Asset Versatility

I've had a few discussions with folks about doing traditional wuxia in Jadepunk - everything from super martial arts to chi powers. While supernatural abilities are not within the scope of the default Jadepunk campaign, it's part of one of the genres that the setting pulls from, and so it wouldn't be totally out of the realm of possibility to have them in your campaign as a house rule.

So, I give you...

Traditional Wuxia
In movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero, you see martial artists running on water or on the tips of tree branches, affecting someone's chi with pressure point strikes, and even striking opponents ten feet away with nothing more than their invisible (sometimes) chi.

How do we build these as Assets?


Technique: Feather Foot Technique
This Asset is used by martial artist to get around their terrain without regard for obstacles in their way (even flying over them, if need be). Narratively, it is defined as the ability to use qigong to make oneself lighter than whatever they are running or standing on.
Guiding Aspect: Lighter Than Air Qigong
Features: Exceptional (as long as there is a way over, under, or through an obstacle in your path, you can ignore its effects on your movement - you still have to move through every zone you cross normally)
Flaws: Situational (if you end your action in the air, without hanging or standing on something, you begin to fall), Situational (only when using a free invocation on a Qigong-related aspect, for channeling your chi or similar such narrative excuse for mocking the laws of gravity)
Refresh Cost: 1


Technique: Five Finger Palm Exploding Heart Technique
This Asset was made famous in the movie Kill Bill. It's a derivation of the notorious dim mak, a technique where the aggressor strikes their opponent and several minutes (or days) later the opponent drops dead.
Guiding Aspect: Master of Dim Mak
Features: Harmful 4
Flaws: Situational (affects the target once the scene ends)
Refresh Cost: 2


Technique: Hadouken! 
This Asset requires some of ye' old Fate narrative justification. Fortunately, your guiding aspect will handle that just fine (it can even do it with two hands tied behind its back). This technique allows you to project your chi at an opponent in a most harmful manner (don't forget the really important elements required for the proper execution of this technique: soul scream, describe the air around you swirling about, and then calling out the technique's name as you execute it).
Guiding Aspect: Death By Ki
Features: Harmful 3
Flaws: Demanding 2 (requires a Fair [+2] Scholar roll to channel all that chi, and a full action to "charge up")
Refresh Cost: 1

Alternative Build (just another way to simulate the "supercharge" effect)
Guiding Aspect: Death By Ki
Features: Harmful 2
Flaws: Situational (You must invoke your guiding aspect)
Refresh Cost: 1
Notes: This version allows you to spend time stacking invocations on your guiding aspect and then invoking them all for a massive blast, bettering your chances of tapping your full Harmful rating (since Harmful doubles shifts, not add to them like traditional Fate Core weapon ratings).


Technique: Iron Shirt Training 
Last but certainly not least is the ever famous (and painful) Iron Shirt Training. Now, you can practice this by hitting things against your body (I wouldn't recommend it), or by meditating everyday to build up a protective layer of chi on the surface of your skin, but never actually testing it (much safer). Either way, you'll become impervious to the blows of your opponent (not really).
Guiding Aspect: Master of Qigong
Features: Protective 2
Flaws: Situational (you must know the blow is coming in order to use this technique)
Refresh Cost: 2

Design Notes
Iron Shirt and Dim Mak are both representations of techniques that have been trained beyond their starting values (having 2 refresh instead of only 1). They could have either been bought up to their current level with refresh, or they could have possessed more flaws at creation (beginning play at the level which they are shown here) and bought them off when they spent that second point of refresh.

While Dim Mak and Iron Shirt have some basis in reality (don't be that person that tries this stuff at home...), and thus could potentially have a place in a normal Jadepunk campaign, the others are not likely to make an appearance unless you home-brew it. Martial arts in Jadepunk are based on movies like Fist of Legend, The Legend of Ip Man (so many "legends"...), and Fearless (yes, I know two of those are Jet Li movies; no, I don't care - Jet Li is awesome!). Thus, they are more realistic than the "super martial arts" seen in some wuxia movies, but hopefully this post gives you some idea as to how you can implement them into your campaign (but doing so comes at a cost - jade will have less of an impact in your game, and so it won't feel as important when it comes to the setting being all about it; that's something you'll have to address around your table).

We've touched on the magic of wuxia, but what about the magic from that other Jadepunk inspiration. These could all be found in the default setting, but I don't believe we left any examples in the book (we were saving that for the Jadetech Expansion). It should make an appearance here for thematic reasons.

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Elixirs, Potions, and Salves
We're not selling snake oil here. This is the real deal. Put on yer spectacles, grab yer mortars, and lets get cookin'!

The builds below have temporary Assets in mind. If these are permanent on your character, consider giving them the Troubling, Limited, or Demanding Flaws to account for not having an unlimited supply that you can use from round-to-round.


Device: Healing Salve
These are a mainstay of just about any fantasy fiction. The salve/elixir/potion of healing, health, and vigor. Drinking/applying it will not only make your healthy, but your hair will be thicker, you skin shinier, your bank account will overflow, members of the opposite sex will find you irresistible...it's not a bad deal, folks!
Function Aspect: Blue Jade Potion of Health
Features: Focus 2 (Scholar +2)
Flaws: Situational (when making recovery checks)
Refresh Cost: 1


Device: Poison
Nothing says, "we're through" like a good poison. Slip this into your mate's Naramel coffee and you'll be free of endless annoyance...that annoyance anyway...the city watch is bound to discover what you did...and they can be annoying, too.
Function Aspect: Deadly Concoction
Features: Harmful 2
Flaws: Situational (must be ingested)
Refresh Cost: 1


Device: Elixir of Everlasting Vigor
Related to our first product, but EVEN MORE POTENT! The Elixir of Everlasting Vigor is truly a spectacle to behold. Long has mankind sought the fabled fountain of young living and unagingness. Now you have it in the palm of your hand. But don't drink it! You have to pay first.
Function Aspect: Green Jade Potion of Vigor
Features: Focus 2 (Explorer +1, Fighter +1)
Flaws: Situational (must be ingested)
Refresh Cost: 1

Design Notes
That's it for this one. It's pretty straightforward. You can make these a million ways from Sunday. In fact, everything from previous posts (and future ones, most likely) can be called an elixir, potion, or salve if it's built as a temporary device. For instance, the White Jade Elixir of Feather Feet is perfect, and default setting appropriate, to give one the use of the Feather Foot Technique from the very first post - Traditional Wuxia.

While we're on supernatural creatures, how about some Zombies?

Here's the thing with zombies: they aren't Assets. At least, not how I would handle them in a game. Now, they could be Ally Assets if you're playing a necromancer or some such who summoned up a horde of the undead, but more than likely they're a mass of shambling mooks about to eat everyone in your group.

So, I'll write up both. So here's a bonus group of mook zombies for you to fight, along with a build of them as Assets for your to summon up to fight for you. (You're gross. Okay? Seriously, you shouldn't play with dead things.)

 Image by Alex Fechner
Ally: Zombie Horde
This Asset is used to have your own personal horde of zombies. Better cut their jaws off, or they just might come after you next!
Function Aspect: The Living Dead
Features: Asset (Corrupting Bite), Professional (Fighter +1), Resilient (1 Mild Consequence), Sturdy (One Stress Box), Talented (Technique: Harmful 1)
Flaws: Troubling (Dumb and Slow)
Refresh Cost: 1

Notes: These are your run of the mill zombies. They don't go down easily (because they're allies), they have a strong bite or claw scratch, and they're not that fast. Corrupting Bite gives you all kinds of justification for creating advantages against enemies who have been bitten by them, potentially turning them into zombies themselves, if they're taken out. (Is there a cure in your setting?)

If you want your own shambling horde, apply the Numerous Feature.

Mooks: Zombie Horde
If you need a bunch of zombie minions to threaten your PCs, this is the way to go.
Portrayal: The Living Dead
Need: Brains!
Secret: Aim For The Head!
Trouble: Slow And Dumb
Competence Bonus: Average (+1)
Assets: Strong Bite; Type: Technique; Guiding Aspect: The Living Dead; Features: Aspect (Corrupting Bite), Harmful 1
Stress: 1 for every two zombies in the horde.

Notes: Much of this is repeated from the Asset above. The Troubling Flaw was moved onto the zombie itself, because that's where it belongs (this is also a demonstration why Troubling is not an appropriate Flaw for a Technique: the character would suffer the consequences of the Flaw, not the Asset, so it should be on the character; I'll be covering that in an upcoming video).

h'okay, I was thinking about a couple of cool powers, but I was uncertain how to make them. How would you do something that transfers damage or someone else? Is it even possible? I want to say it should be, but I can't parse it.

Are your transferring to an Ally, or to another player?

If an Ally, I'd add the Exceptional Feature (Bodyguard, can take damage for a PC...something or other) to the Ally. If to another player, I'd use something similar, but require that the other PC be a willing target.

If you're transferring damage to a villain, like reflecting an attack somehow, then I'd use Harmful X and Exceptional (can use shifts scored on a defend roll with Harmful to reflect damage back against the attacker or another target of your choice) with the Situational Flaw (only with the Defend action).

Or something like that.

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