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

[Greg 1]

The short answer is that since it isn't real, it can do whatever the GM likes. But I'm asking for your sense of chi. What sort of abilities feel like they should fall under chi and what abilities should generally be impossible with chi?

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by Greg 1

The short answer is that since it isn't real, it can do whatever the GM likes. But I'm asking for your sense of chi. What sort of abilities feel like they should fall under chi and what abilities should generally be impossible with chi?

It's essentially a version of psi. And like psi, there are lots of stories where it's extended to do pretty much anything.

Still, it does seem to be a little more focused on your physical body - you might expect that with the root meaning being breath, but then that's the root meaning of spirit too. I'd tend to say that anything that affects only your body or your internal mental processes is fair enough, and anything that affects something more than a few paces from your body is pretty iffy, and that like psi it really ought to be limited to energy levels you could get out of a human body, though stories certainly don't stick to that very strictly.

[Lia Valenth]

Unfortunately, when I think Chi I think DBZ. In that, there is little Chi can't do. I suppose it cannot resurrect the dead.

If I try to not consider DBZ, I mostly agree with malloyd, but would extend Chi to affecting equipment you wear or carry at all times, as it is an 'extension of your body'. Possibly use a perk per item you can effect with ease, taking 1-2 weeks to change items or gain a new one.

[Kromm]

Both as a gamer and a writer of game supplements (so you'll see this bias in your GURPS books!), I visualize chi as being to the body/material as psi is to the mind/abstract. To elaborate:

I visualize chi as being vital energy, breath, and life force, generated or tapped by one's mortal vessel. Thus, chi has firm roots in the material world, anchored by flesh and blood. This mostly leads to feats of athleticism: amazing endurance, controlling and holding breath, resistance to injury, and superhuman strength – and for students of a warrior bent, the ability to adapt such things to combat (controlling breath leads to a kiai, resistance to injury hardens a body part to punch through something, and so on). In the hands of the greatest initiates, chi can be projected a short distance away from the body to produce limited telekinesis and various "energy blasts," and the user can sense and manipulate chi in others' bodies to sense life and cause afflictions (up to and including the dreaded Hand of Death). The natural affinity is for the body, usually the user's but occasionally somebody else's.

This is in contrast to psi's psychic energy. Psi emanates instead from the user's abstract, immaterial mind – or, in pre-modern settings, one's immortal spirit. Its home realm isn't the material world of the body but the astral/spiritual one, and it produces unusual effects at a distance by taking shortcuts through that level of existence and impinging on the regular one, explaining clairvoyance, telekinesis, and – for the extremely adept – teleportation. As not just space but also time is mapped differently to this otherworld, psychometry and precognition are possible as well. The natural affinity is for minds, not bodies, so telepathic feats are basic to psi while only the highest-level adepts can manage direct healing or affliction of the body, largely by inducing subtle mind-over-matter effects.

When using both in the same setting, I recommend reserving purely bodily stuff like Breath-Holding, Damage Resistance, Metabolism Control, and Regeneration for chi, and remote sensing and communications like Clairsentience, Mind Reading, Precognition, and Telesend for psi. Either power might have Affliction, Innate Attack, and Telekinesis, but psi-based versions are likely to cause afflictions of the mind, inflict fatigue, have no visible effects, operate over long distances, and be Maledictions whenever possible, while chi-based variants are more likely to deliver afflictions of the body, inflict injury, have visibly energetic effects, be short-ranged, and often be ordinary physical attacks. I'd counsel putting a prerequisite system in effect to better handle overlaps. For instance, both powers might acquire Healing and similar effects, but such things would be basic for chi but advanced for psi; similarly, both might have various kinds of Detect and other remote senses, but these would be basic for psi and advanced for chi. The most impressive feats – like Warp and Jumper for psi, and lethal Afflictions and being Unaging for chi – would be at the very pinnacle of the prerequisite tree.

[Phantasm]

Indeed, I see chi as having mostly buffs (DR, IT:DR, Lizard Climb, Immovable Stance) - and a limited repertoire of attacks (Kiai, Breaking Blow, Modified ST-Based Damage, Imbuements). Save the flashy stuff seen in DBZ and Naruto for psi or over-the-top games. :)

[Peter Knutsen]

How unusual is it to have a world in which chi can buff the character's own senses?

[Otaku]

Originally Posted by Greg 1

The short answer is that since it isn't real, it can do whatever the GM likes. But I'm asking for your sense of chi. What sort of abilities feel like they should fall under chi and what abilities should generally be impossible with chi?

What kind of setting matters for me; the more "down to earth" it is, the less I allow chi to do, but like many I am used to chi being little more than a plot device to justify superpowers. That being said, perhaps I am just ignorant of real* legends but I always got the impression that properly trained chi led to psi, if they were not simply two sides of the same coin.

*As in legends that predate modern pop culture surrounding chi usage, not legendary feats proven real.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by Otaku

What kind of setting matters for me; the more "down to earth" it is, the less I allow chi to do

Sure, that's a worldbuilding decision. In some worlds, spectacular and blatant powers are appropriate, in others they are semi-appropriate meaning they should be rare, and in other again they are inappropriate.

But those decisions come after the process of defining what chi is and isn't.

[Otaku]

I know this gets really annoying, but I've gotten a bit confused over something so I've got to do a big, stinky "quote chain" to make sure I haven't gotten something wrong in it. I actually did get lost in a quote chain a day or two ago on a Pokémon message board so again, I apologize for the inconvenience to others but I need the help. ^^'

Originally Posted by Greg 1

The short answer is that since it isn't real, it can do whatever the GM likes. But I'm asking for your sense of chi. What sort of abilities feel like they should fall under chi and what abilities should generally be impossible with chi?

Originally Posted by Otaku

What kind of setting matters for me; the more "down to earth" it is, the less I allow chi to do, but like many I am used to chi being little more than a plot device to justify superpowers. That being said, perhaps I am just ignorant of real* legends but I always got the impression that properly trained chi led to psi, if they were not simply two sides of the same coin.

*As in legends that predate modern pop culture surrounding chi usage, not legendary feats proven real.

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

Sure, that's a worldbuilding decision. In some worlds, spectacular and blatant powers are appropriate, in others they are semi-appropriate meaning they should be rare, and in other again they are inappropriate.

But those decisions come after the process of defining what chi is and isn't.

So... I'm not sure I follow Peter Knutsen's comment.

We are talking about "world building" decisions. One part of that is the general "tone" or "reality level" of the setting: harsh realism, realistic, lightly cinematic, cinematic, full on cinematic, four color, silly or any other flavors I left out. We are also talking about fantastic elements; while quite similar, these are two different toggles... or perhaps "dials" are a better term because it isn't just "on off".

Not just chi but when we consider any real and fantastic elements, with GURPS you get to fine tune how it will operate in the setting. You can take real world principles of how the universe operates and "tweak" them if you wish... either because it is a "silly" game or because it is otherwise a realistic setting except for some reason one cannot artificially produce electricity, or springs and/or clockwork are far more efficient stores of energy than in real life or any number of similar variables. Of course when it comes to other fantastic elements like magic, there are many schools of thought on the matter and what someone considers to be how magic ought to work and what is appropriate for magical effects, others will disagree or at least find less endearing.

When deciding what chi can do, I consider the setting, both in terms of "realistic versus cinematic versus others" and what particular "flavor" of chi I want to allow. There will be a lot of overlap and some combinations don't sound like much fun to play, but they have to be eliminated from consideration nonetheless. Otherwise if we want a simple answer...

...chi can do whatever the player and GM can agree upon. Many (most?) Advantages can be tweaked until they make sense as a chi power, with chi possibly being part of a hybrid modifier if everything is "chi" to some degree: chi cosmic or chi divine for attaining a "higher state of being", chi fueled elemental powers if they could work for the setting. In some a chi based Energy blast is perfectly fine, in others it is clearly a "no no".