Following paths of enlightenment in the hopes of attaining a higher state of being, they participate in kuei-jin courts and oppose the demonic Yama Kings who are anticipated to rule the world in the coming sixth age.

[6] Led by a storyteller,[b] players create and take the roles of newly-made kuei-jin, and role-play actions whose outcomes are in part determined through character attributes and rolling of dice.

After this, they can be introduced to a kuei-jin court – their primary social group – and become part of a blood family (wu), which typically is made up of the players' characters.

[16] The lore of Kindred of the East was initially intended to be compatible with Exalted, another of White Wolf Publishing's role-playing games, but the two ended up diverging.

[23] In 2019, White Wolf Publishing retrospectively described Kindred of the East as written from a very Western perspective, and urged people making fan works based on it to be conscious of orientalism and essentialism.

[54] Critics generally liked the gameplay mechanics,[9][10][12] with Backstab much preferring them to those of Vampire: The Masquerade, although conceding that they were a bit complicated to use;[9][55] Magia i Miecz thought that the game may require some modifications to simplify the rules.

[21] Dosdediez liked the chi mechanics for adding a unique flavor and opening up possibilities,[12] while Poltergeist considered the risk of using p'o disciplines so unbalanced that they never feel worth using, the dharmas' descriptions too brief to role-play as characters following them, and the p'o archetypes often indistinctive.

[11] Sci-Fi Universe liked the game for standing out from Vampire: The Masquerade, finding it to facilitate many new story ideas and role-play opportunities related to intrigue and politics.

[19] Casus Belli, Dragon, and SF Site criticized the game for requiring one to learn a lot of terminology and concepts before playing,[1][5][10] although the latter thought this was partially mitigated by Kindred of the East Companion.

[12] The layout, lettering, and printing were also generally well received,[9][21] although Poltergeist criticized its use of black text on dark backgrounds, making reading at times tiring.

[11] Dosdediez thought it was nice to finally see coverage of Asia in World of Darkness,[12] but found its use of stereotypes excessive, saying that if a White Wolf Publishing book set in Spain does not feature an entire cast of bullfighters, it makes little sense that meditative and spiritual martial artists would be so prevalent in Kindred of the East.

[58] Kindred of the East debuted as the fourth highest-selling tabletop role-playing game in France during the January–February 1998 period,[59] and peaked at number 2 behind Deadlands in March–April 1998, before falling off the top 10 chart by July–August 1998.

[33] Kevin Andrew Murphy's Kindred of the East short story "The Lotus of Five Petals" was published in 1998 as part of the fiction anthology The Quintessential World of Darkness, which was edited by Anna Branscome and Stewart Wieck.