"The Way" To be on the alert means to be deadly serious, to be deadly serious means to be sincere to oneself, and it is sincerity that finally leads one to discover the Way. - Bruce Lee

Do Maneuvers are quasi-mystic maneuvers known only to the masters of Do, the Akashic Brotherhood. These maneuvers may only be learned by characters who have at least three dots in the Do Skill. Do is not about hurting people. Do is about how you move, how you breathe, how you think. It is the ability to act in the most correct way in any given situation. It is the ability to see the beauty in everything, and to find those things which detract from that beauty and correct them. Do is simply the Way. It is the process by which a person can act, react think and exist in the best way. A Doist never goes out of his way to do anything, if he is doing something in a particular place at a particular time, it is because that is the way it is supposed to be. It is training your body to exist in the most harmonious form. It is training your mind to be constantly aware of everything and nothing at the same time. Do affects every part of the Doist's life, but it does so in such a way that most people never notice it.

Do Basic Strikes:

Maneuver	Difficulty	Damage
Punch	6	3 + Successes
Kick	7	4 + Successes
Flying Kick	8	5 + Successes
Throw	8	3 + Successes (thrown 2ft per success)

(May roll Dex + Do diff 6 to land on their feet rather than dodge a throw)

Do Exercises and Body Control

Do Level	Effect
1	can slow breath, control reflexes
2	can slow heart, isolate blood flow to/from extremities
3	can slightly dislocate smaller bones (slip hands out of bonds,eat glass/sharp objects without internal injury
4	can dislocate mojor bones, cease all physical life signs
5	can internally neutralize most poisons, simulate death to most magickal perception i.e., auroa,electromagnetic, field or animating spirit (prolonged usage can lead to atrophy of extremities and eventual decay)

Do Special Maneuvers:

Character with more than two dots in Do may purchase one maneuver per point above two (1 at Do of 3, 2 at Do of 4 and so on)

Deflect/Catch Missile

Roll: Dexterity + Do
Difficulty: special
Damage: none Do practitioners are often trained in barehanded methods of defese against weapons which can be thrown or shot through the air. Deflection may be attempted as long as the defender has an arm (or leg) free, and can see the missile coming (or has Correspondence 1). Catching, however, requires full concentration, so the defender must be initially aware of the attack and must take no other action that turn. This skill does not work against any form of magickal missile, altough a mundane object propelled by magick can be deflected normally. Below are the difficultes for most common missiles (a number in parantheses indicates the number of successes required)

Missile	to deflect	to catch
rock, thrown	4	5
rock, slung	5	6
knife	6	7
shuriken	6	8 (both hands)
spear	5	4 (both hands)
hatchet	8	7
arrow	7(2)	8(2)
crossbow bolt	8(2)	9(2)
bullet	10(3)	10(5)

Return Melee Attack

Roll: Dexterity + Do
Difficulty: see below
Damage: special Primarily used against opponents attacking with either swords, knives or clubs, this maneuver allows the defender to redirect the energy of the attack around and back into the attacker. The practitioner rolls a resisted roll against teh attacker's Dexteirty + 3. If the Do artist wins, he does his Do + successes in damage; this reflects how well he redirected the blow. This action must be declared before the Attack Stage begins.

Kiai

Roll: Stamina + Do
Difficulty:6
Damage:none When struck, the Brother emits a loud yell which expels all air from the lungs, tightens the stomach muscles, and draws the testicles up into the abdominal cavity (when applicable). This maneuver allows an Akashic Brother to focus his Ki (or Chi). Like a dodge, the Kiai must be declared during the attack phase of a turn, but other actions may still be taken (the Dice Pool must be split, as usual). For each success on this roll, one extra die may be added to a regular soak roll or an Intimidation roll if the character desires. If Kiai is used as a prerequisite for a Do Rote (see Book Four), the stylist rolls his arete instead of Stamina + Do. The task is a manifestation of his enlightenment rather than a display of power. The roll may be done the turn before the rote is executed to avoid spliting a Dice Pool.

The Final Blow

Roll: none
Difficulty: see bellow
Damage: normal The long history of the Akashic Brotherhood is replete with many examples of the superhuman capabilities of Do practitioners, including the ability to sustain and yet temporarily ignore massive amounts of physical damage. Few high-ranking Brothers die in combat without either delivering one last blow to their killers or giving a prolonged explication of the final secret of her style to a tearful student. Once during his lifetime, a Brother may, if the Storyteller allows it, completely ignore all Health Level penalties, including death, for a number of turn equal to his Do. If this capability is used at any time other than moment of death, the Storyteller may tell the player that an amount of permanent Willpower equal to the Health Level penalty overcome in this way is lost; this dramtic action may ever result in a coma or permanent handicap. A famous demonstration of this power is the final battle of the Weaponless Defender Nichiba, who was disemboweled by the warldord Hakai but used his own dangling entrails to strangle his slayer.

DIM MAK

Prerequisites: Do 4
Description: "Dim Mak" is the ancient chinese art of the death touch. Master of Dim Mak possess secret knowledge oh how "ch'i" (literally, "breath") flows through the human body. Ch'i flow is said to vary, depending upon the time of day, the season, one's state of health, and other esoteric factors. A master of Dim Mak uses his knowledge of these factors to pinpoint the vulnerable locations on his opponent's body. By properly striking those locations, even with a mere finger thrust or touch, the master can disrupt the body's ch'i flow, causing the target to suffer intense pain and death.
Legends say that the greatest masters can "delay" Dim Mak damage, so that they touch a victim and he does not suffer any injury for minutes, hours, days or even months. Sometimes the master delays the damage based on how many steps the victim takes after being struck -- he does not suffer damage until he has taken nine, 100, 1,000 or however many steps.
Certain Dim Mak strikes can be used to paralyze the limbs, afflict the victim with various diseases or, so the legends say, kill with a single soft blow.
This Combat Maneuver should not be confused with the Entropy effect, "Dim Mak", listed in Mage. There's more than one way to disrupt someone's ch'i.

System: The effects of Dim Mak can vary widely, and the Storyteller should feel free to alter what is described below for dramatic purposes.
Whenever a fighter strikes an opponent with Dim Mak, damage is rolled normally, and the attacker also inflicts two other effects. First, he may delay the damage for any number of turns, and the damage will be applied to the target at the time specified. The player should write the time down on a slip of paper and show it to the Storyteller; he need not tell his opponent when the damage will be suffered.
Second, the attacker can temporarily reduce one of the victim's Physical Attributes by one point per successful Dim Mak strike. The player who made the Dim Mak attack chooses which Attribute to lower. Physical Attributes cannot be lowered below one by Dim Mak. Of course, the victim's Initiative, Ddamage, and other abilities will drop as the appropriate Attributes are reduced.
The victim can regain these lost Attribute points in two ways. The first is to spend one day and 2 points of Willpower per lost point. The second and better way is to locate a master of Ch'i Kun healing who can restore the lost points at no cost to the victim by using a combination "laying on of hands" and acupuncture technique to correct the disruptions in the victim's ch'i. Ch'i Kung masters are rare. Anyone who knows Dim Mak by definition knows Chi'i Kung, as does anyone with Do 3 or higher. The healer must roll Stamina + Do, difficulty 6, and achieve 2 successes per Attribute point lost to restore the points. This takes approximately one day per point restored.
Delayed Dim Mak damage may be healed by a Ch'i Kung master before the character actually suffers the damage; delayed damage may not be "healed" by expenditure of Willpower -- the character has to wait until he suffers the damage befre he can heal it that way.
The quest to find a Ch'i Kung master to heal the character (especially if the character knows that the damage has been delayed!!) can create an interesting story; maybe the master will require the character to undertake a quest of some sort as "payment" for healing him.

Cost: 3 Willpower
Initiative: +0
Accuracy: -1
Damage: +3
Move: +0

KONGJIN

Prerequisites: Do 3
Description: "Kongjin", meaning "empty force", is the chi master's ability to strike from a distance, without even having to touch his opponent! It is also known as "well fist" or "one finger" from the training method used to learn it: the student suspends an iron bell (or similarly heavy object) from a well (or in a hallway) and thrusts at it with one finger from a distance until he is able to project his ch'i sufficiently to move said object.

System: A Kongjin Combat Card may be played with any Punch or Kick maneuver. When using Kongjin, the fighter need not be within hand-to-hand fighting distance to strike his opponent. He can strike from a distance of 2 hexes per dot in Do. This strike cannot be blocked.

Cost: 2 Willpower
Initiative: +1
Accuracy: +1
Damage: +1
Move: None

SAN HE

Prerequisites: Dodge 4, Do 3
Description: Some fighting styles teach practitioners the ability to "root" themselves to the ground using their internal ch'i energy. The energy is spread out across the surface of the body and then "anchored" the ground, creating a rigid stance. The name for this maneuver, san he, comes from Kung Fu, but other styles use this discipline under different names. Whatever it is called, when the fighter assumes this stance, his body becomes like a single, solid piece of iron -- unmovable and resistant to attacks.

System: When executing San He, the character adds Do + Dodge + Stamina to determine his soak total. For example, a character with Do 3, Stamina 3, and Dodge 4 would have a soak total of 10 dice (3 + 3 + 4) when using San He.
In addition, the fighter cannot be knocked down except by a grab or throw, and he cannot be knocked back out of his hex. The San He stance roots the fighter to the ground, and no fighting maneuver can knock the character back. Against truly massive moving objects like cars, Storytellers should have the fighter roll Strength + Dodge to stand his ground. The bigger the object, the more successes the fighter needs on his roll to keep from being moved (a car might be four successes, a bus seven). Obviously, truly impressive impacts (for instance, if the Akashic mage was standing on the tracks staring down the 3:15 train) are technically impossible to resist.
A fighter does not get a +2 Initiative bonus for blocking the turn after he uses San He.

Cost: 1 Willpower
Initiative: +2
Accuracy: None
Damage: None
Move: None

The Forms:

Water Form Do:

The practitioner of Water form Do aims to strengthen original vitality which is expressed as wisdom.

All difficulty numbers in athletics are reduced by .5 the Doists level.

Internal Style: By focusing energy internally the Doist can release it in sudden bursts (reroll 10's on initiative).

External Style: By being in tune with the environment the Doist knows how best to move (the Doist can roll Dex + Do against a target number of 8 to cancel out dodge blunders).

Special Abilities (gained as per Book of Shadows):

Sparrow Flight: The Doist can jump vast distances landing on small spaces (Dex + Do difficulty 8).

Lightwalking: The Doist can move without leaving a trail (Dex + Do difficulty 8) Dragon stance: The Doist can preform feats of balance [balance on moving car etc] (Dex + Do difficulty 8).

Lung gom: "The art of lung gom in Tibet produces the ability to travel very rapidly across some of the inhospitable upland wastes of that county. The training consists of living in complete darkness and seclusion for 39 months of deep-breathing exercises... It is said that one of these skilled walkers covered a distance of over three hundred miles in about thirty hours" (Lyall Watson, Supernature) (Stamina + Do difficulty 8).

Fire Form Do:

Fire form Doists cultivate the original spirit to produce pervasive awareness. Such people reduce the difficulty of awareness and alertness by .5 their level in Do.

Internal Style: By focusing awareness internally the Doist becomes aware of the cause of emotions and thoughts (Add .5 the Doists level to the difficulty of foes attempting mind/emotion manipulation).

External Style: The Doists awareness is spread out into the world, helping to intuitively understand the world (decrease difficulties of intuition by rolls by .5 the level in Do).

Special Abilities:

One with the World: Through tuning one's Do with the world the practitioner can identify those aspects that are not in harmony (Perception + Do target number 8 to identify objects/people/etc that are out of context with their surroundings [i.e. identify if a room has been searched through the furniture being rearranged]).

One with Nature: If left to themselves things in nature will occupy the place most fitting for them, by harmonizing with nature the Doist understands where those objects/creatures are found (Perception + Do difficulty 8 to locate natural parts of the environment [of course they must be present to be located]).

One with Others: By harmonizing with others the Doist comes to understand other people (By using Perception + Do difficulty 8 the Doist can determine features of group dynamics, who the leader is, tensions within the group, and if the group is complete of itself or is acting in relation to another group).

Moving with the World: By moving in tune with the world the Doist Does not stand out from the background (Dexterity + Do difficulty 8, the number of successes add to the difficulty of observers noticing the Doist, used in addition to stealth).

Wood Form Do:

The wood form Doist works to strengthen original essence which manifests itself as gentleness, epitomized as the unprejudiced innocence of the infant.

Because of the lack of prejudice the Doist's difficulties in culture are reduced by .5 the level in Do.

Internal Style: By directing Do internally the practitioner sheds those features that cause others not to accept them (reduce etiquette difficulties by .5 the level in Do).

External Style: By directing their Do outwards those around the Doist feel more secure (adjust difficulty numbers for groups that the Doist is a part of by .5 level in Do in situations involving group loyalty [i.e. npc's fleeing, protester's giving up blockading a police station to demand the release of an innocent person]).

Special Abilities:

Bring Peace: The Doist can quell tensions by exerting Do to establish a mood of harmony (Charisma + Do difficulty 8, 1 success to calm a mildly annoyed person, 5+ to pacify a raging mob).

Peace of Summer: Such is the serenity of the Doist that people wish to befriend the practitioner (Charisma + Do difficulty 8 to cause people to befriend and help the Doist [won't work on actively angry people {see Bring Peace above}, if the Doist subsequently snubs/ignores/abuses the trust of the target of this ability they will become very alienated, if a character takes this ability they should have to act out employing the ability, suggested 1 success will make the postal employee predisposed to help sought out where a mysterious package came from, 5+ successes will cause the Progenitor clone planted in the group want to change sides], once someone is the Doists friend they will remain favorably disposed unless circumstances significantly change).

Friend of Animals: The Doist radiates such peace that wild animals will not attack (Charisma + Do difficulty 8, 1 success to stop the dog from barking, 5+ for the leopard to share it's kill with you).

Harmonize the Light: By meditating on the estrangement between two people present the Doist can cause the to understand each other and reconcile (Manipulation + Do target number 8).

Metal Form Do:

Metal form Doists cultivate original sense to develop firm strength. Their powers are those of Do in the Book of Shadows.

Earth Form Do:

Earth form Doists cultivate original energy which manifests as purity. The earth form Doists can flush toxins (fatigue, drugs) with a roll of Stamina + Do difficulty 8.

Internal Style: By maintaining purity of mind the Doist is strengthened against having others wills enacted upon them (Reroll 10s on willpower resistance checks).

External Style: By maintaining purity of body the Doist allows no place for damage to take place (Reroll 10s on soaks).

Special Abilities:

Mastery of Self: Such is the Doists energy and self control that pain is less significant (for 1 scene the Doist can ignore the pain effects of [number of successes of Stamina + Do difficultly 8] injury levels [start counting where the dice penalties begin]).

Mountain Stance: Such is the internal energy of the Doist that they cannot be moved against their will (Stamina + Do difficulty 8, 1 success they can be pick up by a normal human, 5+ successes will derail a train [though the character still takes damage]).

Stun Attacker: Such is the energy of the Doist that anyone who attempts violence upon the person on the Doist is left stunned (anyone attacking the Doist in hand to hand is subject to a roll of (Doists) Stamina + Do difficulty 8 which they resist against with willpower (difficulty 8), any net successes on the Doists part leaves the attacker unable to act for a number of actions equal to successes, cannot be used a a target more than once per a scene [but hey, how likely would most people be to try attacking again?]).

Becoming One with the Goal: The Doist focuses his/her whole being on the goal they are attempting to achieve, in this state the Doist can ignore distractions up to a level equal to (Intelligence + Do difficulty 8) until the goal is achieved. Of course also in this state the Doist suffers a penalty (equal to the benefit gained) on any attempts to notice anything not directly relating to the task.