The Kouhun would sometimes murder capable people simply to prove that they could do it. They claimed that killing was fun, but that they were no butchers and that their art required restraint. They also did not always honor the assassination contracts with their employers, as in some cases they ultimately spared a target, choosing mercy and ending up ransoming the victim, and claiming that their victim's death would not serve the Kouhun's deeper plans. They would also sometimes recruit and train in the way of shadows those who wanted someone murdered, so that they could do it themselves instead.
During the Iron Blockade, The Smuggler inquired from Deathstick what the Kouhun really wants, in which she answered that they want the same as anyone — fulfillment, which she elaborated further to mean killing and dying, and that it mattered the most and they should do both extravagantly.
Nightsister Shelish claimed that the Kouhun and its leader, Deathstick, served her purposes.
According to Loathe during the Iron Blockade, the Kouhun order was not ancient and had existed only less than an century, despite many others having the misconception to think otherwise.
The Kouhun did not wear any tattoos or brands, but instead wore the scars, marks and scabs from injuries with pride.
After the Smuggler's initiation ritual to join into the ranks of the Kouhun, Deathstick told the Smuggler that Governor Ubrik Adelhard had long had an interest in rooting and taking out their shadowy order, and that the Kouhun were aware of the larger galactic situation going on, which made her believe that they would make her and her order targets for Commander Bragh's purges, should they ever reveal themselves. This reasoning alongside Deathstick's interest in the Smuggler made her and the Kouhun join the Uprising during the Iron Blockade, despite them not trusting the Ivax Syndicate and the Noble Court.
Joining the ranks of Kouhun required readiness to embrace the Kouhun's philosophy and to survive the initiation ritual in the ruins of Necropolis in Mataou. The initiation ritual was a series of dangerous tasks filled with tinges of philosophy, which started by finding and drinking a highly toxic substance called the Waters of Truth. The toxic nature of the substance was kept secret from the initiate until they had drank it, and they had to suffer and endure the effects throughout the whole initiation.
The first task was called the Test of Meat, where the initiate had to show strength, ferocity and cunning among other traits to prove that they are more than animals, surpass various dangerous guardian beasts, learn of the Kouhun's past victims from holograms scattered throughout the Necropolis; and finally to learn and mimic the toxicity of Ro hypas and metaphorically "brand it on heart, becoming the venom itself".
The second task of the initiation was called the Test of Steel, to show that the initiate had the intelligence of a man, by destroying and surpassing droids that were programmed to emulate different kinds of potential targets - preparing the initiate one step closer to be able to kill a real person. During the Test of Steel the initiate also learned of the Kouhun's future victims from holograms scattered throughout the Necropolis, and was taught about choosing targets with care, but without pity, and that the Kouhun's goals were less important than their methods.
The third and final task was the Test of Spirit, which finally required the initiate to kill an assigned target.
As part of the Test of Spirit, The Smuggler was assigned to kill an another initiate who had failed his trials, and had betrayed the Kouhun by showing no restraint in their art.
Those who survived all tests until the very end would be given an antidote to the poison caught from the Waters of Truth, and be considered worthy in the eyes of the Kouhun and be suitable vessels for their teachings.
- The Art of Star Wars: Uprising