Pillars of Faith by William Adams  

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Bushi

    The Bushi are a warrior clan of Gangrel native to the hills and mountains of southern Asia.  This Bloodline has developed among the hill peoples of Cambodia, Vietnam and other troubled states in the far east.  It is no surprise then that its members have developed into formidable warriors.  But the desperate living conditions and total lack of humanity they exist with makes them turn to mercenary pursuits to gain power and respect with the only tools they have.  Most Bushi are poor and even those who have money rarely have a secure and steady income.  The Bloodline as a whole is known for its mercenary bent.  Many Bushi sell their services to the Penangallan of the Golden Courts and others work for the Bishamon of Japan against their brothers in other lands.  But by no means do the Bushi work exclusively for Vampires or other Shen.
    The Bushi are masterless warriors and often live as bandits, wanderers or mercenaries, earning money however they can.  Unlike the Assamites who are rivals of the Bushi in India and Thailand, the Bushi do not charge for their services in Blood.  The Bushi can always find superstitious and fearful peasants that will not resist a Vampire taking their blood.  But living among the poorest tribes in Southeast Asia, the Bushi has need for money more than anything else.  Some Bushi achieve wealth but others seem to be cursed by the heavens.  No matter how hard they try money just slips through their fingers.  This is their Joss.
    It is not uncommon for a Mandarin or other ancestor to hire one or more troupes of Bushi, especially in times of trouble or when he is expecting a major attack from a rival.  A group of fifteen to thirty Bushi is an impressive force and can hold an entire city hostage with the mere threat of violence.  But more often peasants and low ranking Vampires will pay Bushi for protection, or hire one or two for security.  Sometimes a Shih will join such a group for the pay and the extra security of working with trained warriors.
    All Bushi are warriors but at some time in their unlives even the most successful will resort to lifting purses for some fast and easy cash.  Those who aren't proficient in the art themselves will use monkeys and rats to relieve a tourist of some extra weight.  They only resort to picking pockets in the cities, out in the jungles they will most likely just attack in groups and rob people at gunpoint.  But the Bushi will steal from anyone that looks like he has money.
    The tribes and rebels they live among see the Bushi not as gods or demons, but as angry ghosts, spirits that inhabit the bodies of the dead to gain revenge for wrongs done to them in life.  It is not uncommon for a Bushi to maintain close ties to his mortal family even after centuries of unlife, however it is rare for one to reside closer than an hours walk from his family home.  Bushi are often 'silent partners' to jungle warlords.  They remain out of sight until needed, at which time they strike fast and disappear even quicker.
    In China they are referred to as the Piao Shih, which means Dart Master, a somewhat oblique reference to their habit of using less than honorable means to defeat more powerful foes.  Like the jungle guerrillas their tactics are sensible and practical.  Bushi will stand and fight for limited engagements but prefer to attack from surprise and then fade back into the jungle before a counterattack can be mounted.  Against other Vampires and Shen the Bushi maintain the same general strategies.  They like to use simple weapons that harass and distract a foe to keep him off balance and whittle him down.  For this reason many Bushi are masters of throwing stars, shuriken and other small weapons.  The Bushi can throw the weapon at an opponents face and can throw a great number of these weapons by splitting his dice pool.  Most Shen have regenerative or recuperative powers but a thrown weapon that is stuck in the creature's eye has to be removed before it can grow another.  Another favorite tactic of modern Bushi is the use of Heavy Weapons and Weapon Emplacements.  A Bushi who can see in total darkness can be stationed at a machinegun box and destroy anyone who approaches before they realize the danger.  Jungle warfare is the specialty of these Bushi and many valleys have been turned into slaughterhouses by two or three Bushi acting in concert under the cover of darkness.  Remember that night vision goggles tend to rob their user of most of his peripheral vision.
    Nickname:  Piao Shih
    Appearance:  Members of this bloodline often dress as mercenaries of the culture they live in.  Some ancient Bushi still dress in the armor and regalia of centuries past, but these beings have little to do with human affairs and are most often contracted by ancient Vampires who also give little thought to the modern world.
    Haven:  The Warriors of this Bloodline tend to stay close to areas of ongoing conflict.  They sleep in tunnels dug by rebels and lair in jungle encampments with paramilitary forces.  Their habit of staying close to and fighting alongside well trained and heavily armed mortals makes it very hard for would-be vampire hunters to catch and destroy them during the day.
    Background:  Any poor and desperate soul from the rural and poverty stricken areas of Southeast Asia will do for a Bushi.  The Bushi have no all encompassing agenda nor do they have any long term goals.  They embrace for companionship, security and to keep their mortal allies subservient with the promise of immortality.  In areas of heated conflict the numbers of Bushi can skyrocket in a short time.  But a high attrition rate among newly created Bushi keeps their numbers down.
    Bushi are predominantly male and female Bushi are a rarity.  If there is a female Bushi in a group she will usually make sure that none of the others embrace another female.  Their reasons are practical, a single woman can influence the entire group by taking on the role of den mother, but two women would tear the group apart with their power struggles.  It happens for the same reason that Prestation is such a big deal among Kindred.  The lack of human outlets for emotion.
    Character Creation:  Bushi almost always prefer to have physical attributes as their primary category, followed by Mental.  Talents and Skills are appreciated as long as they are useful in combat.  Most Knowledges are passed over in favor of Military skills.  As a consequence most Bushi tend to be Uneducated.  Berserker is a favored Merit and is sought after in potential Childer.  Most Bushi start with one dot in Fortitude and two in Protean.  To them Animalism is a more occult skill that must be learned through meditation and study.
    Clan Disciplines:  Animalism, Fortitude and Protean.
    Weakness:  Members of this bloodline display many of the characteristics of a classic Penangallan.  Their mutable natures cause them to become more Vampiric as they get excited or angry.  Yang aspected vampires (Courage) gain orange to bright red hair that grows one foot for every blood point spent in a single scene.  The hair goes back to its regular size after a few hours, or one hour per foot in length.  Yin aspected vampires (Self-control) suffer the same flaw but their hair turns white.  Vampires who are balanced get to choose which flaw manifests.  Both types of Vampire display distended jaws and blood dripping nails when they frenzy.
    Organization:  Bushi tend to congregate in small groups of like minded Bushi.  These peasant warriors tend to polarize along national lines so that a Cambodian troupe of Bushi would have no remorse in cheating, insulting or killing members of a Vietnamese troupe of Bushi.
    Gaining Bloodline Prestige:  Prestige is gained by acts of courage and cunning.  In the Bushi Bloodline prestige goes only so far as the limit of national boundaries.  No matter how brave and powerful a Japanese Ainu, a Korean Bushi would still consider him an outsider.
    Quote:  "And then I shot him right between the eyes!  I swear, you should have seen the expression on his face."
    Stereotypes
    •  The Camarilla-  We're related to the Gangrel?  In what way?  They don't look anything like us.
    They appear to be a separate species of Cathayan, possibly childer of the Methuselah referred to as Amaterasu.
    -Francis Marquise, Tremere Magus.
    •  The Sabbat-  Are they like the Camarilla you mentioned earlier?
    That was a Gangrel?  No f*cking way!
    -Caviare Mien, Ventrue Antitribbu
    •  The Inconnu-  The old ones come and go as they please.  If they ask you to do a job for them, do it.  They know you're capable of doing it or they wouldn't be asking.
    The seed can sometimes fall very far from the tree.
    -Marker, Unknown Elder from India

Special Powers
    The Bushi have developed special powers from their animistic link to the people and religions of Southeast Asia.  Some Bushi follow simple Taoist teachings and are in tune with their humble origins, others follow Shintoism or similar religions.  However the vast majority follow Popular Religion and venerate a host of gods, ancestors and animal spirits.  From these spirits the Bushi have learned several unique powers that set them apart from their western cousins.

Animalism ••
    Soul Call
    With this power the Bushi can use The Beckoning without making a sound.  Even the animals responding to the call will do their utmost best to remain silent while making their way towards the Bushi.  This is an alternate second level power for Animalism and can be learned independently of a teacher with the expenditure of 4 experience points.

Protean •••• 
    Shadow of the Beast
    Instead of transforming into a wolf or a bat the Bushi transforms into a stout white or orange dog known as a Foo Guardian or into a white crane or a red kingfisher.  As a Foo guardian the Bushi can soak Aggravated damage with his Stamina at the expense of being able to use the Discipline of Celerity.  The Foo Guardian can also bite for Str +2 Aggravated damage and lock his jaw so that it takes twice as much Strength to pry loose as that possessed by the Foo Guardian.  (Before counting Potence.)  As a bird the Bushi can fly at speeds of 35 m.p.h.

Fire Shield
    (Protean •••••, Fortitude •••)
    One of the most terrifying powers of the Bushi is the ability to walk through flames untouched.  The Bushi learns to exude mist and charge it with Yang Chi giving him complete protection from fire.  The Bushi appears to be surrounded by a red glowing aura of flaming mist.  The mist does no damage to those touching it but does protect the Bushi from all flames while at the same time feeding any fire that touches it.  The Vampire can use this to his advantage, setting his clothes on fire, daring his enemies to strike him.  Increase by one Health Level the Damage of any flame in contact with the Fire Shield.  The Bushi must spend one Blood Point for each turn he wishes to maintain the Fire Shield.  To acquire this power the Bushi must gain a mentor willing to teach him this power and expend 15 experience points.

Lonely Ghost Flame
    (Protean •, Presence •)
    Venturing out at night in territories controlled by the Bushi is a foolish blunder.  Even if you are expecting a trap and know how to circumvent it the Bushi can lead you to your doom anyways.  With the Lonely Ghost Flame a Bushi learns to conjure a piece of his Yin Chi to create a small torch-sized ball of blue flame.  The flame remains within three feet of the Bushi but otherwise can be directed as he wishes.  The flame does no damage though if someone touches it other than the Bushi it will explode silently in a chilly wave.  Its real power stems from its ability to fascinate a person watching the spectral light.  Anyone including Shen but not Hsien or Spirits that looks at the flame must proceed towards the flame at a normal walking pace neither hurrying nor going too slow.  To resist the victim must spend a point of Willpower to look away.  The Ghost Flame can only affect one victim at a time but several Bushi can work in concert to affect large groups.  To use this power the Bushi must roll Self-Control, difficulty 6 and spend a Blood Point.  To learn this power the Bushi must have an instructor and spend 3 experience points.

The Beast Mask
    (Protean ••••, Animalism ••••)
    A very spiritual power in nature the Bushi uses this power to align himself with an animal Kami or Totem.  To learn this ability the Bushi must enter into the animal he wishes to join with the power of Sharing of Spirits and stay with the animal for an entire day, from midnight to midnight.  Afterwards he must conduct a ritual in which he accepts the animal Kami as his personal guide.  Thereafter the Bushi can call upon the spirit to strengthen him, acquiring the Beast Mask in the process.  This power costs 12 experience points to learn.
    Bonuses of the Beast Mask

Carp	Str +1, Dex +2, Sta +3, gills
Crane	Dex +3, Sta +2, App +1, wings
Fox	Str +1, Dex +3, Sta +1, App +1, claws and teeth
Squid	Str +3, Dex +1, Sta +2, tentacles
Tiger	Str +2, Dex +2, Sta +2, claws and teeth

    When the Bushi dons the Beast Mask he becomes half-man, half-animal.  The Vampire gains some of the characteristics of the animal while retaining some of his own.  Other animals can be chosen as a Totem spirit at the Storyteller's discretion.  Once the Totem animal is chosen it can never be changed.  Forever after the Bushi will have a -2 to difficulties with that type of animal.  In particular with the power Sharing of Spirits.  The difficulty to enter the animal and to retain his own intelligence are 6.  But after this power is learned the Bushi can never use Sharing of Spirits on any other type or race of animal ever again.  So if a Bushi chooses as his Totem animal a tiger he will no longer be able to enter the bodies of house cats or lions much less dogs or other beasts.

Bushi Merits and Flaws
    The Merits and Flaws of a Bushi reflect the harsh life he has led and the general contempt other, more established Vampires feel for the backwards barbarians.  Suggested merits for Bushi characters include:  Code of Honor, Berserker, Self-Confident, Acute sense of Smell, Ambidextrous, Mechanical Aptitude, Danger Sense and Hengeyokai/Wraith Companion. 
    Suggested Flaws:  Overconfident, Short Fuse, Territorial, Vengeance, Hatred, Illiterate, Uneducated, and Hunted. 
    Bushi cannot take the following Merits and Flaws:  Soft-Hearted, Computer Aptitude, Pitiable, Faerie Affinity, Magic Resistance, Occult Library, Repulsed by Garlic, Repelled by Crosses, Boon, Prestigious Sire, Reputation, Clan Friendship, Judicial Ties, Corporate Ties, Corporation CEO and Paraplegic.  Instead of having Repulsed by Crosses the Bushi can take a flaw for the same amount called Repulsed by Mirrors.  The same effects as Repulsed by Crosses apply to a Bushi when confronted by a Mirror.

Dirt Poor (2 point flaw)
    Luck shines on some people and frowns on others.  Guess which category you fall under.  At character creation the Bushi cannot have Resources nor can it be purchased with freebies.  During play the Bushi can never gain more than one point of Resources and if he should somehow come into money the heavens will make sure he does not get to spend his wealth.  No matter how hard he tries money will forever remain outside his reach.

Weapon Master (5 point Merit)
    Choose one melee weapon appropriate to your character and his area.  All combat rolls involving that weapon are at  -1 difficulty including hit and damage rolls.  Furthermore you cannot botch while using that weapon.  If the result would be a botch then treat the roll as if the Bushi had rolled no successes.  To have this merit the character must first raise his melee skill to five with freebie points during character creation.  His specialty is considered to be with that weapon and only with that weapon.

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All Images are Copyright © 2002 William Adams and cannot be reproduced without permission.
Some Characters are inspired by the TV show Buffy The Vampire Slayer and their use here does not represent a challenge to any pre-existing copyrights or trademarks.
Warning: This comic may include adult situations and suggestive dialogue not suited for minors.

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