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Anyone check out Radiance RPG yet?
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<blockquote data-quote="AncientSpirits" data-source="post: 6031433" data-attributes="member: 55778"><p>I'm happy to answer questions.</p><p></p><p>Think of the dhampir class as a "monster class" from the heyday of 3.5. Keep in mind a character can multiclass, switching into dhampir after being infected in some way by a vampire or by joining a vampiric faction (Blood Masquerade).</p><p></p><p>So why do it? The class meets a mechanical need that a race cannot because vampires are so powerful. A player comes to me and says, "I want to play a vampire" just as he might say, "I want to play a dragon" or "a werewolf". He or she wants to play Blade or Selene. How do I accommodate that as a GM beyond taking the question literally or offering something puny? There is a Pathfinder race called dhampir, but as a race it's limited and its abilities don't live up to its flavor text.</p><p></p><p>So, I interpreted the term "dhampir" loosely to mean "part human, part vampire, still alive but having some powers of (and against) the undead". </p><p></p><p>Now, the dhampier text reads:</p><p></p><p>"These charming night-dwellers harbor vampire blood. Dhampirs start their careers as living mortals, but as they embrace ancient, accursed urges and powers, they travel a path into undeath.</p><p> Dhampirs tend to be loners, as they are the unwholesome, rare result of a mortal and vampire union."</p><p></p><p>Perhaps it's too easy to read literally. "Union" can mean sex, or a ritual or some other activity that results in exchange in blood between the PC and a vampire, thus kick-starting vampiric life. It doesn't necessarily mean the character was birthed as a half-vampire. It could even mean the character's great grandfather was a half-vampire, and that small amount of vampire blood is enough to open up a path toward the undead, but as something studied and acquired.</p><p></p><p>Narratively, film characters tend to start down the vampire path as adults. In many, the transition is very sudden, but even then the understanding is that the character will learn more powerful vampire abilities over the centuries or by drinking elder vampire blood, etc. Sometimes the transition is slower and characters can even remain alive as they transition, perhaps by using a drug or spell or such, as in "The Forsaken". With all the vampire movies out there, we don't need to say Blade is the only model for a dhampir.</p><p></p><p>Anyway, this class is pretty popular. To ban it for flavor reasons in the setting makes sense of course, but I'd ask you consider other stories and ways the class might work.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="AncientSpirits, post: 6031433, member: 55778"] I'm happy to answer questions. Think of the dhampir class as a "monster class" from the heyday of 3.5. Keep in mind a character can multiclass, switching into dhampir after being infected in some way by a vampire or by joining a vampiric faction (Blood Masquerade). So why do it? The class meets a mechanical need that a race cannot because vampires are so powerful. A player comes to me and says, "I want to play a vampire" just as he might say, "I want to play a dragon" or "a werewolf". He or she wants to play Blade or Selene. How do I accommodate that as a GM beyond taking the question literally or offering something puny? There is a Pathfinder race called dhampir, but as a race it's limited and its abilities don't live up to its flavor text. So, I interpreted the term "dhampir" loosely to mean "part human, part vampire, still alive but having some powers of (and against) the undead". Now, the dhampier text reads: "These charming night-dwellers harbor vampire blood. Dhampirs start their careers as living mortals, but as they embrace ancient, accursed urges and powers, they travel a path into undeath. Dhampirs tend to be loners, as they are the unwholesome, rare result of a mortal and vampire union." Perhaps it's too easy to read literally. "Union" can mean sex, or a ritual or some other activity that results in exchange in blood between the PC and a vampire, thus kick-starting vampiric life. It doesn't necessarily mean the character was birthed as a half-vampire. It could even mean the character's great grandfather was a half-vampire, and that small amount of vampire blood is enough to open up a path toward the undead, but as something studied and acquired. Narratively, film characters tend to start down the vampire path as adults. In many, the transition is very sudden, but even then the understanding is that the character will learn more powerful vampire abilities over the centuries or by drinking elder vampire blood, etc. Sometimes the transition is slower and characters can even remain alive as they transition, perhaps by using a drug or spell or such, as in "The Forsaken". With all the vampire movies out there, we don't need to say Blade is the only model for a dhampir. Anyway, this class is pretty popular. To ban it for flavor reasons in the setting makes sense of course, but I'd ask you consider other stories and ways the class might work. [/QUOTE]
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