determining blood strength

[Mantyluoto]

how do you determine blood strength, ie tainted, minor, major etc?

is it purely by player DM choice or is it random like the AD&D 2nd edition rules used to be?

[Question]

If you play a default character he comes with his own stats and bloodline score.

Otherwise you can either decide with the DM or generate it per BRCS rules.(check the BRCS forum and download it)

[Mantyluoto]

I am the DM !!!! and i have the Brcs!!

[darkon]

The bloodline strength is not determined by a certain mechanic in the BRCS 3rd edition. It is merely assigned by the DM.

I believe there used to be a table to generate bloodline strength in the BRCS (2nd edition). Not sure though.

[geeman]

The system I use for determining bloodline strength and score works like this:

Bloodline strength is first determined by generating a number very similar
to an ability score. Use whatever method for determining ability scores
that the DM assigns (3d6, 4d6 ignore lowest, etc.) to generate a number
from 3-18. Subtract 2 from that number to get a range of 1-16. Compare
that value to the table below in order to determine bloodline strength:

TABLE 1: BLOODLINE STRENGTH
Bloodline (Bld)
Score Strength Modifier
1-2 Tainted +0
3-4 Tainted +1
5-6 Minor +2
7-8 Minor +3
9-10 Major +4
11-12 Major +5
13-14 Great +6
15-16 Great +7
17-18 True +8
19-20 True +9

To get your bloodline score roll d6 for each point of bloodline strength
you have. A character with a major(11) bloodline, for instance, would roll
11d6 to determine his bloodline score.

- - - - - - - - - -

Some of the above was an attempt to associate bloodline with ability scores
since an older version of the BRCS update made bloodline a 7th ability
score, giving it things like an ability score modifier for use with various
blood abilities and such. I never liked the "bloodline as ability score"
idea much (aside from being very different from the original game
mechanics, there was no real need for a modifier in the system, so making
bloodline an ability score wasn`t necessary) but I wrote up with the above
system for generating bloodline strength in a way similar to an ability
score as a kind of nod to those who did. To my surprise, I found it worked
well in practice, so it`s been unaltered ever since. There is a bloodline
modifier (bld) in the above table because unlike the blood abilities that
were written up for the "bloodline as an ability score" system many of the
blood abilities I wrote up to accompany that rest of the system actually do
require one.

Hope that helps,
Gary

[Mantyluoto]

Help from someone named Gary!!

what a cool name

mine too!!

Anyway moving on as digressing into hero worship not intended.

So Geeman do you keep your bloodline score the same as 2nd edit (original Birthright) Example Suris Enlin (Medoere) has a 2E score of (Major) 32. but a 3E score of 16 IIRC. in yours hers would be 9-12 with 9-12 d6. Is that correct?

And the bloodline score determines Regency etc etc?

I'm slowly working the BrCS and haven't quite got to blood abilities (hopefully today!!) so how would the table with modifier work with 3E blood abilities etc etc?

Manty

[irdeggman]

First off – are you using the “latest” version of the BRCS, not the playtest version? It can be found at the sticky labeled “Latest Version of the BRCS by Chapter”on top of this forum.



Here is the link:

http://www.birthright.net/showthread.php?t=2628





It contains the “sanctioned” versions of Chap 1 and 2, which are what you will need.





The “rules” state to:



Chap 1:

Ability scores

The ability scores of BIRTHRIGHT characters are generated as detailed in the Player’s Handbook. When creating a character for BIRTHRIGHT, generate and assign six standard ability scores using any of the systems for elite characters presented in the Dungeon Master’s Guide. See Chapter 2, Blood and Regency, for rules on using a 7th ability score at character creation.



Random ability score generation is the assumed default for d20 BIRTHRIGHT. Alternatively, your DM may choose to allow the tougher campaign point buy (28 points) or a modified elite array (15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 8).

Chap 2:

Bloodlines have three primary characteristics. A scion's bloodline derivation (Anduiras (And), Azrai (Az), Basaïa (Ba), Brenna (Bre), Masela (Ma), Reynir (Re), or Vorynn (Vor)) specifies the old god whose divine power flows in the veins of his family. A scion's bloodline strength (minor, major, great, or true) describes the purity of the scion's family's bloodline. A scion's bloodline score describes the power of a specific scion's divine essence. The manifestations of a bloodline are known as blood abilities.

During character creation, each player should choose a bloodline derivation that best fits his or her character’s history. If the character is a member of one of the established Cerilian noble families, then the character's derivation is likely to be identical to the rest of the family unless unusual circumstances surround their conception.

When choosing a bloodline strength for a character, consider the character’s ancestors, especially the founder of the line. How did these ancestors rise to power? What alliances, friendships, and marriages exist with other bloodlines? Has the line grown stronger or weaker over the years? What other relatives share the character’s bloodline? Answering these questions will help you determine the bloodline appropriate for your character.

Tainted bloodline is what a scion with a minor bloodline having a blood score of less than 20 is often referred to as, since the scion has no manifestations of the blood. Such trace bloodlines tend to evaporate completely after a generation or two unless they are returned to prominence through the actions of exceptional characters.



Minorbloodlines are usually descended from less or non-famous figures that were present at Deismaar. Thousands of common foot soldiers and camp followers survived the battle to perpetuate minor bloodlines. Most scions (65%) have a minor bloodline. Scions of minor bloodlines generally have low bloodline scores.



Major bloodlines represent lines descended from themost prominent heroes and leaders at Deismaar and those who survived the first decades of usurpation. Almost all of the major bloodlines are famous throughout Cerilia, and the deeds, feuds, and abilities of their heirs are the stuff of bard’s tales and legends. Scions of major bloodlines have strong bloodline scores. Furthermore, regents with major (or great) bloodlines are sustained by their connection to their realm. Such regents receive bonus hit points determined by the size and prosperity of their realm.



Great bloodlines are rare; less than one scion in a hundred has a great bloodline. Only the greatest heroes of Deismaar were worthy of bloodlines of such strength and, even then, only if they happened to be in close proximity to one of the gods when they perished. Scions of great bloodlines often have exceptionally powerful manifestations.



True bloodlines are unique. Only the greatest heroes of Deismaar, those who were both physically and philosophically closest to the expiring gods, were granted True bloodlines. Only these surviving heroes or their direct heirs through bloodline investiture have True bloodlines. There are believed to be less than a dozen true bloodlines in existence.



All known True bloodlines are currently possessed by powerful awnshegh or ehrshegh. These individuals are near demigods and are rumored to be able to grant a divine connection that allows their followers access to divine magic. Some True scions are rumored to have other divine abilities beyond the ken of most mortals.

Bloodline score

Starting characters that are scions have an ability score that is not possessed by non-blooded characters. This ability score determines the bloodline power of a character in much the same way that their strength ability score determines the character’s physical strength. This seventh ability score must be generated during character creation following the rules for ability score determination presented in Chapter One: Characters.

These are the “default” rules. There is a variant (and table (Table 2-1) to randomly determine the derivation) and Strength ( Table 2-2).

And no, neither the bloodline strength nor the derivation have a direct affect on RP gained. RP gained is equal to a number that has a mximum of your bloodline score (it is a percentage based on various skill ranks (in the playtest, will change to total modifiers when that chapter is revised).

Strength (i.e., minor, major, great, true) will allow a character to take a number of scion levels that will have various effects. One effect is bonus hit points another is when using any regent options from Chapter 8.

Minor strengths (regardless of score) will not grant any bonus hit points nor can such a scion take any scion class levels. There is no tainted strength it is basically a "label" assigned to ascion with a minor bloodline and a score of less than 20 and hence no blood abilities.

[geeman]

At 09:23 AM 10/31/2005 +0100, Mantyluoto wrote:

>Help from someone named Gary!!
>
>what a cool name
>
>mine too!!

Have you ever noticed that characters in film and TV named "Gary" are
always hopeless nerds or obnoxious jocks? There`s never a Gary that`s the
hero.... At least, not that I`ve ever seen. I`m convinced it`s a
conspiracy of all the Daves, Steves and Erics. Could be worse, I
suppose. Not a lot of heroic characters named Sheldon....

Anyway, on to discussing bloodline systems for updates to a OOP campaign
setting... that`ll help dismiss the Gary=nerd stereotype....

>So Geeman do you keep your bloodline score the same as 2nd edit (original
>Birthright) Example Suris Enlin (Medoere) has a 2E score of (Major) 32.
>but a 3E score of 16 IIRC. in yours hers would be 9-12 with 9-12 d6. Is
>that correct?

I record bloodline score in a way similar to that of the original
system--but with a few tweaks. Since there is a numerical value for
strength there`s no need to write that out. Here`s the bloodline in BP
format from The Flayed Man, an awnshegh I posted a while back:

Bloodline in BP Format: Az(7/25) Iron Will(2), Regeneration(5), Undead
Affinity(7)**, Wither Touch(2/1)**

Because there is a numerical value associated with bloodline strength all
that is necessary to note the character`s bloodline derivation, strength
and score are the two letter abbreviation of his derivation (An, Az, Ba,
Re, etc.) the score representing his bloodline strength (the 7 in the score
noted above, which is a minor bloodline per that previous table) and the
actual bloodline strength score (in this case 25.) The basics of any
scion`s bloodline could, therefore, be recorded with just a few
characters. For example, Ma (11/41) represents a scion of Masela with a
major bloodline strength and a bloodline score of 41.

The rest of the information there is the list of the character`s blood
abilities and the number of Blood Ability Points (BP) dedicated to those
abilities. The system of blood abilities is pretty extensive--it would
probably be best compared to the system of powers and abilities in a
superhero RPG. It includes a standard progression (the "base power" of the
ability) a system of optional "enhancements" and a set of "reductions" for
most of the blood abilities. A blood ability then might be listed by its
name followed by as many as three numbers in parenthesis to indicate to
which aspect of the ability points are dedicated. The (2/1) in the above
notation indicates that the Flayed Man has two points in the standard
progression of the Wither Touch blood ability and a point dedicated to an
enhancement of that ability. In his case, the enhancement is an increased
number of times per day he can use that ability. A character with Poison
Touch (4/1/1) would have dedicated 4 BP to the base power, 1 BP and gained
an additional BP by taking 1 BP in the blood ability`s reduction.

Also, I use a character class to portray the progession of a character into
awn-/ershegh form, and that character class can give the character
additional BP to spend on his current or new blood abilities. The
asterisks in the above notation are there to indicate that the character
gained those blood abilities by taking levels in the awnshegh/ershegh
character class rather than through his bloodline alone.

>And the bloodline score determines Regency etc etc?

Yup, bloodline score determines regency, and it provides points to spend on
blood abilities. (1 BP per 4 points of bloodline strength after the first 4.)

>I`m slowly working the BrCS and haven`t quite got to blood abilities
>(hopefully today!!) so how would the table with modifier work with 3E
>blood abilities etc etc?

The blood ability system I used is point based and, thus, mechanically
different from that in the update. Here`s an example of how the bld
modifier is used a blood ability:

Shadow Jaunt (SJnt) - Az, Br
With this ability you are able to manipulate shadows, even taking on the
characteristics of shadows yourself.

Base Power: You gain the following powers and abilities for each BP spent
on Shadow Form:

BP Power
1 Add your Bld to all Hide checks made while in shadows.
2 You gain low-light vision and a +1 dodge bonus to your AC
while in shadows.
3 Once per day you may double your Bld as a dodge bonus to
your AC while in shadows. This bonus remains in effect for 1 minute/Bld
and is usable 1/day.

So if a character with three BP spend on the base power of Shadow Jaunt had
a bloodline strength of 5 or 6 (minor) he`d have a +2 Bld and gain that
bonus to his hide checks made while in shadows. He`d also have low light
vision and a permanent +1 dodge bonus while in shadows for the second BP
spent on the blood ability. For the third he`d gain a +4 dodge bonus
available for two minutes 1/day.

Hope that makes some sense.

Gary

[irdeggman]

At 09:23 AM 10/31/2005 +0100, Mantyluoto wrote:

>Help from someone named Gary!!
>
>what a cool name
>
>mine too!!

Have you ever noticed that characters in film and TV named "Gary" are
always hopeless nerds or obnoxious jocks? There`s never a Gary that`s the
hero.... At least, not that I`ve ever seen. I`m convinced it`s a
conspiracy of all the Daves, Steves and Erics. Could be worse, I
suppose. Not a lot of heroic characters named Sheldon....

Try Duane.

[geeman]

At 02:49 PM 11/1/2005 +0100, Duane wrote:

>>Have you ever noticed that characters in film and TV named "Gary" are
>>always hopeless nerds or obnoxious jocks? There`s never a Gary that`s the
>>hero.... At least, not that I`ve ever seen. I`m convinced it`s a
>>conspiracy of all the Daves, Steves and Erics. Could be worse, I
>>suppose. Not a lot of heroic characters named Sheldon....
>
>Try Duane.

OK, yeah, that`d be bad. Here`s where "Gary" is worse, though:

Gary, Larry, Perry, Terry, Jerry, Barry, Harry, etc.

"Gary" culminates many nerdy/obnoxious names. You`d think it`d be Barry
but no. The sexy-cool stylings of Barry White seem to have fundamentally
altered the dynamic, curse his deep-voiced soul.... Even Perry has a
nerdy-cool association with Perry Como. Gary Cooper hasn`t seemed to help
much--probably because he always did kind of seem like he sat on a ramrod
at some point in his early career. What we need is a guy named Gary to
become the heavy-weight champion of the world in pyrotechnic kickboxing to
turn things around.

Plus, it rhymes with other English words--but mostly the horrific and
embarrassing ones:

Gary, fairy, hairy, very, berry, wary, etc.

It`s amazing how otherwise mentally deficient people can suddenly dip into
iambic pentameter at the sound of an -ary name.... In fact, since it goes
with all the -ee words that opens up all the -ly adverbs. I`ve only heard
someone use the nonsense word "fartly" in a sentence two occasions--but
somehow they managed to rhyme it with Gary.

If you google "hate Duane" you get 93 of 343 hits. 234 of 608 hits show up
for "hate Gary" (though I think only about 80 of those are me....)

Gary