Kuei-JinLINK:
Kuei-Jin Species ChartOverview Characters in Kindred of the East (or Kuei-jin, as they call themselves) are vampires as depicted in classical Japanese, Chinese, and Indian Hindu, Taoist, Shinto and Buddhist mythology. Unlike the vampires traditionally associated with Dracula or Caine, Kuei-jin were once mortals who died with the burden of unfulfilled Dharma or duties. Tortured in Yomi for their inadequacies in life, their souls successfully escaped and returned to their bodies. Now half-alive and half-dead, Kuei-jin must live by stealing chi from mortal victims to sustain themselves while trying to fulfill their Dharma. The most convenient form of chi that can be stolen is in blood, leading to their vampiric tendencies, but they cannot create new vampires. Practically all Kindred distrust the Kuei-jin. The Kuei-jin are also known to war with the other sects for territory.
Themes Kuei-jin are beings torn by inner conflict, and the themes of their character relate to this heavily. Unlike Western vampires, Kuei-jin are revenants and thus spiritual beings in nature.
Yin VS Yang The classic opposition of yin and yang are important to Kuei-jin not only for philosophical reasons, but because this dichotomy also delineates the two forms of chi they can potentially ingest. An imbalance of yin or yang chi in their system can lead to dire consequences. Yin-imbalanced Kuei-jin become corpselike zombies suffering from a lack of emotion. At its worst, yin-imbalance reduces a kuei-jin to a Hopping corpse. Yang-imbalanced Kuei-jin suffer wild mood swings and impulsive lusts for food, sex, and other forms of stimulation. Possibly the strangest consequence of yang-imbalance is the ability to have or sire children. Such children are called dhampyrs, and are mortal half-vampires.
Hun VS P'o A Kuei-jin's stint in the hells of Yomi divides the mind into two Hun and po parts: The Hun, or high mind, that is the seat of rational thought, and the P'o, or demon mind, that exists to satisfy its own base urges (usually at the expense of the Hun). As former wraiths, a Kuei-jin has a splinter of the forces of Oblivion in its soul. While many Kuei-jin see their P'o as a curse, it is important to note that without the P'o, they would never have escaped hell in the first place. Furthermore, Kuei-jin who stifle and contain their P'o utterly become cold, calculating individuals who lack any ideological spark; such stagnancy can be devastating when the weight of karma (spiritual consequences of actions) is on one's shoulders.
Mortal VS Spirit The Kuei-jin stand between the mortal world (which they can never fully return to) and the spirit world (which they cannot fully embrace). Many Kuei-jin struggle to find a balance between these two worlds that suits the precise nature of their Dharma.
