Page 1: Your Tao (Tao, Taoist Philosphy, and Tao Heart)

Page 2: Your Cultivation (Generation and Cultivation Realm)

Page 3: Your Personal History, Part 1 (Taoist Roots)

Page 4: Your Personal History, Part 2 (Encounters)

Page 7: Your Skills and Wealth, Part 1 (Advantages and Custom Treasures)

Page 9: Trials and Tribulations, Part 1 (Drawbacks)

Page 10: Trials and Tribulations, Part 2 (Gathering Points)

KtH Version 1

Page 1: Your Foundation

Page 2: Your Personal History

Page 3: Your Martial Arts

Page 4: Your Wealth and Perks

Page 5: Your Drawbacks and Power Level (WIP)

Various Xianxia Rants

https://rentry.org/XianxiaRants

Appendix Five (How to Make Techniques)

How to Design Techniques

In the second Appendix page, various examples of different techniques were given. However, those techniques were fairly bare bones- they only really scratched the surface. This section however, will discuss how to go about the process of creating your own techniques in depth, along with another in depth explanation of each type of technique. Before you proceed, know that this section and the techniques shown in Appendix 2 are two different extremes in terms of detail, but neither is objectively a right or wrong approach. If you yourself aren't interested in going deep into this stuff, then don't sweat the details! It's fine to just briefly describe what the technique does and call it good then and there. This section is meant to serve as an aid to those that wanted to dive deep into the details but weren't sure exactly how to do so.... So, without further ado- let's begin!

Step 1: What kind of technique?

There are 5 categories of techniques each with 4 types of techniques, making for a total of 20. Before we think about anything else, we should consider what kind of technique you plan to make. In the case of free techniques granted by your Taoist Roots and Fighting Style, this is pretty simple- the type of technique is laid out for you.

I'll also take this moment to mention that some types of techniques cannot be used at the same time. Cultivation Techniques cannot be used alongside any other techniques, and attempting to do so will more than likely result in death. Attack, Barrage, Ambush, Trump Card, Barrier, Reversal, Life Saving, Escape, and in some cases Auxilliary Techniques, cannot be used alongside anything else in that list. (Meaning you can use a Footwork Technique and an Attack Technique at the same time, but you can't use a Reversal Technique and a Barrage Technique at the same time). The only exception is if you have the Second Style advantage, in which case you may use two types of techniques in that list simultaneously. (It doesn't have to be a specific pair by the way).

Cultivation Techniques - these are techniques that you use on yourself rather than others, that have very small but permanent effects. Using the technique itself is meaningless in combat, but the technique may have side effects that do have meaning in combat. In other words, these techniques are about improving yourself.

Qi, Body, and Soul Cultivation Techniques - All three types do roughly the same thing- they are the process through which a cultivator increases their Cultivation Realm. In other words, it's how they level up. Beyond that, these techniques also tend to grant some effect to the thing being being improved- that being your Qi, your Body, or your Soul. When designing one of these techniques, you should focus on giving yourself the ability to do something a person can't normally do. In other words, it should be a qualitative change rather than a quantitative one.

Supporting Cultivation Techniques - The fourth type of cultivation technique doesn't improve your cultivation realm, and instead it is some method of improving yourself within your realm. In other words, it's about quantitative changes rather than qualitative ones. For the record, supporting techniques are relative to the user's current realm, meaning you can't just use ten different supporting techniques and gain the ability to fight people 6 grades above yourself. If you find yourself asking 'then why would anyone waste time on them instead of a normal cultivation technique?'- the answer is that Supporting Techniques are much faster to cultivate. You can generally assume that the time it takes master the current stage of your Supporting Technique is around 1% of the time it takes to reach the next cultivation realm. Anyway, when making one, you should focus on the ability to do something you could already do better than before. It should allow you to specialize in some specific. As a side note, 'cultivate faster' is technically something you can already do, so Supporting Cultivation Techniques that improves your cultivation speed is an actual thing. Dual-Cultivation (i.e. techniques that use sex to cultivate) are sometimes this kind of technique. KtH doesn't have mechanical support for this however (there was issues with point efficiency and balance), so I'd advice refluffing another purchase, such as talent, a cultivation pill, or something like that as such a technique rather than trying to buy one directly.

Which to use? - Qi, Body, and Soul Cultivation Techniques are things you should already have one of, thanks to your Taoist Roots. You should only be buying one if you want to branch out and practice multiple kinds of cultivation. (Note that non-supporting Cultivation Techniques of the same type are always incompatible with each other). A supporting Cultivation Technique is something you should consider if you want to specialize in something specific- like being faster or having more energy to use on techniques.

Offensive Techniques - Fairly straight forward, these are techniques that are meant to attack something. Offensive techniques can be used to block attacks and may have some movement as part of the attack, but they won't be comparable to Defensive or Movement techniques in either case- trying to use them for either purpose will be a lot less effective, putting you at a hefty disadvantage if your opponent is of similar strength. I would consider these to be essential, unless you have some very specific niche in mind, like being a complete pacifist.

Barrage, Attack, and Trump Card Techniques - These are the 'normal' methods of attacking. The main difference between them is simply the ceiling for how much force you can put in vs how fast and efficient the technique is. Trump Cards are so devastating that they can punch up a grade and harm people stronger than you, let alone people in the same Cultivation Realm, but they are horribly inefficient- at best you can use it a few times before you run out of energy. Plus, using all that energy means leaving yourself open, both before and after. They're usually used at range rather than close up to mitigate risks, but if you can successfully use one point blank the lethality is pretty extreme. Barrage Techniques are the complete opposite- they don't do much damage unless they strike a vital, but they're extremely efficient- if a Trump Card is spending 1500 units of energy to do 600 points of damage, a Barrage technique is like spending 1 unit of energy to do 30 points of damage. Moreover, because they're so cheap, they can be used much faster with no breaks in between to gather more energy, enabling a death by a thousand cuts strategy- they can be considered the 'basic attack' option of the three. Attack techniques are the middle child- like spending 120 units of energy to do 120 points of damage. They can't normally be spammed like a Barrage Technique, but you don't especially leave yourself open either. You can operate these techniques at a lower level, but the efficiency doesn't change- so 30 points of damge with a trump card would cost 75 points of energy and 120 points of damage would need 300 units. This lowers the energy usage, and therefore means you don't leave yourself open very much, if at all, but at that point it's all around inferior to just using a Barrage or Attack technique. (Do note that numbers used are purely illustrative, and don't denote the exact gaps in strength or efficiency!)

Ambush Techniques - These are the more indirect methods of attacking. By default, they're more like Attack Techniques, but less efficient and less damaging. You could also style them as being more like Barrage Techniques or Trump Cards, but in those cases the 'less efficient and less damaging' bit is still true. There's no strict rules here, simply that these techniques have a focus on doing something more than hitting hard- maybe they accomplish something like a status effect, or maybe they have a really tricky means of bypassing the opponents defenses such that the attack is hard to block or dodge. Whatever it accomplishes, if you style your Ambush Technique as more like a Trump Card, then this effect is probably a lot stronger, perhaps being effectively impossioble to dodge. The reverse is also true- if you style your Ambush Technique as a Barrage Technique, then the special effect is less potent- perhaps it delivers a weaker poison that needs a heavy dosage to really be lethal. As a special note, many ambush techniques are designed to counter something- a stealthy attack to counter an enemy with a detection technique, a poisonous attack to counter an enemy too sturdy to kill quickly, etc. However, an ambush technique should only have one thing special about it- it shouldn't be both undodgeable and unblockable for example. Take care not to create an 'I win button'.

Which to use? - If you don't have a specific usage in mind or you just want something useful for all occasions, then an Attack Technique is probably a safe bet. Barrage Techniques are better for when you want to show off how fast and technical your character is, either by blitzing the enemy in a furious close combat assault or just covering the sky in 10,000 fireballs. Trump Cards are aptly named- you should pick them if you want a big finishing move, showing off overwhelming power, or if you simply prefer short fights where each side trades a couple heavy hits instead of countless little ones. Ambush techniques on the other hand show either deviousness or simple practicality, being the favourites of assassins and level-headed tacticians. If what you need is a way to play 4D chess when you fight, or you just need a tool to combat a specific fighting style, they're a solid choice.

Defensive Techniques - Also straight forward, these are techniques that are meant to be used in response to Offensive Techniques or other forms of attack. Like with Offensive Techniques, they shouldn't be used to perform the role of other kinds of techniques- for example, a reversal technique itself shouldn't have much potential to do harm (i.e. if you cast it on it's own without an incoming attack to redirect, then it shouldn't do a whole lot). I would consider these to be non-essential, but still useful.

Endurance Techniques - Endurance techniques are the weakest defensive techniques, but also the easiest to use. So much so that unlike the other kinds of defensive techniques, Endurance Techniques can be used alongside other defensive techniques or offensive techniques. In terms of gaming words, such techniques are more like toggleable skills- you turn them on, they slowly drain a teeny bit of your energy, and it doesn't take much effort to maintain. You can realistically keep an Endurance Technique active 24/7 if you really want to. However, as stated, these techniques don't have a lot of stopping power- most of the time, they focus on reducing damage and diverting damage away from your vitals instead of entirely negating an enemy attack. Endurance Techniques can also be used to ensure your attacks aren't interrupted- like for example when you're trying to use a Trump Card but your opponent rushes in with a Barrage Technique to stop you. An Endurance Technique might be the difference between you being seriously injured while your opponent is reduced to a large grease stain vs you being seriously injured and then exploding because your technique detonated inside your body, leaving your opponent injured but still very much alive.

Barrier Techniques - Barrier Techniques are the most average of defensive techniques- they don't do anything too fancy, but they have firm and reliable defenses and reasonable efficiency. Barrier Techniques are methods of dedicated defense, well suited to protecting the user along with anyone near the user. Barrier Techniques might even be usable at range, as a means of protecting someone else entirely. Additionally, in most cases, barriers will maintain themselves for a bit after being cast, at which point the user is no longer exerting any control over or feeding energy into the barrier and is free to use other techniques. (You are free to restablish control over a previously made barrier to replenish its energy or alter it's shape or position- provided you aren't currently using another technique you can't normally use alongside a barrier technique). Although most Barrier Techniques are capable of changing size and shape, they don't have the ability to crush anything inside. They can however be used to trap someone, forcing them to break the barrier to escape. A lot of cultivators actually practice Barrier Techniques to trap their opponents in with themselves. Many high level cultivators use them to ensure weaker beings aren't harmed when they starting lobbing country sized fireballs at their enemy.

Reversal Techniques - The most aggresive of the defensive techniques, as these attacks redirect an attack (usually back at the attacker) rather than simply neutralizing it. This requires using more energy than the technique being redirected, but can be quite devatating. A bit like Ambush Techniques, it's OK to style a Reversal Technique as being a bit stronger or weaker, but that comes with the same condition that it's less or more efficient. In other words, a Reversal Technque made to counter a Trump Card is extremely inefficient- probably enough that you could only use it at full strength once, or not at all if you were already tired. Using it at a lower level wouldn't be very efficient either- you'd likely spend far more energy countering the attack than your opponent spent attacking you. A Barrage Technique level Reversal Technique is the opposite- far more efficient than normal, and far quicker to use, but in exchange it can only handle similarly weak technique. Even an Attack Technique would be able to ignore it. Regardless, Reversal Techniques are very strong- they're a packaged deal of defense and offense. The biggest flaw is that they can fail- due to user error rather than random chance. If your timing is off, you don't use the right amount of energy, or the exact attributes of your technique don't mix so well with the incoming attack, it's possible that your Reversal Technique won't prove useful. For example, a Reversal Technique made to redirect projectile attacks might not work so well against a melee attack, or a Reversal Technique that uses water might end up neutralizing an incoming fire based technique instead of properly reversing it. The worst outcome is that you miss your timing or don't use enough energy- in which case you might just waste your technique and get hit directly.

Life Saving Techniques - The defensive version of a Trump Card, and something with the strength to stop the a Trump Card. Naturally, a Life Saving Technique has the strength to protect you from most non-Trump Card techniques used even by enemies a Cultivation Realm higher than yourself. And also naturally, these techniques have no mind for efficiency. As a rule, a few uses will drain all your energy.
These techniques have a slight advantage over Trump Cards in that they're usually a bit quicker to use, but the recoil afterwards is a bit longer, which can become an opening if an enemy attacks right after the technique ends. (And if you're wondering, you can take more time preparing the technique to reduce the recoil. You likely can't completely remove it, but it does help.) Another benefit of Life Saving Techniques is that they have enough brute force to defend against most Ambush Techniques- I suppose you can think of it like an armor piercing bullet trying to penetrate two feet of solid steel. Of course, this also depends on the exact techniques being used- if the Life Saving Technique forms an impenatrable shield, but the Ambush Technique circles around and smacks you from behind, it's only going to work if you face the shield in the right direction. On the other hand, the shield would probably be able to block an Ambush technique with the power to teleport the attack past barriers and obstacles.

Which to use? - Defensive Techniques actually have fairly defined niches- Barrier Techniques are the best at area defense and are very reliable. They're a safe bet for a default option, and a great choice for good guys and scheming murders alike. Reversal Techniques are the high risk high reward option for sudden comeback victories or simply flexing your superior skill. Endurance Techniques are good for close combat and defending against sudden assassinations. Life Saving Techniques are literally there to save your life when you're about to die, a fan favourite for anyone with a love of flashy moves.

Movement Techniques - The last of the straight forward ones! These are techniques that are meant to enable high speed movements, such as dodging attacks, chasing after enemies, etc. As before, these aren't meant to be substitues for other kinds of techniques- moving really fast and ramming yourself into the enemy isn't going to deal any meaningful damage unless the target is a lot weaker than yourself. I would consider these to be essential, as without one you'll almost always be at a huge disadvantage no matter what your fighting sytle is... To put in in context, have you ever gone over your weight limit in a video game, causing you to be stuck walking really slowly? Imagine trying to fight like that. From your opponent's perspective, that's what you'll seem like. It's a big handicap.

Footwork, Traveling, and Escape Techniques - These are fairly similar techniques, just with different focuses on efficiency- a lot like Attack, Barrage, and Trump Card Techniques. Traveling and Footwork Techniques have the same maximum speed, however Footwork Techniques have far better acceleration and maneuverability, whereas Traveling Techniques have far better efficiency. In most cases, a Footwork technique is a much better option in combat. Traveling Techniques especially suffer in close combat, where the superior maneuverability of Footwork Techniques truly shines. However, in long ranged combat Traveling Techniques work pretty well, and they have the advantage of outrunning Footwork Techniques in the event of a chase. Naturally, if combat isn't a concern, then Traveling Techniques are the better option. Escape Techniques are the ultimate emergency techniques, such that even enemies a Cultivation Realm higher will be left in your dust. However, these techniques are the most taxing of all- using one will exaust all of your energy and will leave you severely injured to boot.

Stealth Techniques - These are the movement version of Ambush Techniques- less efficent, slower, but have special effects. Typically, this involves hiding your aura, becoming invisible, etc. They are still a lot faster than not having a movement technique at all. Pretty simple stuff! Stealth Techniques are how you sneak around, and can be a great way to start or disengage from a fight.

Which to use? - Stealth techniques really stand for themselves- grab one if you want to be stealthy. If you have an interests in close combat, I'd suggest taking a Footwork technique. Otherwise it's a toss-up between a Footwork technique or a Traveling technique. Both are handy, and having at least one of the three is advised. Escape Techniques are more niche, if I'm being honesty- unless it really suits the character, or you really stacked the drawbacks that make the world hate you, they're not too important.

Auxilliary Techniques - This is the mixed bag as far as categories are considered. Auxilliary Techniques are more or less just 'the things that didn't fit in the previous categories'. I would not consider these to be essential unless your build explicitly practices them, although I will generally recommend having a detection technique, especially for non-body tempering cultivators, as detection techniques are how you avoid getting stabbed in the back by the guy that knows how to become invisible. That said, Auxilliary Techniques can become a valid substitute for other kinds of techniques. There is no 'which to use section here', as these techniques are the quirkier ones.

Profession Techniques - The most iconic techniques when discuessing Auxilliary Techniques. So much so that I originally just called them Auxilliary Techniques. These are a bit different from usual- rather than a specific move or action, these are entire systems of knowledge. For example, Item Refining Techniques include an encyclopedia of rare ores, woods, and monster materials. It would also include minor techniques for controlling the heat of the refining furnace with extreme precision, knowledge of how to inscribe magical effects into objects, and sometimes even smithing techniques for the more hands on item refiners. Every profession technique is essentially a small library of a specific field of knowledge. You may optionally give your profession technique some special feature that helps it feel unique- maybe it's good at mass production, for example. The only iron rule is that Profession Techniques are not made for direct combat use. A tamer Profession Technique could prepare beasts and command them in battle, but it cannot mind control enemies currently fighting you. A musician Profession Technique might be able to affect combat in some way, but the musician themsleves won't be able to move or fight for themselves while doing so. Combat applications of these concepts would be their own techniques- a harp technique that assaults the enemy with deadly sound waves might be an attack technique for example.

Detection Techniques - This is pretty simple stuff- anything that deals with sensing things goes here. This isn't required to feel auras or make deductions based on those auras- that's just a basic cultivator skill that everyone has. Anything else, from seeing accross the horizon, to hearing people's thoughts, to detecting user's of stealth techniques- that all goes here. Some kinds of divination techniques, like seeing a few seconds into the future or peering a few years into the past would also go here, provided the effects are consistent- just keep in mind that the future isn't set in stone, so your cool future sight ability might lead you astray. In most cases, these techniques are pretty easy to use and maintain, such that keeping them on 24/7 can be done if needed. If you do dedicate your full attention and effort to the technique, the effects can be improved.

Summoning Techniques - Summong Techniques exist to create something to do something else for you. They can deliver messages and items in your stead. They can fight for you. You can ride them and use them in place of a movement technique. They can realistically mimic any of the previous categories or types of techniques- the sole exception is Profession Techniques, as summoned entities are artificial, and you can't really expect it to do something you yourself don't know how to do. On the flip side, if you do know a Profession Technique, it might be possible to have your summoned entities perform it. However, Summoning Techniques have their own issues. One is casting time. Depending on the technique, summonings can take days, months, years, centuries, etc. The next is strength- summons rarely have more than 70% of the user's strength, and in many cases have as little as 10%. Another issue is duration. Some summons only stay for a short while, needing constant focus and energy to maintain, others stay for a while without any extra effort, while others, known as 'clones' are fully permanent, requiring no further effort and lasting until destroyed. Summoning Techniques also tend to have a set number of maximum summons- some allow for thousands of summons, while others might only permit a single one to exist at the same time. As a rule, a Clone Technique is permanent, only allows a single summon, needs a very long casting time, but has very high strength, being 70% of the user's strength or higher. Notice how two of those things are bad (Casting time and number of summons), and the other two are good (duration and strength)? That's the general rule for how this works. So you could trade high strength for greater numbers and have hundreds of 10% strength clones. Or you could give up on permanent summons in exchange for a cast time short enough to use in combat- that kind of thing. Additionally, if the summoning technique is not permanent, and requires constant focus and energy to maintain (meaning it cannot be used alongside most other techniques), then you may break the 70% cap and have the it wield 100% of your strength.
It's easy to accidentally power game with Summoning Techniques, so caution is advised.

Other Techniques - Quite literally anything. In general, the rule of stronger = less efficient, weaker = more efficient is the only real restriction. When in doubt, you should probably assume these can't be used alongside other techniques, but it isn't a hard rule. If possible, try to slot something into the previous categories, but if your idea is just too weird and unexpected, then don't let that hold you back!

Step 2: History and Tao

With the type of your technique selected, it's time to discuss the themes and specific effects your technique might have! For that sake, we need to start with a very important question- 'Who made the technique and why?'. Techniques aren't a naturally occuring resource. Someone had to develop it themselves. When thinking about a technique, this is a great place to start. In fact, if you're not sure about what kind of techniques to give your character, then you might want to think about this step before deciding what kind of technique you're making.

Who Made the Technique? - You don't need to think up an entire life story for the person that made your technique, but if possible try to think of something broad. A wandering warrior who roamed the land, seeking only defeat. A benevolent doctor who taught the masses the way of medicine without ever accepting payment. A brutal warlord that trusted nothing but his own fists. A wasteful young master whose only success in life was the creation this very technique. A graceful but tragic musician that died as a casualty to a great conflict. These are a few examples- and if needed you might look to the Taoist Roots selection for inspiration. Of course, your character might very well have created his own techniques! In which case, it might be his/her own creation. If your technique is an upgraded one it might mean that the technique is as strong as a Grade 10 technique rather than actually being one. In other words, you can choose to say that an upgraded Grade 3 technique is just a really nice Grade 3 technique instead of a Grade 10, which would mean the technique is more powerful than a regular Grade 3 technique, but would still became obsolete in the hands of a cultivator of the 4th or higher Cultivation Realm. (If you do this, feel free to assume your character will either improve the technique to a higher Grade themselves or find an technique that fulfills that same purpose in the event that their upgraded techniques become obsolete- it's only fair since you did pay for a technique that you won't outgrow so easily). The reason to do this comes back to the question of 'Who Made the Technique'. If the creator is only a Grade 3 cultivator, they won't normally have the ability to make a Grade 10 technique. Downgrading your technique like this helps maintain consistency if the technique's creator wasn't some super amazing god-like figure.

Of course, there's also the option that your technique might have multiple creators. For example, maybe it was a group of 7 scholars who gathered together to create it. Or maybe the technique was perfected over time by different users- like a family technique that started out as a lowly Grade 1, and was slowly refined and improved as it passed from father to son, finally reaching Grade 10 over countless generations of hard work- you yourself might have even been the one to finally perfect it!

You should also take into consideration the question of 'Where did you obtain the technique'. The free techniques from your Taoist Roots are meant to represent gifts from your sect, and normally that means techniques that are the core teachings of your sect. That could mean it was created by the sect's founder or some other noteworthy figure in the sect's history- perhaps even the person that taught you how to cultivate. Alternatively, it could mean that the technique was a spoil of war that the sect gained at some point, in which case you might stop to consider what kind of enemies your sect might have made in the past. Another possibility is that your sect is, in some form, derived from another sect. Perhaps it's a branch of a greater organization, or perhaps your sect was founded on the ruins of an old, destroyed sect, unearthing their legacies to learn from. For other sources of techniques (such as your fighting style, or your own purchases), they could also come from your sect, or perhaps they are the fruits of your own labor- something you unearthed from a ruin, seized from an enemy, or carefully crafted yourself.

What Was the Creator's Tao? - It's easy to forget this sometimes, but a technique is more than just a magic spell or a cool martial arts move- a technique is a reflection of someone's life philosphy- their Tao. A technique should tie back to the Tao of whoever made it. From a purely meta standpoint, the more similar the creator's Tao is to your own, the more effective it will be in your hands (and naturally your own techniques are the most suitable for yourself). However, it isn't always easy to find a technique that matches your own Tao- sometimes you have to settle for something unrelated, or even something outright contradictory. Such techniques might be weaker, but it could also be a chance to show traits of your character or their life history outside of their core theme. For example, perhaps they once studied under a teacher with radically different beliefs, with a technique of that teacher's style being proof of that relationship.

Naturally, the Tao practiced by the technique's creator should show in the exact effects of the technique. An attack technique made by a practitioner of the Tao of Medicine chould be merciful, with the intent to subdue rather than destroy. A traveling technique made by a practitioner of the Tao of Dragons could be reckless and proud- focusing purely on unrivaled speed. A barrier technique made by a practitioner of the Tao of Heartlessness could be specialized in only defending the user, as the creator saw no meaning in defending someone else. Or perhaps a practitioner of the Tao of Devil Slaying might create an Ambush Technique that has an even easier time penetrating the defenses of evil-doers.

Keep in mind that there is no lesser or greater Tao- a humble sounding Tao like basket weaving or raindrops has just as much potential as something gradoise like time or destiny. You can have low level techniques with an ambitious, over-the-top Tao, or high level techniques with a simple and elegant Tao.
The greatness of a technique is only a reflection of the tireless effort and ingenuity of its creator.

Why Did they Make the Technique? - Lastly, you can take a moment to consider the intentions of the creator. Did they want to create a legacy that would benefit all of humanity? If so, the technique might be very easy to use and have very generic attributes, such that anyone could practice it. Did they want to aid a kindred spirit who was just like themselves, perhaps even their own descendant? If so, the technique might have very strict requiremenst, demanding a specific mindset, specific talents, or even that the user be a specific race or bloodline. Or perhaps the creator never intended for someone else to inherit the technique, as it was only meant for their own usage, and if so it might have requirements so specific that no one but yourself and the technique's creator have a use for it. It could even be the case that the creator of the technique wanted to harm others, producing a technique that intentionally inflicts harm upon the user. Another example could be that circumstances forced the creator to produce a technique they normally wouldn't- for example, perhaps a benevolent doctor was forced to turn his acupuncture needles and knowledge of the human body into a deadly weapon, all in order to save his loved ones. As a result, a deadly Ambush Technique is created that quietly kills the enemy while being as merciful as possible. Or perhaps a violent and evil devil was captured and forced to practice medicine- if he wanted to live, he needed to save as many lives as he killed. However, as he knew little of medicine, he turned instead to poisons, creating a Medical Profession Technique focused on neutralizing poisons and illnesses through the power of other poisons.

You can also consider the question of 'When did the creator of the technique create the technique'? Did they lovingly craft it in their old age, hoping that the younger generation could inherit their Tao? Or was it something they created in their youth, slowly developing it to suit their needs as they progressed along their own journey to immortality? There's also the question of what era the technique is from- the current era and the one right before it were plagued with conflict, but prior to the rise of the All-Devouring Devil Sovereign, the world was rather peaceful. Martial Arts was more of a art than a tool for killing back then, and as a result older techniques might be less practical and more about presentation. (Of course, if your technique is exceedingly old and practical, it might simply mean the creator was an eccentric, or that the technique was modified some time in the last era... Or maybe the creator was a Devil Sect member- they were always rather bloodthirsty.)

Step 3: Create the Technique!

Now that you know roughly what the technique should do, as well as what kind of person created it and why, it's time to create the technique. Admittedly, I don't have anything too special here. Take a moment to browse the example techniques to get an idea for what you can do mechanically, and then find a way to accomplish that mechanical need in a way that thematically matches the person that made the technique. From here on, everything relies on your creativity. At most, I can give examples.

Example 1 - Let's say for example that we're making a technique for a member of a Scholarly Sect. She's quite erudite, and as such her fighting Style is talismans... Regretfully, she's a bit lacking in terms of offensive Techniques. However, she's not confident in any direct confrontations, so she goes to her sect's library to browse for Ambush Techniques- she wants something that will catch her enemy off guard and end things quickly. Eventually, she finds a technique that makes her eyes light up.

'Heavenly Talisman Palm': An Ambush Technique created by an ancestor of her sect who practiced the Tao of Talismans. When using this technique, the user forms the word 'Seal' on their palm and launches the word at the target. Ideally, the user will already be in close range when using this technique. Upon contact, the word embeds itself into the target, like ink on paper, borrowing ambient qi to seal the target's cultivation and rendering them unable to fight. However, any obstacle will trigger the technique early, wasting it. The creator of this technique is a gentle old man from a distant era, who believed that peace and harmony was the true state of the world- he designed this technique for his sect in hopes that they could avoid needless bloodshed. His view of the Tao of Talismans is that talisman runes are like a contract between man and the heavens, each borrowing aid from the other to maintain order.

Not only is the technique suitable for her skillset, it can shore up her lacking close combat ability. As an added bonus, the creator of the technique is still alive- perhaps if she practices it well, she could catch their eye and become their disciple.

Example 2 - For the second example, let's say a member of a Devil Sect just raided an Orthodoxy and is riffling through their library, checking to see if they found anything interesting.

'Pure-Blood Saber': A Summoning Technique created by an elder from a small Orthodox Sect. In order to use this technique, the user must offer up their noble blood as a sacrifice. The purer the bloodline of the user, the stronger the effects. Once the technique is activated, the blood will condense into a blood red saber with supernatural sharpness. This is a permanent summoning, or in other worlds a cloning technique, and only one saber can be created with this technique until the previous saber is destroyed. The possesses 50% of the user's strength, and can channel the user's bloodline ability. It also possess basic spirituality, and can be commanded to attack enemies at range or wielded as a weapon to enhance other techniques. The creator of this technique was a young woman who believed those with superior bloodlines were superior life forms- fit to rule over others, with was reflected in her Tao of Nobility. She designed this technique for her own usage, intending it to be a symbol of her majesty, unaware that it would some day become the favorite tool of a 'low-born devil'.

At first, he dismissed the technique- after all, his bloodline was as common as it gets. He didn't meet the requirements for the technique... But then he wondered, did it need to be 'his' blood? He set the technique scroll aside from the others, which he would sell on the black market, and grinned deviously at the small mountain of 'noble' corpses in his storage ring. After a few years of experiments, he managed to 'improve' the technique- circulating his Soul Energy through a corpse, he could manipulate their body to perform the technique and then seize control of the summon, creating a saber with 50% of his strength and the bloodline ability of his victim... Although sadly, as it wasn't his bloodline, the energy within the saber was limited- after a few battles, it would run out and the saber would break.

...and that's all the examples I have for the moment. One good girl technique, and
one bad guy technique. Hopefully, these two examples and the methodology
used will prove useful in your own attempts to create your own techniques.
Or failing that, I hope I at least provided some kind of inspiration.
Either way, I wish you fortune in your creative efforts~