Knacks: Agility, Perception, Speed, Stamina, Strength

Apprentice Degree: Specimen
Adept Degree: Paragon
Master Degree: Avatar

Huan Shu (“illusion,” when translated from Cathayan) is a form of magic known to manifest only in Cathay. This Sorcery allows its practitioners to focus their qi, or spiritual energy, into physical expression. Legend holds that those who practice this Sorcery are so graceful, they can leap and levitate, walk up walls, and balance atop bamboo plants.

Apprentice Degree
You are a perfect physical specimen. You have never been sick a day in your life, and you heal amazingly quickly. You are considered to be half your age when determining the effects of Age upon you, and you are immune to disease. At the end of every Scene, you may make a Brawn roll against a TN of 30 to heal one Dramatic Wound.

Adept Degree
Your physique has developed even further. You can withstand great punishment, and when you take damage, your wounds heal in a much shorter time than anyone else’s. Your toughened skin gives you a +5 bonus to your TN to be hit, making your TN 10 + 5 x Defensive Knack. At any time, you may spend a Drama Die to heal a Dramatic Wound immediately.

Master Degree
You have learned to focus your inner strength to resist taking damage. You may spend a Drama Die to automatically succeed at a Wound Check, regardless of its TN. You gain another +5 bonus to your TN to be hit, making your TN 15 + 5 x Defensive Knack.

Sorcerous Knacks

Agility. You are incredibly graceful. All Finesse rolls you make, including Attack Rolls, receive a bonus equal to your Rank in this Knack.

Perception. You are alert and perceptive. All of your Wits rolls, including Perception Checks and Active Defenses, receive a bonus equal to your Rank in this Knack.

Speed. Your hands move more quickly than the eye can follow. You receive a bonus to all your Panache rolls equal to your Rank in this Knack. This bonus also applies to your Initiative total, but not to individual Action Dice.

Stamina. You can endure things that would make even the mightiest men fall. Whenever you make a Resolve roll, you receive a bonus equal to your Rank in this Knack.

Strength. You can lift far more than a person of your size, frame, and physique ought to be able to lift. All of your Brawn rolls, including Wound Checks and Damage Rolls for weapons that add your Brawn to their Damage Rating, receive a bonus equal to your Rank in this Knack.

Game Master’s Notes
As a Bargainer’s Art, Huan Shu has an effect on the Barrier, though its effect is much more subtle than other Bargainer Sorceries. Huan Shu provides enormous physical gifts without the need for rigorous training or physical sacrifice. It is an easy art, intended to lure people away from the intensive study of Zhouyi, the magic responsible not only for the Fire Wall but for the establishment (and repair, given enough effort) of the Barrier itself. The fewer Zhouyi Sorcerers on the face of Terra, the less likely it is that a last-minute fix to the Barrier will be made once it is on the verge of collapse.