By David Eber.
This Fu path is unique to the warriors of the Thunder Pagoda. Huan Ken has sorcerers in his service too, but he tends to be very big on personal combat and he expects his warriors to be too. The best of them are taught this Fu path, which was invented by the Thunder King himself.
Chi Cost: 2
Shot Cost: 3
Strike an opponent with a lighting-charged blow. Make a normal Martial Arts attack against your opponent. If successful, he is disoriented, and suffers -2 impairment for a number of shots equal to the Outcome in addition to the normal damage from the strike. The effects of multiple strikes are not cumulative. This strike is accompanied by crackling electricity.
Prerequisite: none
Path: Clap of Thunder
Chi Cost: 3
Shot Cost: 3
Clap your hands together, creating a deafening wave of thunder which disorients everyone around you. The wave extends outward from you in a distance equal to your Fu in meters. Anyone caught in this area must make a Chi, Fu, or Martial Arts task check (whichever is highest) with your Martial Arts skill level as the Difficulty. Failure means the character loses a number of shots from his next action equal to the difference between his Action Result and the Difficulty.
Prerequisite: Lightning Strike
Path: Thunder Strike
Chi Cost: 3
Shot Cost: 3
Strike an opponent with thunderous force. Make a normal Martial Arts attack against your opponent. If successful, she is dazed and automatically loses her next attack as well as taking normal damage from the strike. She may only dodge or retreat as her next action. This strike is accompanied by a crack of thunder.
Prerequisite: Clap of Thunder
Path: Tempest Roar
Chi Cost: 6
Shot Cost: 3
Bellow at your opponents, unleashing the power of the storm. The force of your yell extends outward in front of you at a distance equal to your Fu in meters. Anyone caught in this area must make a Chi, Fu, or Martial Arts task check (whichever is highest) with your Martial Arts skill level as the difficulty. Failure means the character suffers an amount of impairment equal to the difference between his Action Result and the Difficulty. This effect lasts for a number of shots equal to your Fu rating.
Prerequisite: Thunder Strike
Path: Storm Strike
Chi Cost: 6
Shot Cost: 3
Strike an opponent with the tempestous force of the storm. Make a normal Martial Arts attack against your opponent. If successful, he is stunned and suffers impairment equal to the Outcome of the attack for a number of shots equal to your Fu attribute in addition to the normal damage from the strike. The effects of multiple strikes are not cumulative. This strike is accompanied crashing thunder and electrical sparks.
Prerequisite: Tempest Roar
Path: The Storm's Fury
Chi Cost: 8
Shot Cost: 6
Strike the ground, either with a weapon or by jumping in the air and striking the ground with a kick. Your strike unleashes the full fury of the storm, shattering the earth and sending out a wave of destruction. The wave extends outward from you in a distance equal to your Fu in meters. Within this area the following things will occur: glass shatters, insecure objects are knocked over or flung backwards, masonry cracks, and a fissure splits the earth starting at your feet and extending the length of the area of effect. This power will also trigger rockslides and avalanches in areas predisposed to such occurences.
Any character in this area must make a Chi, Fu, or Martial Arts task check (whichever is highest) with your Martial Arts skill level as the difficulty. Characters who fail are flung backwards X meters and suffer X damage, where X = the difference between the Difficulty and their Action Result. Unnamed characters will be taken out if they fail the check by 5 or more points. These characters are also stunned, and may only dodge for a number of shots equal to your Fu rating afterwards. Characters who are within 2 meters of you when you when you use this power are unaffected by it, as they are essentially within the eye of the storm.
Note: if you try to use this power within most buildings, you will end up falling to the floor below (or the basement) and possibly injuring yourself as you shatter the floor, which is unlikely to withstand such force unless it is made of exceptionally thick and strong stone, preferably reinforced with steel.
Prerequisite: Storm Strike
Path: None
Last modified: August 1st, 1997; please send comments to durrell@innocence.com.