Philosophy (Action!)

Confucianism
"Study to develop your natural qualities of goodness."

Discussion
Confucianism is a philosophical and moral tradition that largely defines the society of Shen Zhou. It does not concern itself with deities or lessons about an afterlife, but it has the societal influence one would expect from a state religion. There are Confucian rituals of state that are observed, and its edicts are the context within which citizens of the Land of the Gods think about virtue. The core concepts of Confucianism are Humaneness, as expressed through the pursuit of virtue; Filial Piety, as expressed through the Five Relationships in the Relationships Lore (pg. 151); and Truth, as expressed through the rectification of names.

Humaneness
Harmony is served through personal cultivation and observation of the Virtues,.A person is good if they personify the principles of the “gentleman” - a person of virtue and cultivation that combines the elements of saint, scholar and noble. Given the time and money required to cultivate the proper skills and the pay for higher learning, these tend to hail from nobility. Confucian Gentlemen were supposed to act as moral compasses to society, their every action exemplary: cultivating themselves morally, showing filial piety and loyalty where it was due, and working to be benevolent and humane. Confucius described one opposed to this virtuous figure as the “small person”. Where the gentleman personified virtue, thoughtfulness, and cultivation, the small person is petty, materialistic, greedy, and superficial.

Filial Piety
Meaning “the piety of a child”, this is the virtue Xiao. It deems reverence for one’s father (and by extension all elder relatives and superiors) the very foundation of society. A father’s rule is inherently virtuous: it establishes a clear line of authority and banishes chaos and conflict when every person acts according to their place. The unvirtuous person who sets themselves above this perfect system of respect and obedience only promotes chaos and misrule, no matter their good intentions.

Truth
Confucianists concern themselves with finding the “truth” of every situation. They value the ability to assess their surroundings and identify the relationships at play, so that they may act correctly and observe propriety at all times. This means that a virtuous person acts with reserved curiosity, showing humility in all things. To assume too much could cause you to misjudge and thus treat people improperly, which would make you a source of chaos!

Propriety
20 points You are skillful and knowledgeable on propriety. By paying a Luck point, you discover one local custom that can be beneficial to you and your allies. By paying 2 Luck, you can declare one custom that is inconvenient or unfavorable for an enemy. This can be a lot of help in dealing with one particular situation – i.e., "In the springtime, the magistrate of Three Gorges is beholden to hear out the case of a person wearing the traditional green robes of a scholar" – but will not cause miracles or directly solve problems for you – i.e, "Anyone entering Only Six Devils in the thirteenth hour of the day without singing the traditional rhymes will be sentenced to death by boiling oil!"

Titles and Functions
20 points After performing deeds, or other noteworthy pursuits where your adherence to the Confucian ways are noted, people tend to want to bestow titles and functions upon you. Maybe a local magistrate declares you “Chief Advisor On the Proper Pursuit of Righteous Matters”, or perhaps the local peasants starts talking about you as “the Shining Gentle(wo)man”. Luck: You gain a title that is pertinent to your current situation.

Minions
20 points After displays of virtue and courage, followers begin to flock to your banner. They might not want you to pay them for their services, but they will probably expect you to keep being an inspirational figure. Luck: A gang of 2d10 unnamed Minions show up to help you.

Confucian Minions
Attributes 5, Str 6, Tou 6, Wit 4, Emp 4, Action(MA) 10, Social(Willpower) 10. Shot 3, Hand weapon 10+9.

Gentle Scholar
2 points You get +10 EV when you act according to the Confucian ideals, and -5 EV when you do not.

Daoism
"If you can understand the Dao, it is not The Dao."

The Natural Way
"Manifest plainness, Embrace simplicity, Reduce selfishness, Have few desires." As an ethical tradition, Daoism emphasizes the Three Treasures of the Dao, which are understood to be compassion (kindness to other people), moderation (the absence of excess), and humility (modesty). A proper Daoist tries to live by these principles, although they are expressed differently among differing traditions and individuals. Philosophically, Daoism focuses on the principles of nature (the relationship between humans and the universe, as part of the larger system of the natural world and its interacting forces), health (cultivation and internal alchemy), and Wu Wei.

New Virtue:Dao
As Karma.

Secrets not done
May improve used Weapons with xp. May pay Luck for food and lodging.

0 Bonus: It is good to not worry too much about material things! By spending a point of Chivalrous Joss, you ensure you’ll find a roof over your head and food in your stomach for the night. By spending a point of Corrupt Joss, you ensure you can endure the rage of the elements and the rumblings of an empty belly without problems. 5 Destiny: You are more than a virtuous Daoist – you have taken the first step towards Enlightenment! You start out with a value of 1 in the DaoVirtue, which can be raised like any other. 10 Treasure: Some of the Legendary Weapons are intimately tied to the principles of Daoism – like the famed Dragon Well Swordor the mysteriousThousand-Form Sun. Due to the workings of the Dao, one of these might fall in your lap. It might happen as a result of a Deed of Dao, or seem to come completely out of nowhere – clearly some unseen balancing of the natural scales! It might even be the result of a spiritual quest, a dream journey in one of your meditations. The way it arrives in your hands tends to fit the principles of Dao; it might even be one of your own meager possessions suddenly revealing its true nature! -2:You have to go through some sort of trial before it is revealed to you – maybe this is revealed to you in a dream, or maybe it’s just obvious in the larger scheme of things. The Sage decides on something appropriate befitting the Dao. When (and if) you succeed in this quest, you are allowed to pay the Destiny to achieve the weapon. (As per usual for Entanglements, it could also be bought for you by the Sage or another player.) -4:All things are impermanent! The weapon is extraordinarily powerful – it counts as a fully developed Legacy Weapon with 50 Glory – but simply passes through your hands, disappearing after fulfilling its purpose. It stays with you for the duration of one story and is then lost, never to be held by you again. You can only take this option once per game. +3:This counts as a Special Weapon. 4 Destiny:Once per game, probably after having withdrawn from society for a while to meditate, you emerge from the wilderness as a new person. You can discard your old Archetype, gaining another in its stead – meaning that you can gain Cultivation by spending Destiny on Secret Arts native to your new one. Even more extraordinary, you may refund some or all of the Destiny spent on your old native Secret Art and buy up your new native Art, if you wish. 1-5 Status: Your Deeds (Dao or others) bring recognition. Maybe you are offered membership in an existing Daoist sect – maybe you are simply recognized as a person particulary wise in the workings of the Natural Way.

Legalism
"Strong laws restrain the natural human tendency towards depravity." Like Confucianism, Legalism rose from the strife of the Time of Chaos, and seeks to pose a means to promote stability and harmony. It has a much less optimistic view on human nature – in the eyes of a Legalist, humans are fundamentally weak, flawed, selfish, and evil! A strong individual ruler does little to promote stability. At best, they stave off chaos temporarily, and at worst, they promote chaos; since the ruler has the highest authority, their people will seek to rise in status by accommodating their wishes and desires. This creates corruption and conflict. The Legalist's answer, therefore, is the ascendance of the law as ultimate ruler. If everyone is equal under the rule of law, no one can be exempt from it. If everyone is rewarded for abiding by the law and punished when they break it, stability and harmony will follow. It matters little whether they are a charismatic ruler or a weak one, since they are merely executors of the law. Han Feizi speaks of the three tools of auspicious rulership: Law is the first and foremost. The code must be written and public. When it is known to all, the consequences of all actions shall be predictable, and people are encouraged to adhere to its edicts. All people shall be equal under its rule! Since the system of law is what ultimately runs the state, even a weak ruler will be made strong. This also makes the state less vulnerable to the chaotic whims of a single, ruling individual. Tactics are employed by the ruler to protect the state from being taken over by others. Foremost of these secret tactics is the maintenance of the “mystery of rulership”; this is how the lord conceals their own desires and personal motivations. Their reasons for handing out orders should be mysterious and their ultimate goals shrouded in mystery, so that no one will know how to please their ruler except by following the letter of the law. Influence entails being mindful of one's own position. It is the seat of power that maintains the right to rule, not the person in that seat. A proper Lord must make sure to always analyze the current trends and the relationships that spawn them to be knowledgeable of what goes on in their realm, and therefore be prepared to rule it. This need to know is a right and proper thing, and any means by which they learn of their realm justify themselves. The Emperors of Shen Zhou have long ruled according to a complex system of Confucian and Legalist principles. One expression of Legalism is the rule of ministers, the intricate bureaucracy of the courts. Within its labyrinthine folds, each of the thousands upon thousands of ministers and bureaucrats are ordered by an intricate system of checks and balances. Each knows exactly what they need to perform their particular job, and each is always reporting back to someone else who has the responsibility to measure and track their work.

Virtuous Cruelty
10 points You may buy yet another pool of points to be spent as Luck points. You gain Virtuous Cruelty 1.

Dispassion
20 points Presence: You gain +d10 AV to any Social Action or Defense. Luck: You gain 10 AV to any Social Action or Defense.

Mohism
Its practitioners are few in number next to the millions of Confucianists and Legalists, probably because of its open criticism of certain Confucian ideals. Mohists argue the virtue of universal care, Ren; instead of merely caring for your family and observing ritual patterns of relationship, a virtuous person should be willing to show generosity and love towards anyone, be they close relatives or complete strangers. The Mohist schools have a peculiar relationship to the concept of warfare. They firmly condemn offensive warfare as a despicable act lacking any moral value. (This has not gained them any popularity among Shen Zhou’s nobility.) However, they traditionally take after the great sage Mozi. He was an artisan who rose to position through his own merits, a master strategian, and an engineer of legendary prowess. As his followers often came from the same class of craftsmen, Mohist sects still have the most brilliant battlefield engineers known to Shen Zhou! It is not uncommon for single Mohists to answer the call of a besieged city or province to lend their considerable skills at defense. Being firm ascetics, they refuse payment for this work beyond food, lodgings, and mending their clothes. Mohists also cherish the principle of meritocracy – a person should be able to rise to any position they are qualified for, and conversely should be barred from responsibilities they cannot handle. Needless to say, these thoughts verge on heretical in places; yet another reason why Mohists are persecuted by nobility. (Unless, of course, it is wartime and the nobility need their defensive expertise..) The most famous Mohist sect in Shen Zhou is the Yellow Ink Sect, who built their stronghold high up where the mighty river flows into the Five Ox mountain chain. The path to the fortress is said to be filled with intricate innovations that can make roads and bridges appear and disappear according to the wills of the engineers. The fortress is a place of learning, where the Mohists act as teachers to guests and the needy, or anyone who makes it there on their own. The Yellow Ink masters are rumored to have created great secrets of kung fu to mimic their marvels of engineering – fighting styles that emulate great fortresses and allow the sect members to fight in unassailable formations!

Wits
20 points You may use Deceit/Tactics as Interaction/Social.

Peerless Engineering
20 points Once per game, you can make a peerless feat of engineering and bring a world-changing invention to Shen Zuo. While technically anachronistic, this should be fitting to the tone of the game. An intricate system of water-powered locks that allow ships to sail uphill might be fitting, as might some sort of steam train.

Ren
Varies Your display of universal care and abhorrence for needless violence opens the eyes of your opponents. After defeating an enemy, you can choose to inspire them towards Benevolence – maybe towards Universal Care, where the Sage feels it appropriate. You may also buy them as Allies for 1/10 of their experience sum.

The Four Noble Truths
The Truth of Suffering To live is to suffer; this is the first and most important truth that the novice learns. A life contains a multitude of sorrows, yet one cannot allow oneself to fall to despair. One must simply recognize this first of the Noble Truths to be able to see the world as it is, and to reach rectification. The Truth of the Cause of Suffering All suffering derives from desire and ignorance. Desire is our craving for pleasure, happiness, and material goods; while achievable in the short term, this happiness is fleeting. Our thirst is ultimately unquenchable. A mind ignorant about the true state of things looks only to the near future – without capacity for concentration or insight, it is left undeveloped and unable to grasp the true nature of the world. Vices such as the Corrupt Virtues stem from this ignorance. The Truth of the End of Suffering Suffering ends only with the end of your existence on this earth – which is to say, death – or in spirit, which is to achieve Nirvana; to transcend the states of suffering and rebirth and reach true freedom and Enlightenment. The Truth of the Path to the End of Suffering A person collects karma as a result of their actions. Good karma comes from good deeds. (These can stem from negative action – i.e. abstaining from doing something bad even when tempted to do so by circumstance, or else from positive actions such as benevolence, righteousness and meditation.) In the long run, they bring happiness. Conversely, bad actions such as stealing, lying, or killing brings bad karma. They bring about unhappiness and weigh your soul down. Being born as a human in the realm of men offers a unique opportunity to approach the Enlightenment of Nirvana; this is done by following the Noble Eightfold Path of right understanding, thought, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and concentration.

The Noble Eightfold Path
In Shen Zhou, these eight practices are generally divided into three groups, each practiced and cultivated in a different manner: Good moral understanding(Understanding, Thought, Speech): This is practiced through the learning of Skills, interactions with the world, practice of External styles, and striving for proper moral Deeds. Meditation and mental cultivation(Action, Livelihood, Effort): This is achieved through meditation and internal Cultivation - including Internal styles. Wisdom(Mindfulness and Concentration): This is achieved by focusing on acts of Buddhist Piety and careful action.

Enlightenment
Varies Humble in victory, you inspire virtue in your opponents! After defeating an enemy, you can choose to inspire them towards Benevolence – maybe towards Piety, where the Sage feels it appropriate. You may also buy them as Allies for 1/10 of their experience sum.

Karma
10 points You may buy yet another pool of points to be spent as Luck points. You gain Karma 1.