Heaven Dragon Shintai is the moral and spiritual counterpart to Demon Shintai, and, in fact, knowledge of one Discipline precludes knowledge of the other. (Practitioners of Heaven Dragon Shintai believe Demon Shintai to have originally been a gift to the Kuei-jin from the Yama Kings as a reward for having violated Heaven's Mandate in the Age of legends.) So even though most vampires who use Demon Shintai (particularly Devil-Tigers) do so to battle the forces of Yomi, its grotesque countenance is unsightly to the eyes of Heaven. Thus, a character that has learned Heaven Dragon Shintai can never learn Demon Shintai. If a character who has Demon Shintai learns Heaven Dragon Shintai, the character loses Demon Shintai -- erase it from the character sheet. In sacrificing Demon Shintai, the character gains experience points he can only apply towards increasing Heaven Dragon Shintai; the exp is equal to what the vampire would have had to pay to raise Demon Shintai to its current rating, halved and rounded down. (In theory, one can sacrifice Heaven Dragon Shintai to learn Demon Shintai... but such an act is not one befitting one's higher self!) As a side effect of not having access to Demon Shintai, Wan Kuei with Heaven Dragon Shintai cannot use the P'o powers of the Chi'ih Muh Discipline unless in Shadow Soul.

Though many Kuei-jin revel in their darker sides, even virtuous vampires discover they must rely heavily on the powers of the P'o. However, this often leads to the cultivation of the Demon at the expense of one's Cloud Soul. For a rare few that deny themselves the raw power of the Demon in favor of virtue, they may receive the favor of higher powers.
Heaven Dragon Shintai is one such favor, a Soul Discipline granted to virtuous Kuei-jin who exemplify their higher selves. Heaven Dragon Shintai is an ancient art, a derivation of powers wielded by the Wan Xian during the Age of Legends. This privilege was stripped from the Wan Xian when Heaven levied its judgment upon them, though a few servants of Heaven kept knowledge of this Discipline, to be bestowed upon especially virtuous Kuei-jin. As Demon Shintai is a reflection of the Kuei-jin's hellish aspects, Heaven Dragon Shintai is the physical embodiment of the character's Hun. It is tied to Chi'iu Muh (though in a very different way than Demon Shintai is) and to other Soul Arts.
Heaven Dragon Shintai can never be self-taught or discovered by happenstance. It is only be granted as a boon by exceptionally powerful and exalted beings, such as aesthetic ancestors, dragons, and spirit servants of the August Personage of Jade. This Discipline is taught to those the teacher feels is deserving of the honor, and should not be asked for or "bought" with political favors. It is considered most rude and inauspicious for a Kuei-jin of lower than mandarin status to teach this Discipline to others, especially to those who have not proven themselves worthy of the honor. Resplendent Cranes and (to the consternation of Quincunx vampires) Rising Phoenixes are the Wan Kuei most often found worthy of learning Heaven Dragon Shintai. There has never been a Devil-Tiger that has learned this Discipline, or that has even expressed interest in it.
Heaven Dragon Shintai is a most difficult Discipline to discover a teacher for, and even learning it requires that the vampire have achieved a certain level of enlightenment and virtue: the vampire must have a Dharma rating of at least 3, her Hun must be 4 or greater, and her Hun must be higher than her P'o. (Teachers won't approach students who are less honorable, in any case.) If the vampire suffers a Moment of Blindness and drops below a Dharma rating of 3, or her P'o is increased to a level equal to her Hun, knowledge of Heaven Dragon Shintai is lost until the character increases her Dharma or Hun. In any case, Heaven Dragon Shintai cannot be increased to a rating higher than the Kuei-jin's Hun.
System: It takes at least three turns, and either three or four points of Chi, to activate Heaven Dragon Shintai; the character can choose to use Yin Chi, Yang Chi, or both, though Demon Chi cannot be spent to assume her Heavenly Mantle. The character gains one Heaven Dragon Shintai feature for every dot she has in the Discipline. The character must be in Wind Soul to assume the Heavenly Mantle. The character reverts to her normal (vampire) form if she enters Shadow Soul, Fire Soul or Wave Soul, or spends Demon Chi – this means the Wan Kuei is precluded from the use of any Demon Arts, in addition to being unable to use Demon Chi in its "raw" form, while assuming the Heavenly Mantle.
As with Demon Shintai, the player is free to choose what his character looks like in her Heavenly Mantle; however, the form will always be majestic, beautiful and awe-inspiring. The term "Heaven Dragon Shintai" is symbolic, not literal; though a few Wan Kuei develop draconic characteristics such as scales and sharp teeth, more common are characteristics of spirit servants of Heaven, auspicious animals, and that of mystical creatures of virtue like fu-lions and ki-rin. In any case, the character always assumes the same basic Heavenly Mantle (even though it will appear different according to what type of Chi it is aspected to), and has the same set of Heaven Dragon characteristics.
The Heavenly Mantle is aspected to Yin, Yang or Balance, depending on what type of Chi is used to activate the Discipline.
If the character spends three points of Yin Chi to assume her Heavenly Mantle, he will assume the aspect of the Waning Moon; the character gains a bonus point of Stamina (in addition to the form bonuses listed below), and Yin rolls to avoid Fire Soul are at -1 difficulty. Waning Moons have muted or dark coloration and eyes that glow blue. They act with slow and sinuous precision.
If three Yang Chi is spent to activate Heaven Dragon Shintai, the Kuei-jin assumes the Setting Sun form. This grants a bonus point of Strength (in addition to the form adjustments below), and Yang roll difficulties to avoid Wave Soul are at -1. The eyes and frames of Setting Suns shine with energy and righteous passion. Their movements are quick and energetic, but purposeful.
If both Yin and Yang are spent to assume the Heaven Dragon Shintai form, the character must spend two points of each type of Chi (which will require four turns instead of three if the character is not of at least jina status); the Heavenly Mantle is aspected to Balance, and is called the Jade Palace. The Jade Palace gains a bonus dot of both Strength and Stamina (in addition to bonuses granted from Discipline dots, below). Difficulties to resist Fire Soul, Wave Soul and Shadow Soul are at -1. The character appears in her "base" Heavenly Mantle, without the effects associated with Yin or Yang attunement.

●	+1 Charisma, +1 Appearance
●●	+1 Stamina
●●●	+1 Appearance
●●●●	+1 Charisma
●●●●●	+1 Strength

Higher levels of Heaven Dragon Shintai are not attainable to the cursed Kuei-jin, even those of high Dharma; these are the exclusive legacy of the long-dead Wan Xian. There are rumors of Bodhisattvas who have gained higher levels of this Discipline upon transcendence to Arhat status, though the veracity of these tales is questionable.

Heaven Dragon Shintai Characteristics ♦ Armor: The vampire has armor in her Heaven Dragon Shintai form. The armor may be thick, but bulky and encumbering; in this case, add two dice to soak pools (even against fire and sunlight), but all Dexterity rolls are made at +1 difficulty. Pliable armor offers less protection, granting an extra die to soak pools and imposing no Dexterity roll penalties. This characteristic may be taken multiple times, and a character may alternately choose different versions (so one level of pliable armor and two levels of thick armor equals five extra soak dice and a +2 difficulty to Dexterity die pools). ♦ Brilliance: By spending a point of Yang Chi, the character will shine like a beacon of Celestial glory for one scene. The light emitted is enough to illuminate a large room, and even partially blind some opponents. Due to its spiritual nature, the vampire may blind those of less virtue; those whose P'o are greater than their Hun (or, in the case of spirits or hengeyokai, Rage higher than their Gnosis) suffer a -1 die penalty to die pools when acting in any way against the vampire. ♦ Emperor's Majesty: The Kuei-jin radiates the power and glory of Heaven, inspiring reverence. This is the same effect produced by Presence ●: Majestic Presence, except as follows: the power affects a number of subjects equal too the Wan Kuei's Hun; remains in effect so long as the subjects are within 20' of the vampire (regardless of whether they are looking at her or not); can be resisted with the expenditure of a Willpower point; and it has no effect on those of higher Dharma and/or Hun. ♦ Horns: The Kuei-jin gains a horn or horns that inflict Strength +1 aggravated damage with a simple lunge, and Strength +3 aggravated damage with a charge. ♦ Huge Size: The Heavenly Mantle stands up to a dozen feet tall, and is several times the mass of the vampire's normal form. The character gains three Bruised health levels, and may gain bonuses to wrestling or combat maneuvers that employ mass and size (Storyteller's discretion). ♦ Jade Skin: The vampire has hard, cool skin that resembles jade. The character is immune to bashing damage, and gains a +1 bonus to soak pools against mystical powers and effects. This characteristic may only be taken once. ♦ Purity (prerequisite: Heaven Dragon Shintai ●●●●, Righteous Strike): The character is full of the purity of Heaven, and each strike dispels the impure taint of Yomi from his opponent's body. Every two health levels of damage done by the character's natural attacks (punches, bites, etc.) dispels a point of Demon Chi from a Kuei-jin foe; this can be "soaked' by rolling P'o against a difficulty of 8. This also can "knock" a character back into Wind Soul; a vampire so struck can attempt a resisted Hun roll against her P'o to shake the effects of Fire Soul, Wave Soul or Shadow Soul. This can have similar effects in enemies such as evil spirits and bakemono, at the Storyteller's discretion. ♦ Righteous Strike: Your unarmed strikes inflict aggravated damage to wicked beings. (What is "wicked" is up to the Storyteller, but can include any creature with a P'o rating, bakemono, creatures with Rage, and anyone aligned with the Yama Kings.) ♦ Third Eye (prerequisite: Chi'ih Muh ●●●): The Wan Kuei develops a brilliantly glowing third eye visible in her Heaven Dragon Shintai form. This adds a bonus die to all Perception die pools involving spiritual insight and awareness (such as use of Ghostsight, Lifesight and the Dragon Tear power Chi Sight). In addition, rolls for using Hun application of the Dragon Tear power Purification are at -1 difficulty while the character is in Heaven Dragon form. ♦ Thundering Voice: By spending a point of Yang Chi and rolling Charisma + Intimidation, difficulty 7, the character may blast foes back with the power of her voice. This may take the form of a shout, roar or actual thunder. It affects all unfriendly characters in a twenty-foot radius of the vampire, and inflicts a number of dice of lethal damage equal to her Stamina plus the successes rolled on the Charisma + Intimidation roll. This damage may be soaked. ♦ Weapon: The character has a weapon that appears whenever she assumes Heaven's Mantle, and disappears whenever the vampire assumes her original form. (This is true even if the item is taken away or damaged.) It may be any weapon of antiquity the character can imagine; a naginata, bo stick, tetsubo or longbow, but not a handgun or collapsible nightstick. The weapon does damage appropriate to its form, but as a magical item always inflicts lethal damage. For an extra dot, the weapon may be imbued with mystical qualities, such as the ability to inflict aggravated damage, automatically produce ammunition when fired, or return when thrown. ♦ Wings: Large feathered (or occasionally draconic) wings sprout from the character's back, allowing awkward flight at a speed equal to her maximum running speed. For an extra dot, the character may fly gracefully and increase her flight speed to her running speed x3. ♦ Yi's Courtesy (prerequisite: Heaven Dragon Shintai ●●●●): By taking on the mantle of Heaven's Hosts and making an offering to Yi the Excellent Archer, he can be persuaded to spare the vampire his wrath for a short time. By spending a point of Yang Chi and rolling Charisma + Etiquette (difficulty 8), the vampire may avoid taking damage from the sun for a number of turns equal to her Hun. This roll may only be attempted once every twenty-four hours (regardless of previous attempts' success or failure); Yi's Courtesy is not to be abused.