of supernatural attributes. After several centuries of refinement (which is even now continuing), all Stargazers are expected to know at least a little of this art--and its masters are as terrifying to behold in battle as they are wondrous to hear in peace.

Most of the teachings of Kailindo, both philosophical and physical, stem from the fact that none of its practitioners are human, or even necessarily humanoid. While founded by the Garou (a humanoid race of limited shapeshifters), many other shape-changing beings have learned to use this art and have adapted it for their own use. Thus, the art used by Changelings (skilled humanoid shapeshifters) may differ greatly from the original used by the Garou. (Note: The form of Kailindo presented here is a sort of generic Kailindo, the basis from which any shapeshifting race may adapt it to its own purposes.)

The main point of Kailindo's teachings is fluidity--fluidity of thought, of motion, and of form. The true adept at Kailindo rarely stays in one form through a fight, his features blurring both from the speed of his motions and from the quickness of his changing. Need a weapon fast? Grow claws. Already have a weapon? Keep your hands. Need some speed? Turn into a wolf. Have to dodge? Shrink. Kailindo emphasizes that you should never become so complacent in one shape that you have problems identifying with another, and indeed Kailindo's exercises include "form adaptation" right alongside kick practice and meditation.

Kailindo is inappropriate as a martial art form for "mundanes," mainly because their inability to change shape prohibits them from accomplishing many of the moves. Besides which, no self-respecting shape-changer would stay in one form long enough to teach a plain old human the discipline required for even the basics of Kailindo.

Entrance Requirements: ME 13; PE 11. Most practitioners are Good or Selfish.
Skill Cost: 12 years
Costume: Anything light and loose, so as better to accommodate shape-changing.
Stance: Turned slightly offsides to the opponent, feet spaced widely, hands close together in front of the body. The practitioner is expected to conserve energy, moving only when necessary, and striking like the wind when required. All moves in this martial art are done with fluidity and grace, almost seeming to be in slow motion to onlookers.

Character Bonuses:

If you're a shapeshifter, a colloidal being, or a lycanthrope of any sort, this is the martial art for you! Specifically tailored to meet the "special" nature of shifting folk, Kailindo offers a lot of power at higher levels and doesn't take that long to learn (for creatures with life spans of more than three times that of humanity, that is). The real trouble is that so few people (or things) practice it that you could spend as long searching for a Kailindo master as you do learning the art.

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New Kata

Form Adaptation

The beings that practice Kailindo are all capable of altering their shapes, either at will or after a few moments of concentration. Either way, this kata is designed to help such beings use their natural abilities to the best effect. Those with this kata learn to effect partial transformations, faster transformations, and even the use of shapeshifting as a dodge! In game terms, this permits the character to move combat bonuses from one place to another and reduces time required for changing shape. If the character's transformative ability is usually measured in melee rounds, reduce that number to melee actions! (ex: A Nightbane can usually transform from Facade to Morphus in one melee round. Using the Form Adaptation Kata, that time is reduced to one melee action.) If the time required is already measured in melee actions, reduce that time by half to a minimum of one melee action.

In addition, a being that can normally only transform its entire body may now transform just a piece of its body for the desired effect. However, this requires the full transformative duration unless a ME check is made.

(ex: The Nightbane from the previous example has the Morphus characteristics of Animal Magnetism and Were-Creature: Canine. She wishes to grow claws [which her Morphus has] without fully Becoming and rolls an ME check. She fails; she can still grow those claws, but it will take her a full melee round [in which she cannot do anything except defend herself] to accomplish the feat.)

Finally, the character, by subtly altering their body's form and musculature, may "move around" combat bonuses. This transformation requires one melee of intense concentration, during which time the only actions possible are the dodge (automatic if the character possesses it) and the automatic parry. The maximum number of points that may be moved are equal to the being's Mental Endurance. If the character so wishes, they may also move so many points that they have a negative (penalty) in one or more bonuses, so long as the points moved are equal to or less than their ME. This alteration lasts for a maximum length of (ME divided by 3) melee rounds, rounded down. Finally, because of the unnatural twisting of ligatures and bones, the character takes a number of points of damage equal to the number of points moved, direct to hit points, both at the time of the transformation and when returning to normal! If the being has a regenerative ability, this ability takes twice as long to heal the damage; however, if the being's natural state is fluid, colloidal, or ectoplasmic, the damage is reduced by half.

(ex: The Nightbane from the previous two examples has the following combat bonuses: +6 to strike, +7 to parry, +5 to dodge, +10 to damage and +4 to initiative, as well as possessing an ME of 14. She gets into a fight most heinous with a lone Hound. In this case, it is better to act first and hit more often, so she decides to move her bonuses around--but she cannot move any more than 14 points. After one melee round of concentration and heavy defense, her bonuses now look like this: +10 to strike, +2 to parry, +1 to dodge, +10 to damage and +9 to initiative! Because she moved 5 points from her parry bonus and 4 from her dodge bonus, she has moved only 9 points--well below her maximum of 14. As an unfortunate side-effect, she also takes 9 points of damage direct to her HP immediately, and will take another 9 HP of damage at the end of three rounds, as her body returns to normal--well, as normal as Nightbane get, anyway.)

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