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In the early Ages, the ancestors of the Kuei-jin walked among mortals as emperors and gods. As divine emissaries, they received Heavenly blessing to command the lesser mortals of the Middle Kingdom. The power of dragons shone in their gaze, and when they spoke, their voice was as thunder.
The Discipline of Obligation is a legacy of those days. Kuei-jin who study this Discipline learn to channel their Hun souls and use the sheer force of their spirits to inspire ― or overwhelm. Not all vampires of the Fifth Age use this power for noble purposes, and some Kuei-jin use it even on other shen.
Unlike the Kindred Discipline of Dominate, no generation restriction applies to the use of Obligation.

• Evaluate
The successful magistrate must first learn to look into the souls of his charges. The power of Evaluate allows a Kuei-jin to gauge the state of a target's Hun. By using this power, the vampire can discover a great deal of information, which can be used to gain an advantage over the target.
System: The Kuei-jin spends a turn in concentration, then rolls Perception + Empathy (difficulty of the subject’s Willpower).
1 success---------Cathayan gains a basic understanding of the target ― general personality, surface likes/dislikes, etc. Some information may be cryptic or false.
2 successes-------Cathayan gains a deeper understanding of the target ― true name, some history, Demeanor.
3 successes-------Cathayan gains insight into the deeper areas of the subject’s soul ― repressed memories, hidden dislikes/hatreds, etc. For the duration of scene, the Cathayan is able to tell if the subject lies to him. At this level, the vampire can detect Blood Bonds and Spirit Bonds.
4+ successes-----Cathayan gains complete understanding of target, including Nature, Willpower score, Humanity/Path/Dharma type and rating, and whatever other information the Storyteller deems appropriate.
A botch on the Perception + Empathy roll indicates that the Cathayan misreads the soul or becomes too empathically attached to the person (perhaps mistaking the target for a closely linked soul from another life).

• • Soul Bridge
Gradually extending her mastery of the Hun, the vampire is able to establish a psychic link between her soul and someone else's. Through this channel, the vampire can use her own Hun to influence the workings of a lesser soul.
System: The vampire must face her subject, then roll Manipulation + Empathy (difficulty 6 for mortals 7 for shen).
If the vampire succeeds, she may perform one of the following:
• Add one die per success to her next Social roll against the target (a vampire who scored three successes can add three dice to her next Social roll).
• View one of the target’s surface thoughts (chosen by the Storyteller) per success. Thoughts viewed typically appear in pictorial form, like paintings.
• Make a Hun roll (difficulty 6) to silently transmit simple empathic urges to the target. Thus, a vampire could fill a victim with fear, joy, sorrow or similar emotions. A Kuei-jin victim may resist with Hun. If the wielder succeeds/wins, the emotion is strong enough that the victim is forced to act on it.
This power does not work on Kuei-jin with higher Hun scores.

• • • Authority
The Cathayans once held mandate over mortals. Although Heaven seems to have annulled this mandate, the Kuei-jin have not forgotten it. With this power, the Kuei-jin displays the strength of his Hun by using it to awe and overwhelm other souls. Souls thus subordinated are quick to obey the Cathayan's commands, as if he were an emperor of old.
System: The vampire spends a Willpower point, then rolls Hun + Etiquette against a variable difficulty. If using this power against a mortal, ghoul or similar creature, the difficulty is only 5. If using Authority against a shen (Kindred, hengeyokai, etc.), the difficulty is 8. Kuei-jin cannot use the power against other Kuei-jin who have higher Hun or Dharma scores. The same roll is used to determine the power’s effect against all creatures in the vicinity.
Difficulty--Number of Successes Needed--Type of Order
5-----------one-------------------------------cease action, do not act, do nothing
6-----------one-------------------------------simple order, or one the victim knows is the “correct” thing to do
7-----------one-------------------------------complex order, order to do something “out of character”
8-----------two-------------------------------potentially life-threatening, violation of the victim’s honor/principles
9-----------two-------------------------------self-destructive

• • • • Thousand Hell Stare
Truly, this power is a terrible one, traditionally reserved for only the most honorable ancestors and mandarins. In the Fifth Age, knowledge of the art has spread among the unworthy, and so a few akuma and other riffraff can use the secrets of their elders. The power is also used on occasion as torture.
In short, the power enables the wielder to channel all her guilt, frustration, anger and hunger into her Hun soul, then project this negative psychic energy like a knife into her victim’s soul. The target of this power feels as if a demon is staring into his soul, judging him and finding him utterly unworthy of consideration or mercy. Prolonged use of the Thousand Hell Stare has been known to drive mortals to suicide or send Kindred into shrieking Rotschreck.
System: The vampire spends a Willpower point, then rolls Hun + Intimidation (difficulty 6). The target resists with Willpower or Humanity, whichever is higher (difficulty 6 for supernaturals, 8 for mortals). This roll is an extended one. If, at any time, the victim accumulates more successes than the vampire, the power ceases to function. If a vampire and victim have the same number of successes (for a net of zero), the psychic struggle continues, but no tangible effects take place that turn. If the vampire accumulates more successes than the victim, the victim begins to experience great psychic torment.
If the vampire botches the Hun + Intimidation roll, she instantly enters fire soul. Note that Kuei-jin and hengeyokai can use their P’o in an attempt to break the Thousand Hell Stare.
Vampire’s Net----Effect
Successes
1 success---------Target loses a point of temporary Willpower, acts at –1 to Dice Pools.
2 successes------Target loses another point of Willpower; experiences psychic agony (-3 to Dice Pools). Cannot attack the vampire; is likely to flee or heed simple commands.
3-4 successes----Target becomes cringing, sniveling and submissive; does nearly anything the vampire asks, short of self-destructive actions. Kuei-jin and Kindred must check for Rotschreck.
5+ successes-----Target collapses in a useless heap for the scene, gains a permanent Derangment.

• • • • • Soul Shackles
Vampires at this level of Obligation learn the ultimate secrets of soul mastery. With this power, the vampire can form long-lasting or even permanent bonds between his soul and another’s soul. Certain ancestors use this power to cement oaths between themselves and members of their court. This power does not affect a Kuei-jin of higher Hun or Dharma.
System: The vampire spends one turn in concentration and one point of Willpower. The player then makes a Hun + Empathy roll (difficulty of the opponent’s Willpower). Success creates a Friendship Bond between the vampire and his victim. Treat this bond as a Vinculum score of 3. The victim is friendly toward the vampire, but not blindly so.
The vampire may stop there, or he may further apply the power. (At this point, the victim is sufficiently friendly that she allows the power’s continued use). To continue, the vampire spends another turn in concentration and another point of Willpower. The play then rolls Hun + Leadership (difficulty of the victim’s Willpower). If he fails this roll, the soul-bond immediately shatters, probably filling the victim with revulsion. If he succeeds, the bond strengthens, becoming a Giri Bond ― the equivalent of Vinculum 6. The victim is exceedingly loyal to the vampire, although a few concerns (true love, deep-rooted personal honor) still supersede the vampire’s mastery.
Again, the vampire may choose either to stop the power or to continue. To continue, the vampire spends another turn in concentration and another Willpower point. The player then rolls the vampire’s unmodified Hun (difficulty of the opponent’s Willpower). Failure breaks the Soul Shackles, with results identical to the ones delineated above. If this last roll succeeds, the victim has a Spirit Bond ― the equivalent of a full-scale Blood Bond ― toward the vampire. This Spirit Bond overrides all other forms of loyalty, even a previously established Blood Bond.
Each type of bond, once established, lasts a certain amount of time, according to the vampires successes on the final roll.
1 success----------------one night
2 successes-------------one month
3 or more successes---permanent

The Way of the Lone Walker
(Level Two Rite)
Occasionally, a Kuei-jin discovers that she does not conform to the strict hierarchy or rigorous protocol of existence among the Cathayans. Rather than being declared outcast by society, the rebellious or eccentric Kuei-jin willingly and willfully turns her back on the systems of court and wu by declaring herself heimin. This rite of self-renunciation provides an acceptable means for such dissatisfied Kuei-jin to legitimize their decision without cutting themselves off entirely from Cathayan society or arousing its active hostility. A Kuei-jin who seeks the way of the outsider typically holds fast to her Dharma and assigned direction. She has no desire to deny what she is, only to forego the trappings of Kuei-jin society.
System: A Kuei-jin wishing to perform this rite upon herself must issue invitation to members of her wu (if she has one) and to at least one appropriate elder (her former sifu or one of the mandarins of the court she is leaving). Once all the participants gather at the time and place designated by the invitation, the renunciate performs a tea ceremony (using an infusion of water, blood and herbs) for her guests. She refrains from drinking the tea to symbolize her break with Kuei-jin society. After the ceremony, she breaks the tea vessels and turns her back upon her guests, who then depart, leaving the newly acknowledged heimin free to walk her own path.

Taking the Left-Hand Path
(Level Two Rite)
Kuei-jin who realize that their chosen Dharma does not suit them sometimes enact this rite to cast away their old path and embrace a new one. While this rite often takes place in the presence of a vampire’s wu-mates or at a meeting of her court, some Kuei-jin prefer to conduct the ceremony in private and announce their decision after the fact.
System: Before beginning the rite, the Kuei-jin prepares a list of reasons why her old Dharmic path no longer provides her with the vision and purpose necessary for her continued progress along the Road Back. She may use calligraphy or brush painting to produce this list, so that it becomes a thing of beauty as well as the centerpiece of the rite. The rite itself consists of a series of ritual purifications (baths, incense, meditation and fasting), followed by the donning of completely new clothes, symbolic of the vampire’s new beginning. The rite culminates in the fiery destruction of the list prepared earlier and the inscription of a new parchment or the creation of a brush painting that illustrates the new Dharmic path. No rolls need be made to perform this rite, but the character must spend a point each of Yin Chi and Yang Chi to solidify the change. After completing the rite, the character loses all levels in her old Dharma and begins her new path at a rating of 1.

Restoring the Dharmic Balance
(Level Four Rite)
This rite restores a fledgling Kuei-jin who has fallen from her Dharma and relapsed to the state of a chih-mei (Dharma zero). Another Kuei-jin, usually an elder or – at the very least – a more enlightened individual, must perform this rite for the fallen vampire. The subject undergoes a ritual cleansing involving water, the burning of incense and the recitation of mantras. If the rite succeeds, the chih-mei returns to her senses and begins her Dharmic journey once again.
System: In most cases, the chih-mei must be subdued and forcibly brought to the place of purification – usually some site that is rich in Chi or that has some significance to the performer of the rite or the subject. After completing the steps outlined above, the Kuei-jin enacting the rite rolls Wits + Expression or some other appropriate Ability (difficulty 9). The number of successes gained is subtracted from 10. The difference is the difficulty for a sustained Willpower roll by the subject. One such roll may be made per night, so the rite may need repeating several times. Once the subject achieves 10 successes, the rite succeeds in restoring a Dharma rating of 1 to the subject, thus bringing her back from the ranks of chih-mei and allowing her to resume her “normal” existence as a Kuei-jin.

Harmonious Shielding of the Guarded Home
(Level One Rite)
This rite protects from violation or invasion a Kuei-jin’s resting place or the tomb that contained her mortal body. Similar in effect to the Thaumaturgical ritual Defense of the Sacred Haven, this rite prevents harmful influences from entering or defiling the affected site. It also provides a sleeping Kuei-jin with a warning if intruders attempt to approach the site.
System: The individual performing the rite must take an hour to perform a ritual cleansing of the site. She may use human servants to accomplish this task if she does not wish to indulge in menial labor herself, but she must be physically present during the cleansing. The character then places incense and purifying herbs in a bowl of steaming water and allows them to steep until their aroma fills the room. The final step involves using a small brush to paint harmonious symbols inside the room or around the tomb and draw curbed lines or circles to repel demons. (Some versions of this rite involve strewing grains of rice in a circle inside the protected site.) Each point of Chi spent provides 24 hours of protection, but no more than three points may be spent at any one time.

Construct the Dragon Bone Prison
(Level Three Rite)
By means of this rite, the ritualist entraps another Kuei-jin in her resting place, thus rendering the target unable to leave her prison until the interval specified during the performance of the rite has expired.
Rumor has it that certain Kuei-jin have developed variants of this rite that enable them to affect Western Kindred.
System: The character must first locate the resting place of the target and make a thorough study of its physical layout and relationship to the Chi lines nearest it. By using mirrors, screens or other appropriate instruments, the Kuei-jin then constructs a series of Chi lines that act as a barrier around the site and prevent anyone inside from leaving, so long as the line remain intact. (Usually, the devices used in constructing these lines are concealed so that the victim – or, more likely, a servant of the victim – cannot immediately locate and remove them.) The character then rolls Dexterity + Occult (difficulty of the target’s Willpower). Three successes are necessary to entrap the site’s resident for 24 hours; four successes allow the ritualist to designate a duration of up to one week. Five successes confine the target for a full month.
To break the entrapment, a Kuei-jin must roll Willpower (difficulty 9) and achieve 10 successes to escape the confines of her resting place for one hour. She must then spend that hour locating and removing all the obstacles used to devise her prison. This requires a Perception + Investigation roll versus a difficulty equal to the combined Dexterity + Stealth of the ritualist (to a maximum of 10). If the victim cannot find all the objects within the allotted hour, she must return to her resting place and cannot repeat the attempt for 24 hours.