Ki

Monks harness their ki in combat.

Ki is a supernatural manifestation of magical power most strongly associated with monks and ninjas, who through training can tap inner reserves of ki to cast spells or enhance their natural physical abilities. Such magic typically manifests as either divine or occult magic.

Practitioners of ki describe it as a force that permeates all living entities and can be honed and focused in ways that allow them to move or think with extraordinary speed, precision, and strength. Ki is sometimes honed through self-questioning practices known as koans.

Among monks

Monks who are especially focused on mastering their ki are sometimes known as qinggong monks, and are capable of extraordinary feats of mobility and manifesting their ki as physical energy.

Among ninjas

Ninjas can focus their practice of ki to fortify their minds through consuming herbs, and can also create poisons infused with their ki, disguise themselves or certain weapons, and evade detection.

Among kineticists

Kineticists specially trained to manipulate life forces and chakras at the Schools of Perfection in Jalmeray can also infuse their elemental powers with ki.

On Golarion

The Arms of Balance, a quartet of ki elementalists from the Academy of Golden Arms in Indapatta, competed as exemplars of their arts at the Ruby Phoenix Tournament of 4719 AR.

The Gugrangmyal and Gutshadmyal xulgath tribes of Zi Ha are the result of experiments in ki manipulation by the samsaran wizard Bakju.

Studies into the nature of ki opened the mind of a young Rivani so greatly that she spontaneously developed psychic powers.

Woodcutters in Quain use qi to apply a hardened grain to their own skin for use as whetstones to sharpen their axes.

In religion

Temples to Irori are usually elaborate complexes filled with rooms for prayer, sleep, and exercise where the faithful train both day and night to achieve perfection and cleanse their ki.

In medicine

A massage therapist.

Chu Ye, prior to being taken over by oni, was once a center of qi studies, in which energy flowed through meridian lines in the bodies of living beings. Qi could be improved through healthy eating or heat, or degraded through disease and poor lifestyles. Practitioners of various techniques, such as acupuncture, massage, cupping, and moxibustion, could quicken or slow qi and regulate its flow to improve health.

External links

• Qi (real-world belief) on Wikipedia
• Koan (real-world practice) on Wikipedia
• Qinggong (real-world practice) on Wikipedia