Blood Path

[Sidhain]

I have just begun another Birthright Campaign.
Needless to say it reminde me of the questions that came up the first time I
read through the rules as well as every reas since then.

For example?
Why bother with one chart for the powers? INstead of Bloodline specific....?
I mean since Azrai doesn't have such and such a power and Vorynn's blood
does why should it come up on the same chart?

Has anyone done a better chart?

Secondly while I am not against random determination it is sometimes silly,
and sometimes counterproductive especially since the blood abilities seem
to fit the person's personality most of the time and random traits ddon't do
that...
case in point I was letting my friends roll up new characters both of tose
involved in this campaign (iat the beginning anyway) are Rjurik, and both
related yet both have bloodlines from different sources...and neither source
is exactly appropriate for a Rjurik Ranger and Fighter...
(Blooded by Vorynn and Basaia respectively) one got enhanced Intellect the
other Enhanced Wisdom and the ability to talk to owls (now admittedly to me
either one is good) but to my players? and to my players concept of their
characters?

[Sidhain]

>the blood abilities that those bloodlines grant will not necessarily be
>especially suited to a warrior class. I dont like to generate blood
abilities
>in front of my players, that way if something I dont like shows up I can
ignore
>it and I can also give the benefit of the doubt to a character who might be
a
>bit weak in comparison to his companions. My personal preferance is to
allow
>characters to choose their own bloodline unless I have a story related
reason to
>impose a specific bloodline on the character.
>


Ah well I usually do such things as well but for once I decided to let them
make their own PC's wholly without my input (usually I make a PC ask the
player if this is ok and if they say yes I handed it to them if they say no
I ask what they would like and then tinker with the PC I made for them, part
of this is a point of contention with some players and with others it's not,
they say yeah sure make me whatever fits, the campaign which is who I
prefer)
Now admittedly I have talked with my players about their characters, I
personally would like the Ranger who could talk to Owls and had enhanced
Wisdom myself, it just sounds interesting....especially since I know Owls
are important to the Rjurik.. (I don't have Rjurik Highlands set but I do
know that Owls are tied to great Omens)
and the talk of the Vorynn blooded fighter becoming a Wizard at a later has
come up....Dual Classing, it works especially since these these two are
going to gain some land and a Keep from an relative and then have to deal
with the fact that since his death a year ago (news travels slowly) the Keep
is now the home for a band of either Orogs or Goblins (I am not sure yet
still in the planning stages) and this relative was a Wizard(which is why he
was in self-imposed exile from the lands of the Rjurik).
This of course leads me to ask what is a good place to put an all but ruined
Keep, with enough wilderness and wildness to make it unique...I tend to like
Islands (distant from the mainland having its own insular problems) Baerghos
Isle? Danntier Isle? (I have already used Caelcorwynn and its too far away,
Baerghos is too but it has Mountains and Forest which allows me to write
some of the adventures I wanted) or any other suggestions for a place for
two Rjurik Warriors?

Maybe the Continent of Thaele (It would explain why their relative (UNCLE?)
has a Castle/Keep instead of a standard Jarl Hall (he might have claimed an
abandoned Brecht Castle?)
This is the first time I have ever had such a hard time coming up with some
definite place to put my PC's I want to tell insular stories, at first,
since their are only two and both warrior types....*goes back to thinking*

[breye]

> For example?
> Why bother with one chart for the powers? INstead of Bloodline specific....?
> I mean since Azrai doesn't have such and such a power and Vorynn's blood
> does why should it come up on the same chart?
>
> Has anyone done a better chart?

I have made my own chart, as has Darkstar(his is on the netbook).

> Secondly while I am not against random determination it is sometimes silly,
> and sometimes counterproductive especially since the blood abilities seem
> to fit the person's personality most of the time and random traits ddon't do
> that...
> case in point I was letting my friends roll up new characters both of tose
> involved in this campaign (iat the beginning anyway) are Rjurik, and both
> related yet both have bloodlines from different sources...and neither source
> is exactly appropriate for a Rjurik Ranger and Fighter...
> (Blooded by Vorynn and Basaia respectively) one got enhanced Intellect the
> other Enhanced Wisdom and the ability to talk to owls (now admittedly to me
> either one is good) but to my players? and to my players concept of their
> characters?

Thats part of the problem with a random determination of bloodlines. Neither
Vorynn nor Basaia are especially devoted to a warrior mentality, thus many of
the blood abilities that those bloodlines grant will not necessarily be
especially suited to a warrior class. I dont like to generate blood abilities
in front of my players, that way if something I dont like shows up I can ignore
it and I can also give the benefit of the doubt to a character who might be a
bit weak in comparison to his companions. My personal preferance is to allow
characters to choose their own bloodline unless I have a story related reason to
impose a specific bloodline on the character.

- --
Can you hear the Thunder?

[Sidhain]

>Why does the bloodline have to suit the player. They inheritied it, they
were
>not given it. I can see flubbing if a player has a good idea what his
>character is, then we discuss and pick. Otherwise most players welcome the
>chance to get something random. Though, I should point out, that their is
no
>"have to" in roleplaying. If you don't want the randomness, then why have
it?
> The chart is a fun way to create a character. If it doesn't float your
>boat, then don't use it. Its a tool, as are all of the rules in the game.
If
>you don't like it, don't use it



Yes they inherited a mystical power derived from a God.Mystic energies
magic's etc follow some sort of rules but they aren't the rules of genetics.
Considering if you look at most of the Blooded NPC's especially the main
movers and shakers, good people god good powers that fit their inner selves,
in the case of the Unicorn, the Treant and the Phoenix, and villains got
powers related to their inner selves, not just random hodgepodge of
abilities...Why did any bloodline run pure? I mean the Unicorn was probably
as close to Anduiras as he was to Azrai, yet he was blooded by Anduiras? Why
did he gain that? Because he was a follower of Haelyn?

I mean look at it this way the blood allows a ruler to have a mystical tie
to the land, granting him strength fortitude and a few other things as well
so surely it is also likely to "guide:" someone who is blooded into a career
path more suiting the divine nature he gained from birth?

[Hadricon@aol.co]

In a message dated 5/18/99 12:09:57 PM Central Daylight Time,
breye@earthlink.net writes:

>


Why does the bloodline have to suit the player. They inheritied it, they were
not given it. I can see flubbing if a player has a good idea what his
character is, then we discuss and pick. Otherwise most players welcome the
chance to get something random. Though, I should point out, that their is no
"have to" in roleplaying. If you don't want the randomness, then why have it?
The chart is a fun way to create a character. If it doesn't float your
boat, then don't use it. Its a tool, as are all of the rules in the game. If
you don't like it, don't use it.

[WILLELA@aol.co]

As elsewhere, generating blood abilities by random roll is a poor system.
it's chief "advantage" being that it allows the writer to get away with
flawed work. Much superior is a points system where the player buys the
abilities the PC will have, but that requires the writer carefully price each
ability. He needs to do that anyway, but making a table for dice-rolls
allows one to dodge the work and market what may be junk.
Lurker Above
willela@aol.com

[Alaric]

WILLELA@aol.com wrote:
>
> As elsewhere, generating blood abilities by random roll is a poor system.
> it's chief "advantage" being that it allows the writer to get away with
> flawed work. Much superior is a points system where the player buys the
> abilities the PC will have, but that requires the writer carefully price each
> ability. He needs to do that anyway, but making a table for dice-rolls
> allows one to dodge the work and market what may be junk.
> Lurker Above
> willela@aol.com

I don't think I really have a whole lot constructive to say here, but I
would like to say that your use of 'Writer' for DM is quite original and
nice...it jars a lot less than 'Storyteller' and gives the same feeling
of cooperative work (as opposed to anything ending in 'Master').
Thx,
Alaric