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Thread: What makes a Bloodline? (Was: D
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12-19-1998, 07:44 AM #1JulesMrshn@aol.coGuest
What makes a Bloodline? (Was: D
I think your trying to define this in concrete terms. Bloodline is an atempt
to define a spirtual connection of a ruler and his people. The Land referes
not just to rock and soil but to other things as well. This is an intangable
thing and is not something that follows a set a parimeters. If the passing of
a bloodline with a commoner's bloodtheft is a driving part of the story then
it can be done. Perhaps this person wasn't so common after all. Maybe
because the bloodline was in fact so hudge, it triggered some sort of small
bloodline within the person,then being overwhelmed as the awnshegh was the
last of its line and Azari's taint is far reaching. The key is bloodline is
supposed to be a fluid spirituality. Somehing like that can not be defined in
IF and THEN statements, it goes the way it should go, and that is that.
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12-19-1998, 10:24 AM #2Gary V. FossGuest
What makes a Bloodline? (Was: D
Morg wrote:
> What is a bloodline made of?
>
> Is it spiritual power, such as an essence of the soul, or is it a physical
> manifestation of the characters actual blood?
>
> If it is spiritual, then I can accept some sort of 'divine discrimination'
> regarding who actually inherits the blood line. A God's essence & 'self
> awareness' may yet linger in such a manifestation. However, if the power is
> derived from a physical manifestation, then this 'mystical link' can hardly be
> considered reserved only for the noble. Anyone with the luck & skill to actually
> pierce the heart of such a person, could easily 'drink the victims blood' or
> 'consume the heart' or otherwise ingest the physical properties of the divine
> gift, and gain the power for themselves.
>
> If a blooded person is able to increase his bloodline by way of blood theft, then
> why is it only that a commoner is able to gain a BL through the blood theft of an
> awnsheigh? What's the difference between the two?
>
> To suggest that an Azrai blood line is the only hope of a commoner gaining a
> bloodline, would it not then place a substantial difference between the very
> fabric of the 'Good aligned" bloodlines, and those of evil? This would imply that
> the "good' blood is reserved only for those who are descended from the original
> inheritors of Deismaar, and that this divine gift is some how discriminatory in
> the passing of the power. Azrai's blood however, would then be suggested to be
> far more 'communicable' (possibly in hopes of fostering his evil) and thus could
> be more commonly found, though in lower degrees of power.
>
> Now the complication would arise (IMO), when the land 'denies' a ruler, and
> invests someone else with regency. How does the land's choice fit into the over
> all scope of the bloodline rational? Did the earth actually absorb some of the
> godly power, and thus become 'aware'? If the land is able to grant/deny regency,
> then the Godly power of the bloodline cannot be considered as omnipotent as it
> might seem, for the final decision rests in the land itself, not the blood line
> strength or derivation of the regent.
>
> What do you all think?
Regarding the Land's Choice method of bloodline investiture: I really think this
should be used sparingly and with great care by the DM. Actually, I really don't like
much that it is in the books. I can see why it was tossed in, and it can definitely
be used to good effect, but I think if you are going to DM a BR campaign you should be
very, very careful about employing it because it smacks of DM interference with the
actions of the players. My personal guidelines (please ignore at your leisure) would
be to use the Land's Choice for three major reasons:
1. As backstory. It happened all years ago and there's nothing the PCs can do about
it because it is history now.
2. Among elves. The BoP states that elves often let the land make its own choice for
a new regent rather than designating an heir. This makes sense in the context of the
race, so I would use it for that purpose. I would draw a distinction, however,
between the elves voluntarily giving over to the Land's Choice and it being applied by
the DM.
3. On NPCs. NPC's pretty much exist for the DM to influence storyline (except for
henchmen) so I'd be OK with using it on them. I'd still be careful using it. If the
Land's Choice occurred more than once in a campaign it would start making the PCs
think the standard methods of investiture are too easily overturned or ignored, so
they might not work at doing things the normal way.
Gary
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12-19-1998, 04:10 PM #3Bryan BastillaGuest
What makes a Bloodline? (Was: D
Morg wrote:
>What is a bloodline made of?
>
>Is it spiritual power, such as an essence of the soul, or is it a physical
>manifestation of the characters actual blood?
>
>If it is spiritual, then I can accept some sort of 'divine discrimination'
>regarding who actually inherits the blood line. A God's essence & 'self
>awareness' may yet linger in such a manifestation. However, if the power
is
>derived from a physical manifestation, then this 'mystical link' can hardly
be
>considered reserved only for the noble. Anyone with the luck & skill to
actually
>pierce the heart of such a person, could easily 'drink the victims blood'
or
>'consume the heart' or otherwise ingest the physical properties of the
divine
>gift, and gain the power for themselves.
>
>If a blooded person is able to increase his bloodline by way of blood
theft, then
>why is it only that a commoner is able to gain a BL through the blood theft
of an
>awnsheigh? What's the difference between the two?
>
>To suggest that an Azrai blood line is the only hope of a commoner gaining
a
>bloodline, would it not then place a substantial difference between the
very
>fabric of the 'Good aligned" bloodlines, and those of evil? This would
imply that
>the "good' blood is reserved only for those who are descended from the
original
>inheritors of Deismaar, and that this divine gift is some how
discriminatory in
>the passing of the power. Azrai's blood however, would then be suggested
to be
>far more 'communicable' (possibly in hopes of fostering his evil) and thus
could
>be more commonly found, though in lower degrees of power.
>
>Now the complication would arise (IMO), when the land 'denies' a ruler, and
>invests someone else with regency. How does the land's choice fit into the
over
>all scope of the bloodline rational? Did the earth actually absorb some of
the
>godly power, and thus become 'aware'? If the land is able to grant/deny
regency,
>then the Godly power of the bloodline cannot be considered as omnipotent as
it
>might seem, for the final decision rests in the land itself, not the blood
line
>strength or derivation of the regent.
>
>What do you all think?
>
>Keith
First of all, this link between the land and the gods and rulers was meant
to be abstract. Granted the whole system is based on it, but it was meant to
stay abstract. The game should not bog down in such details. For instance,
do you have to know exactly how popcorn pops to enjoy eating popcorn? I hope
not.
I base my decisions on whether the PC wants to be a regent or not. Very
little else matters. If they choose not ot be regents then they cannot
participate in bloodtheft and are considered commoners. They also gain a
+10% bonus to XP. If they change their mind later then they can gain a
bloodline through bloodtheft or divestiture but lose the bonus XP fro being
a commoner.
If your players have a problem with this lack of explanation tell them their
PCs do not understand how it works, just that it does. If all else fails do
whatever makes sense to you; you are the DM after all.
Secondly, Azrai's blood is not the only bloodline a "commoner" can take on.
It just so happens that most good-aligned PCs will run into evil NPCs,
usually with Azrai's blood. However, they can just as easily kill someone
with Basaia's bloodline and become blooded. The only way I would allow
either is if the PC has decided to become blooded and goes through the
necessary rigamarole when defeating this other blooded individual.
At this point bloodtheft would take place and this "commoner" would become
blooded.
Finally, I would not use the land to take regency from anyone (unless it was
part of a pre-planned storyline). The Gorgon still rules his domain. If
anyone should have been given the heave-ho by the land he would have gotten
it long ago. If the land's people are truly in tune with it (elves or the
Rjurik) when there is no regent the land may choose one, but this should be
exceedingly rare.
Bry
PS If the bloodline rules and blood abilities bother you, you can still play
birthright without them. Whoever had the power and the desire would become
regents. You might eve nbe able to replace the bloodline rules with some
sort of prestige system. Who knows?!
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