Members of a powerful and ancient race, the Sanjiyan are beautiful and extremely long-lived creatures. They are very human-like in appearance, except for a third eye in the middle of the forehead. Because of this third eye, they are called Sanjiyan (three-eyes, triclops) and sometimes are denominated three-eyed monsters, usually in later legends.
In more recent times the Sanjiyan are almost dead as a species, with very few of them are still alive. In the original story, up to Volume 6, only one Sanjiyan was still around on Earth (Pai) and the other one was trapped in the Holy Land (Kaiyanwang/Shiva). Later, someone says there are more Sanjiyan alive hiding on Earth and nearby dimensions, but they are NOT willing to be found and want to be left alone.
The Sanjiyan lived in a huge fortress in the Holy Land, which could only be reached through Konron (the K'unlun mountains), a range of mountains in northern Tibet. Quoting the M&NG: "In Chinese myth, K'un-lun is a sort of paradise ruled by Hsi Wang Mu (same as Seioubou, in Japanese). It later became known as the place where the dead might achieve Buddhist Nirvana."
The Sanjiyan Holy Land is not on Earth, but in an alternate plane of existence, and travel between it and Earth is only possible using special magical gates, called the Konron. The location of the Holy Land is a well-protected secret, and the truth about the Konron cannot be found even in the most obscure legends.
About 300 years ago (which is roughly Pai's age in the manga), a war between a mad and violent Sanjiyan (Shiva), his VERY powerful Wu (Benares), and the rest of the Sanjiyan almost resulted in the species' extinction. After a bloody war, all the surviving Sanjiyan gave their lives to banish Shiva forever to the Holy Land and seal him there. Pai was the only known survivor. Alone on the holy ground, she decided to end her species and become human. She tried hard to forget all the pain and sorrow in her past, and moved to the Tibetan mountains. There she waited, until Yakumo's father found her.
Before being banished, Shiva had taken for himself the title of Kaiyanwang (Demon-Eyes King), and this what Benares and his other servants call him now.
Even before that time, when there were thousands of Sanjiyan alive in the Holy Land (ten thousands perhaps, but no more than that—the manga suggests that the Sanjiyan Unkara were never a numerous race), they were already in very serious trouble.
Quoting the M&NG (sic): "Apparently, the Sanjiyan are a degenerate race; the older ones have become decadent and callous, while the younger, more emotional ones will develop split personalities (e.g. the dual nature of Pai/Parvati). Some Sanjiyan believed that this mental death will be their ultimate end, and volunteered themselves to be turned into human beings."
This dual personality was not their only problem. Although they were very powerful magic-wise (It would be advisable for GMs to spend a few hours digesting the idea of a race were ALL the people have Variable Power Pools of 60 Active Points or greater [with no Skill Roll needed], who live in a "high mana" area, and the implications of presented, before sending any PCs through a Konron during a time the Sanjiyan were still alive.), they were as physically fragile as any human. Worse, the Sanjiyan have a dangerous limitation regarding spell casting. They can access some of the most powerful spells ever cast on Earth, but they need to rest immediately after casting such spells.
For dual-personality Sanjiyan, in most cases the "human" personality will be able to take over quickly, less than a minute after the more wise and powerful "Sanjiyan" personality passes out from exhaustion. This can be easily noticed due to the closing of the third eye, which is under exclusive control of the "Sanjiyan" personality. It should noted that a closed third eye is not easy to detect—the forehead will appear to be human, the eye closing perfectly with no eyelashes.
While sleeping a Sanjiyan is very vulnerable to attacks. They need a guardian to protect them, a very strong one if it would need to face other Sanjiyan or powerful demons.
Once during his life, a Sanjiyan can absorb and merge the soul of a chosen one with his own (A human soul looks like a bright gelatinous ~10 cm radius ball in both the manga and anime.). With his soul trapped and merged with the Sanjiyan's, this person will become immortal, and will have the duty to protect his Sanjiyan's life above everything else.
The Sanjiyan are very picky about whom they will turn into a Wu (since they can only do it once), and there is NO chance someone (or thing) they consider to be scum (lower-life forms, all the low-level demons, and even some high-level ones are included here) will be chosen to be a Wu. Even among high-level demons and humans, only those who could be a good guardian due to their physical and magical power will be chosen.
In the manga, Parvati only turned Yakumo (a normal and quite powerless human from a Sanjiyan's point of view) into a Wu in order to save his life at Pai's request, because she thought she was the last Sanjiyan alive and therefore she was on the safe side. The fact that Yakumo was the only one who could help her become human at that given time added a lot to the decision.
The power level of a Sanjiyan resides in their Magical Energy Endurance Reserve, which allows casting of very powerful spells without the need of other mana sources or group rituals. Sanjiyan are quite adept at magic, and some of their spells (especially the most powerful ones), are simply not accessible to other races, except some VERY high-classed demons and Wu. Other creatures simply cannot understand magic enough to cast those spells. The GM is free to rule which spells are Sanjiyan-only. A Wu may try learning some Sanjiyan-only spells due to their link with the Sanjiyan, but any such spells learned will operate at a significant reduction in Active Point levels.
The Sanjiyan's Endurance Reserve will recover 1 END for every 5 Minutes of rest, (during which no spells may be cast), whenever the three-eyed personality is not controlling the body, or when the Sanjiyan is sleeping (in either form). This recovery occurs as long as the Sanjiyan is not extremely tired, has less then 5 END or STUN remaining, or under extreme body stress (e.g.: badly wounded). Spells that Aid END can, and should, be used for faster recovery of spent Endurance.
The third eye must close if the Sanjiyan exceeds (empties) his Endurance Reserve, but this closing can be delayed by making an EGO Roll at -4 every 5 Minutes. With the third eye closed, the powerful Sanjiyan personality will sleep to recover the magic fatigue. It may awaken before fully rest, but the EGO Roll will be at -4 if the Endurance Reserve is at less than 25% or -2 if it is at less than 50%.
Due to their dual personality nature, Sanjiyan characters are written-up using Multiform, with one form being the human personality and the other with the three-eyed personality.
Personality changes may happen anytime, and requires an EGO Roll by the personality who wants to take control. If the other personality wants to resist, an EGO versus EGO Roll should be made. The degree of awareness one personality has of the other should be defined by the GM and player during character creation, but the three-eyed personality must know about the other one. Unpredictable changes may also happen at the GM's will.
Some degree of memory leakage between the two forms is also advised and one personality can talk to the other, as long as both of them know about each other. The talking may be done by thought or voice. Also, both personalities can be awake at the same time. During this, the normal eyes are under the control of the human personality and the third eye is under the control of the triclops personality. This is NOT common, though.
The dual nature of a Sanjiyan should be kept in mind when the two personalities are built. Almost always, the human one should be calm and good-natured, while the three-eyed one should at least get some attitude. It's not impossible to build a good-natured three-eyed personality; Pai's mother (Parvati III) was very nice even with her third eye open, unlike almost all other Sanjiyan in their city. Of course that should reflect on the human personality, who should either be a completely docile person, with a strong "Code versus Killing" (or something similar) Psychological Limitation (like Pai's mother), or an impossible-to-stand-for-more-than-3-minutes arrogant and short-tempered person.
The Sanjiyan can cast some spells and communicate with his Wu without the usual penalties due to distance, as long as both are still on the same plane. This happens because the Wu's soul is merged with the Sanjiyan's. It is common for a Sanjiyan to use Psychic Bond form of Mind Link when communicating with his Wu, since there are no range limitations or penalties.
Usually both personalities know how to use the Mind Link, but it won't work well if the Sanjiyan is in a weakened state. More than once Pai found herself unable to call Yakumo due to a strong cold, or serious physical wounds (have the Sanjiyan make a successful CON Roll in cases like this).
The Sanjiyan Unkara physiology is NOT human. Their organs are nearly human when it comes to function and position inside the body, but they are different from us at the cellular level. In addition, any late 20th Century doctor will probably notice the third eye during a checkup, even if it is kept closed. X-Ray, CAT scans, and other more advanced diagnostics will certainly detect the anomalies. Brain scans will clearly show a non-human brain (but it looks almost human and it should fool untrained individuals). In a "near future" game, a Sanjiyan would be considered an alien life form, very close to being human but still alien nonetheless.
The Base Powers Of A Sanjiyan Unkara Are As Follows
37 Create Wu: Major Transform 8d6 (human into Wu, reversal of spell by Sanjiyan Unkara
via Ningen Statue), Continuous (+1); 1 Continuing Charge lasting 1 Turn which Never
Recovers (-3 1/4), Concentration, Must Concentrate throughout use of Constant Power
(0 DCV; Character is totally unaware of nearby events; -1 1/2), Costs Endurance (-1/2),
Extra Time (Full Phase, Only to Activate, -1/4), END 24
This is the Sanjiyan "bewitching" power that turns a chosen one into a Wu. Note this ability is here for completeness sake only. It is very much a "plot device" sort of power. This power can and will increase the point total of the target. See page 239 of HERO System 5th Edition, Revised for more.
5 Immortal: LS (Longevity: Immortal)
The Sanjiyan are not truly immortal (they do age... eventually), but Pai has been alive for 300 years and is effectively 15 (in human years), so it doesn't make that big of difference.
13 Sensitive To Magic: Detect Magic and Supernatural Beings 13- (Unusual Group), Range, Sense
This represents the Sanjiyan's ability to sense the supernatural. See below for more information. The 13- is due to a base Sanjiyan having an INT of 15 with a +1 PER for the Detect.
5 Reserve Of Magical Energy: Endurance Reserve (40 END, 1 REC); REC: Slow Recovery 5 Minutes (-1)
This is the Sanjiyan's magical energy or "mana" reserve. Please note this is only an average power level for the reserve. Different Sanjiyans can have more or less (probably more). The human side of the Sanjiyan has a similar Endurance Reserve, but it has only half the end of the Sanjiyan's reserve.
8 Telepathic Link to Wu: Mind Link , Human class of minds, One Specific Mind, Any Distance, Psychic Bond;
Activation Roll 12- (equal to CON Roll; -3/4)
Both the Sanjiyan and human sides have this power. Only the Sanjiyan can open the link, although said opening is dependent on the well-being of the Sanjiyan. The Activation Roll should only be required in times of stress or trouble. Failure should mean the Sanjiyan has to wait for an extended period (such as a Turn, or more) before trying again.
16 Human Side: Multiform (55 Character Points in the most expensive form) (Instant Change)
The human side of the Sanjiyan. A base Sanjiyan Unkara is bought on 75 points, the human side is a 25-point base. However, it is almost a given that any reasonably built Sanjiyan is going to have a 100-point base in both human and Sanjiyan forms. For an example of what I mean, look at the write of Pai, she's only "15" and not even at full power yet!
The Sanjiyan must also usually buy his Wu (if any) as a Follower. This will often be a one-way relationship, and the Sanjiyan will probably not care too much about his Wu's problems unless they interfere with his role as a bodyguard.
The Sanjiyan Unkara are more sensitive to magic than most other mages; they have the intrinsic ability to sense the proximity of any magical object, even if the object is not in their field of view. They can also identify a creature in their field of view as a magical being on a successful PER roll. This ability cannot uncover anything about the being itself; it will only flag something as a magical creature or mage. It will detect invisible magic creatures. In most settings, a "magic creature" is a being who needs magic energy to survive, or has Magic Skill and/or any intrinsic magic abilities. Cursed beings may or may not be detected as magical beings at the GM's discretion.
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