Xian — Storied Legacy

Death is the end of every story…but a story can survive many deaths, so long as a new hero arises. Indeed, a story fears nothing more than the hero who never dies.

When gaining any amount of experience, a Xian gains only half the nominal amount of experience; the rest enters her mantle. This experience can be passed on along with a small portion of her memories and personality to the next person to wear the mantle. A Xian normally wears her own mantle and therefore has normal XP progression, but the mantle can be stolen by certain techniques, or even corrupted.

If she does not bear a specific mantle, the experience enters her clan register. Children born into a clan register gain a small amount of experience at birth and every birthday until the age of 12, based on the experience stored within the clan register.

There is no meaningful way for a Xian to know if a particular personality quirk or habit is their own or if it is from a long-dead ancestor.