Ki - The Art of Perfection

 Magic takes three main forms in Nipponese culture: western style sorcery and clerical petitions, and the specialised Nipponese form of Ki abilities.  Ki works by augmenting the users natural abilities in particular areas of related skills, such as craft skills, the combatative arts and the more refined arts such as the ancient Nipponese art of the Tea Ceremony.  It is the magic of perfecting ones abilities beyond what would normally be possible.

 In game terms, characters are granted a number of Ki Points (KP), and one or more Ki skill areas.  Each skill area groups together a number of related skills: Ki Craft, for example, groups together such skills as Art, Carpentry, Stoneworking, Tailoring and so on.  Some forms of Ki also include general other abilities dependent on any one characteristic, such as Ki Agility which includes I in this way.  KP are spent in order to increase the chance of a successful test in skills or abilities covered by the particular Ki area, in the most common form of Ki, every KP spent increases the chance of a successful test by 5%.  Other, more specialised (and more expensive) forms of Ki might add 10% per KP or more.

 Example: Yoshi Halakami spends 4 KP while carving an ornate box, intended as a magical artefact.  This increases Yoshi's chances of success from his Dex of 44 to a level of 64 (an increase of 20).  Yoshi has a little less than a 2/3 chance of succeeding.

Gaining Ki Abilities

 There are two ways of gaining Ki abilities:  perfecting your abilities and divine intervention.

 It is very rare for a person to perfect any ability to the extent necessary to gain a Ki ability without divine intervention, and the cases when it has occured are rare enough to be legendary.  The character must achieve a value of 70 or higher in the Ki areas' ruling characteristic (see below).  The ruling characteristic for Ki Combat, for example, is WS.  Once this is acheived, the user may buy the Ki ability with Experience Points.  At the lowest level (5% per KP), these abilities cost 200 EP.  More potent Ki abilities cost proportionally higher, with the 10% per KP form, for example, costing 400 EP.  You didn't honestly think that sort of power would come cheap did you?

 More commonly, Ki abilities are granted by divine intervention, and particular deities are known for granting particular Ki areas.  Oshiki, for example, typically grants Ki Combat and Ki Arts.  These abilities may be asked for, and many deities will require a service from the supplicant (that is, a trial), to prove themselves worthy of the gift.  Ki abilities are often granted as blessings.

 However the ability is gained, the character is given 2D6 KP for each ability possessed.  These are regenerated by sleep in the same way as a Wizards' Magic Points.

 Note that Non-humans can never gain Ki abilities, except possibly Halflings with their strange bond with humanity.  Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes, Goblinoids, Ogres, and other non-humans can never have these abilities.

Ki Skill Areas

 The primary, most common Ki skill areas are those indicated below, but many, many more could well exist (and probably do).  If you see a possibility for a Ki area not covered below, feel free to create it yourself.

 Ki Agility - Dodge Blow, Escapology, any reaction roll.
 Cost: 200 EP
 Ruling Stat: I

 Ki Arts - Art, Tea Ceremony, etc.
 Cost: 200 EP
 Ruling Stat: Dex

 Ki Combat - Any weapon or combat tests (essentially any WS test) plus all Specialist Weapon skills used in hand to hand combat, Strike to Stun, Strike Mighty Blow, Strike to Injure.
 Cost: 200 EP
 Ruling Stat: WS

 Ki Craft - Art, Carpentry, Stoneworking, Boat Building, Tailor, any craft related Dex tests.
 Cost: 200 EP
 Ruling Stat: Dex

 Ki Knowledge - Any Lore skill, Heraldry, Super Numerate, any languages, Linguistics.
 Cost: 200 EP
 Ruling Stat: Int

 Ki Magic - This is something of an exception in the Ki system in that it works to enhance other forms of magic that the user may possess.  Clerics of Oshiki will typically possess this, as well as Samurai with sorcerous abilities.  It simply allows the user to use KP as normal MP. (Cost: 200 EP).
 Of course, much rarer are specialised forms of Ki Magic such as Ki Demonology, Ki Necromancy, Ki Illusion, etc. which count as twice the number of MPs as the number of KPs spent, for double the cost.  (Cost: 400 EP).
 Ruling Stat: WP (for clerics) or Int (for sorcerors)

 Ki Missiles - Ranged weapon attacks (essentially any BS test), and all Specialist Weapon skills used to make missile attacks.  This also applies to any magic missiles the user must physically aim.
 Cost: 200 EP
 Ruling Stat: BS

 Ki Perception - Applies to any Observe, Listen, Search or Rapid Search test.
 Cost: 200 EP
 Ruling Stat: I

 Ki Stealth - Silent Move Urban, Silent Move Rural, Concealment Urban, Concealment Rural.
 Cost: 200 EP
 Ruling Stat: Cl

 Ideas for other Ki groups: 
•	Ki Sea: Sea and sailing related skills such as Sailing, Boat Building, etc.  Cost: 200 EP.