Chi Power: What can and can't it do?

[jeff_wilson]

Originally Posted by Vernon King Avaritt III

Doesn't flight in a Chi setting more like super jumping rather than flight?

Kind of; you can also become very light so that you glide on the wind with clothes or can leap from leaf to leaf or even cloud to cloud.

Here's a video example from CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ccmava-4KnY

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by jeff_wilson

Kind of; you can also become very light so that you glide on the wind with clothes or can leap from leaf to leaf or even cloud to cloud.

Here's a video example form CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ccmava-4KnY

An extreme movie, in that regard. I'd be much more comfortable with chi being able to have one or maybe two levels of Super Jump, e.g. as depicted in the Star Wars trilogy.

[the_seeker]

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

An extreme movie, in that regard.

Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon [2000] is actually rather restrained in its depiction of qinggong compared to most wuxia movies and TV series since Tsui Hark's Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain [1983]. Major characters routinely give gravity lip service at best. Sometimes I suspect the only thing that stops them from flying everywhere they go is a desire to avoid ostentation. "Flight (Chi, -10%; Costs Fatigue, -5%) [34]" would be legitimate for PCs in a "full on" wuxia campaign calibrated to the power level found in contemporary wuxia TV series. Very powerful characters might even have "Flight (Chi, -10%) [36]" with no Fatigue cost.

I think an important question that has so far been unasked in this thread is "will this be a wuxia campaign or a more generic fantasy campaign that happens to have wuxia elements in the mix?" Wuxia has a definite "look" and "feel" to it. The more you let Chi do in your campaign via Cinematic Skills, Imbuements, and Advantages, the more of that look/feel the campaign will have. This is true regardless of relative power level; many weak inexpensive Chi abilities will color the campaign as much or even more than a few powerful expensive ones.

I recommend watching contemporary wuxia TV series for inspiration. There are many posted to YouTube with Mandarin audio and English subtitles. If anyone is interested, I'll point you at my own YouTube channel. I maintain several playlists.

[jeff_wilson]

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

An extreme movie, in that regard. I'd be much more comfortable with chi being able to have one or maybe two levels of Super Jump, e.g. as depicted in the Star Wars trilogy.

The way Yoda not-extremely lifts an X-Wing fighter out of the swamp?

It's more a question of budget, but there are many films with people lightly running over water, or skipping over the tops of parasols.

BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4BvCC28SaU (mostly superjump style, but note the upside-down arch run at the beginning)

HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNgDtwHreZM

HERO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGq6FXcpxtY

KUNG FU HUSTLE https://youtu.be/DQrR4BQ6oKY?t=238 (seriously extreme)

KUNG FU ROMANCE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb64AjF5708