Heretical Dharmic Paths

Although one Dharma traditionally corresponds to each direction in the annals of the Kuei-jin, not all vampires follow the forms and traditions of Xue. Indeed, far from the centers of Kuei-jin civilization in China and Japan (and even in some places within those August Courts, though the mandarins would deny it), vampires practice beliefs handed down from other cultures. Guided by philosophies codified in ages past, these vampires practice esoteric rituals and cultivate unusual powers. To the settled Kuei-jin, they are a dangerous menace, exposing heretical beliefs. When discovered, they find themselves hunted, reviled and branded akuma. Even so, many parts of the world harbor these students of arcane eccentricities far from the reach of Kuei-jin courts and mortal eyes.

Learning the heresies is no simple matter; a Kuei-jin must have the proper predilections and instructors. The relative scarcity of the heresies means that happenstance is the most common tutor for Running Monkeys. A recently arisen disciple may find himself instructed in the alternate Dharmas by a nearby heretic if no other representative of Kuei-jin society presents herself. Trained in thinking and customs outside of the courts, heretical disciples often find themselves in for rude shocks when meeting Kuei-jin society.

Many of the heresies are founded upon compound virtues, such as a balance between Hun and P'o. In such cases, all Dharmic path rolls are made with the average between the two scores; round halves upward.

Heretical Dharmas do not have lucky numbers; as such, Kuei-jin following these paths gain only their direction numbers for their Horoscopes. Such is the price of following a path outside the confluences of the courts' astrology. Advancement along the heresies proceeds much as with any other Dharma: The Kuei-jin is subject to the vagaries of den. However, the lack of large followings among these Dharmas means that there are few ancestors along these paths. As a result, heretics cannot often rely upon training, but instead must forge ahead from the pieces of enlightenment that they can scavenge from history.

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