Rules:Kaleshi

These are the character rules for the Kaleshi. For their story information, click here.

Name

The Kaleshi

Conjugations

Plural, Adjective: Kaleshi

Author

Icebreed

Status

Approved and open

Major Advantages

Intelligence

"Good" tech bias.

Hemospectrum

Kaleshi possess blood that can be differently colored between individuals. This blood color corresponds to their genotype, and confers certain benefits that tend to bias their development. A Kaleshi may have one blood color and gain its respective assets.

The hemospectrum and its various bonuses:

• Violet - Once per day, a psionic technique that compares the character's PL(s) with something counts the character's PsiPL as triple normal. Times per day can be upgraded.
• Indigo - Character may spend a slot as a gimme action to render a minor character (plot, adventure, DV, or tech minion), with less than the character's PsiPL in PL, unconscious. They can then be woken up through breaking their concentration threshold. The effect is delivered by touch, or can be piggybacked on any psionic ranged attack, so long as the damage does not also awaken them. Can be upgraded to maintain the slot and give the character control over the target (which is also released when the target's concentration is broken). Starts at only being capable of controlling one minion at a time, but can be further upgraded to allow more. Each minion controlled always costs an additional maintained slot.
• Blue - Each psi-powered item, costing at least 60 base days, that the character simultaneously wears or uses cumulatively amplifies their psi power by 10% of base.
• Green - A single, positive trait made possible by Biodiversity costs half of what it would normally cost, at creation, not exceeding a 120 day discount. Upgrades are priced normally.
• Yellow - Three times per day, character may add 100% KiPL to the PL that the effectiveness of a buffing or restorative technique is derived from. Strength can be upgraded.
• Orange - Character passively senses magic and psionic energy at 75% of their ki sensing rate OR their eyesight rate (choose at creation). Infravision's stealth piercing effectiveness is always equal to the character's eyesight rate.
• Red - Character can spend a tech action to gain Weapon Proficency Level 4 in any weapons they use with their Ki for three posts.

For all references above, psionic attributes apply to both Psionics and PhysPL based on psionics, just as ki attributes apply both to ki and to PhysPL based on ki.

Infravision

Can see sources of heat and infrared, allowing sight in pitch darkness and counteracting most visual camoflage. Sight pierces 100% TotalPL worth of visual stealth.

Riding on Coattails

When a Kaleshi's master gains PL, the Kaleshi also gains 10% of that amount. When a Kaleshi's master completes a technique or upgrade, the next technique or upgrade a Kaleshi researches will have its base tech day requirement reduced by 10% of the base days of the master's completed technique, not to exceed half the Kaleshi's technique cost. Only one tech day discount can be active for a Kaleshi at a time, but you can choose to replace an existing discount when a better one is activated later.

Minor Advantages

Biodiversity

Techniques and miniskills included at creation can represent permanent physical mutations (such as gills for breathing water, extra limbs, et al.), which might ordinarily only be available in a character's race or PhysPL template. They can also include negative traits, which can lower the cost of positive traits by a total of up to 120 days (but cannot be held over, saved, or used for any other techniques).

Major Disadvantages

Curse of Servitude

Kaleshi constantly desire to serve others, and especially to find a master to serve exclusively, thanks to a powerful magical curse. If a Kaleshi character does not have a master, they may not take PL gains, and they may not apply Passive Training days to techniques (they can still be saved in the meantime). They must also seek to selflessly serve all characters (NPCs or not) in any way they can perceive, which means they will generally be penniless and will have only what is given to them.

Once they have been bonded to a master, they no longer need to serve everyone they meet. Instead, their sole motivation and ambition becomes serving their master. Kaleshi may not refuse any request made by their master, if they can conceivably execute it, even if it takes a substantial amount of time. They may never take any negative actions against their master or themselves, unless ordered by the master to do so. A master can pass ownership of a Kaleshi to another person. A master can also simply end their ownership of a Kaleshi, but this results in a day of incap for every week the master owned the Kaleshi. If a master of a Kaleshi dies, there is a 50% chance the Kaleshi will also instantly die. Should they survive, they will suffer twice the normal incap penalty for losing their master.

All for the Master

While bonded to a master, a Kaleshi loses every tenth day of Passive Training they redeem, which the master gains.

Minor Disadvantages

Active Metabolism

If a Kelashi is incapacitated, they must be hospitalized in a place capable of serving non-human characters. If this cannot happen within three days, the character dies. Hospitals do not provide any extra benefit to incap healing.

Under Thumb

Kelashis cannot start as Declared Villains, and may not become one later unless they have first broken their curse.

Other Information

Breaking the Shackles

There are two vague schools of thought, when it comes to how a Kaleshi can break their curse, individually:

• Malephage - This concept revolves around the Kaleshi carefully orchestrating an elaborate network of magically-gifted cohorts, who subdue and capture the Kaleshi's master without her interference, and then set up a special ritual that forces the Kaleshi to consume some vital part of their master, such as the heart, their blood, or their soul, when they would never be able to do so by their own will. The result always kills the master, even if their race provides their survival from such injury, though it may be possible to resurrect them later. If the Kaleshi survives the 50% chance to die from the death of their master, they emerge permanently free of their race's curse ... but usually with a dark, scarring taint left on their mind from the black ritual.
• Genuflection - The other belief is that a Kaleshi can attain independence from their curse by having a powerful religious experience associated with extreme self-sacrifice for their master. The sacrifice must be important and permanent, and may require an act of a god. Furthermore, it is usually important that the bond between Kaleshi and master be particularly strong, and the sacrifice must be made of their own free will. This method can be very uncertain and sloppy, as a set of circumstances that seem to fit this profile may be met and yet the curse may not be broken. Nobody truly knows what exact combination of circumstances must coincide to ensure success.

In either case, successful curse-breaking requires an epiphany-grade event, accompanied with a known history that aligns with the method of curse-breaking. If approved, the curse is broken, which means the Curse of Servitude, All for the Master, and Riding on Coattails traits no longer cause any additional effects.