During the mid-16^th century, a man known only as The Vagabond spent his life wandering Asia searching for physical and spiritual perfection. Over the span of his journeys he traveled from the northern islands of Japan to the Ural Mountains. The Vagabond eventually reached the highest of states, that of an Enlightened Immortal. Prior to this, however, his journeys took him through dangerous territory. In order to protect himself he developed a variety of martial arts in a quest to seek perfection. Yung Huo Jen is one of the arts he developed during the middle portion of his wanderings. Even with Yung Huo Jen’s power and mystic abilities, The Vagabond was not content. After teaching the art to a few disciples who traveled with him for years, he abandoned the art and moved on to another. His disciples, however, formed a dojo secreted away in a valley of the Himalayas. To this day their descendants spread their knowledge to others who come to their dojo. Currently there are nearly five dozen practitioners of Yung Huo Jen in the valley, studying, perfecting, and seeking physical and spiritual balance. Another two dozen students wander the world in search of enlightenment.

Students who wish to learn Yung Huo Jen must journey to the only dojo in the world, deep in the Himalayas Mountains. Training is balanced between grueling physical instruction and equally taxing mental exercises. The final test is to involves musha-shugyo, a traditional period of wandering where the student seeks their position in the cosmos. Some students have wandered for decades before finding their place. Some precocious students have only had to wander for a few years while the most dismal students have never found their place and have died before the truth was revealed to them.

Important Note: Because Yung Huo Jen incorporates so many techniques and because training is so intense, Yung Huo Jen counts as two martial art forms, just like Ninjitsu and Thai Kick Boxing.

Entrance Requirements: M.E. of 10, P.P. of 11
Skill Cost: 14 years. This does not include the period of musha-shugyo. The minimum period of wandering ever known was three years.
Costume: Anything outside of the dojo. Training is conducted in a hakama, a loose jacket, and china flats (the lightweight shoes worn by many kung fu practitioners).
Stance: Weight balanced on the balls of the feet, front foot at 45 degree angle forward, back foot perpendicular. The forward hand is held out in a knife hand position while the rear hand in either on the sword hilt or holding the drawn sword.
Character Bonuses:
+3 to P.P.
+1 to P.S.
+1 to P.E.
+15 to S.D.C.
Combat Skills:
Attacks Per Melee: 4
Escape Moves: Roll with impact, backflip, maintain balance
Attack Moves: Cartwheel, handstand, leap, somersault
Basic Defensive Moves: Dodge, parry, automatic parry
Advanced Defenses: Backflip, combination parry/attack, disarm
Hand Attacks: Strike, knife hand,
Basic Foot Attacks: Kick attack, snap kick, tripping / leg hook, drop kick (can be used with a leg hook), wheel kick, roundhouse, axe kick
Jumping Foot Attacks: Jump kick, flying jump kick, flying reverse turning kick
Special Attacks: Forearm, knee, leap attack
Holds/Locks: None
Weapon Katas: W.P. Sword, at 2 levels higher than the character's current level (1st level martial artist would start with W.P. Sword at level 3).
Modifiers to Attacks: Pull punch, critical strike, critical strike from behind

Skills Included in Training
Martial Art Powers: Select three powers from either Martial Art Techniques or Chi Mastery abilities. In addition, the character automatically gets Iai-Jutsu. If desired, any number of powers other than Iai-Jutsu can be traded, one-for-one, for any basic skill program (excluding physical).
Languages: Chinese
Skills: W.P. Sword, Running, Gymnastics
Philosophical Training: Taoist

Level Advancement Bonuses