The Fantastic Boxer Rebellion

Backdrop

The English invaders have scoured China with their boats and their guns, bringing their imperial rule. They have subjugated the population with their soul-numbing opium, and steal China's tea and fortune from under the nose of glassy-eyed addicts. They attempt to destroy the balance that is China.

The Shaolin Monks are an order devoted to perfecting their martial skills through maintaining balance in their souls and minds, and studying the motion of nature. By emulating an animal in martial acts, and maintaining balance in their heart, they are China's best weapons against the cultural and military scourge that is the English.

Organization, Faith, and Charter

The monks do not believe in one God, but that spirits lie within all things, and should be revered. They especially worship the spirits of their ancestors, and respect the martial masters of the animal kingdom: tiger, grasshopper, snake, and others. They are not sanctioned by the Chinese government, but are tolerated, and are thought of by the people as China's last hope.

The monks fight off the English invaders wherever they find them: in small Chinese villages, along the rivers the English gunboats come up, and anywhere they find the loathsome English lodge sorcerers, or even worse, Betrayers - evil Shaolin monks turned to the side of the English.

Code

Minor Laws

One must always respect one's elders.
One must never kill a wild animal except to eat.
One must never act unless the spirit is calm.

Major Laws

One must never endanger innocents with one's action.
One must never allow innocents to be harmed by one's inaction.

Unbreakable Law

One must always obey one's elders.

Arms

The Shaolin Monks are known for their skills with foot and fist. This is the only weapon they need. They wear no armor and carry no sword.

The monks tattoo the backs of their hands with pictures of the animal that has taught them the most about the fighting arts. It is said these tattoos impart amazing abilities to the monks.

Power

The Shaolin Monks' inner peace and balance allows them to affect the world around them in a variety of ways. They can:
Perform amazing feats of strength and agility.
Ignore gravity for short periods of time.
Affect plant and animal life.
Change form into an animal. (This animal must be selected when making the character and is the animal tattooed on the monk's hands.)
Create and control elemental substances - earth, wind, fire, water, and wood.