Page 1 of 6 12345 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 58
  1. #1
    Special Guest (Donor)
    Join Date
    Nov 2001
    Location
    Spain
    Posts
    532
    Downloads
    11
    Uploads
    0

    Bloodline tied to Level

    Not sure if this should posted here or in the Royal Library. I've been re-reading the 2e bloodtheft rules and I can't find any rule that disallows a parent killing his own children to increase her bloodline. This is a very wicked behavior (although I could imagine Awnsheglien doing it), and I know that "roleplaying" you can tackle this problem (like you can tackle any problem), but I'm talking from a rules-mechanics point of view (where nothing I can find disallows it).

    If bloodline was tied to level, it would be impossible to exploit this (for example). And it seems to make more sense in general even if you can't have the "Level 1 Fighter Great God Bloodline Emperor of Anuire".

    I know this is a "sacred cow" in Birthright and maybe there are good arguments to not tie bloodline to level, but I think it's worth talking at least (as conversion into blood feats and powers in 4e would probably mean tying bloodline to level).

  2. #2
    Ehrshegh of Spelling Thelandrin's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    1,086
    Downloads
    68
    Uploads
    0
    I think that common sense, moral outrage and social prohibition should be more than enough to forbid blood-thefting your own children, even without a specific rule.

  3. #3
    Site Moderator AndrewTall's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    London, England
    Posts
    2,476
    Downloads
    30
    Uploads
    2
    I think that bloodline is only supposed to manifest around puberty (although that may have been a 3e add-in), as a result usurping your children was made much harder.

    Generally though I'd expect social pressure to be the block - it takes someone not merely evil, but actively self destructive to wilfuly kill their children as most beings have fairly strong instincts against it (for obvious genetic reasons).

    Immortal awnsheghlien are about the only likely candidates - the Gorgon for example killed his children after he came to see them not as heirs, but as rivals according to Stonecrowns.

    In terms of mechanics you would run into various issues - how close a genetic link do you need to prevent usurpation? If using a 3e regency storm would the bloodline simply displace to the nearest non-infanticidal scion? What about spells to make yourself linked to someone as a child? etc.

  4. #4
    Blood history only gives you history until your ancestor/you were born. blood abilities are not puberty tied in general. I remember something about Long Life being puberty tied to prvent the 150 year old regent only being 15.

    Given that in 4e NPC's won't all have levels, I think limiting blood line to levels dampers the game in 4e.

  5. #5
    Junior Member Capricia's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    BC, Canada
    Posts
    24
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0
    Quote Originally Posted by aluman View Post
    Blood history only gives you history until your ancestor/you were born. blood abilities are not puberty tied in general. I remember something about Long Life being puberty tied to prvent the 150 year old regent only being 15.

    Given that in 4e NPC's won't all have levels, I think limiting blood line to levels dampers the game in 4e.

    In the BRCS? ALL blood powers are tied directly to puberty. The only one that is not is the Bloodmark, which appears at birth.


    Granted, with the arrival of 4e, that's going to all need to be revisited.

  6. #6
    Actually, it would be best for a 4E converision to come from 2E material, otherwise we are doing a converision of a converision and like a copy of a copy each step away from the original produces a slightly inferior product.

    For instance, in 2E Blood history while mostly trivial (you gained the memories of your Father and his father and so on until the beginning of the line), quite clearly came from Birth.

    3E doing that was actually more problematic than it was possible, since so much of 3E's balance was along power lines, at any given level you shuoldn't have more than X power.

    4E feels like its balanced around 'Every Round everyone should have something to Do.' Which means balancing by level isn't strictly nessarcy (indeed, Sleep is probably one of the best save or else spells in the game and its a level 1, and many of the level 3 encounter powers for fighters are inferior to the level 1 powers in the strictest sense).

    Also, most NPCs that won't get into combat will not have levels, thus: If courtier B is just that a minor courtier but has blood he can't have abilities if we tie blood abilities to level.

  7. #7
    I agree with the fact taking 3rd would be a copy with a copy, but I also think that it should be used in conjucture to the 2nd edition with the abilities orginal wording since some of it will greatly reduce time with the terminology that they kept over from one edition to the next.

  8. #8
    That I can agree with, a lot of terminology is similar or has counterparts, just the conventions of 3E are not the conventions of 4E. I would rather convert from 2E whose conventions aren't either 3 or 4 than 3, since 2E is the feel we all enjoy so much.

  9. #9
    Ehrshegh of Spelling Thelandrin's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    1,086
    Downloads
    68
    Uploads
    0
    However, if additional fluff clarifications have been added in the BRCS, we should use them. Any crunch clarifications can be merrily discarded.

  10. #10
    That I can go along with for a large extent, mostly the crunch should be attempted to be along 2E>4E and Fluff 3E>4E in an event where a blood ability isn't present in 2E or 3E we can adapt the other way.

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. ECL and bloodline power level
    By Riggswolfe in forum BRCS 3.0/3.5 Edition
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 08-08-2007, 03:30 PM
  2. What level do you prefer?
    By kgauck in forum BRCS 3.0/3.5 Edition
    Replies: 49
    Last Post: 04-25-2007, 12:23 PM
  3. Low level syndrome in BR
    By epicsoul in forum BRCS 3.0/3.5 Edition
    Replies: 110
    Last Post: 10-03-2006, 01:53 PM
  4. EXP per level.
    By Question in forum The Royal Library
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 11-29-2005, 07:19 AM
  5. Low level vs high level
    By Endrin Helrick in forum The Royal Library
    Replies: 28
    Last Post: 02-09-2004, 02:50 AM

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
BIRTHRIGHT, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, the BIRTHRIGHT logo, and the D&D logo are trademarks owned by Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc., and are used by permission. ©2002-2010 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.