Bloodlines

[Roman]

Bloodlines or Templates? I've made a lot of half-fey templates, and a few bloodlines. I know where a few of the templates are, but I might have to dredge up the bloodlines. Oh, and the templates may seem strong for ECL 2, but I promise that I playtested them by allowing min/maxed 1st-level characters to take them and then putting them up against CR 7 challenges when they had full resources (should have been a terribly difficult fight that they might win, like a boss fight, if they were really ECL 3) and they lost every single time

> > > Half-nymph:
> > > Dex +4, Int +2, Wis +2, Cha +6
> > > Add Charisma as a deflection bonus to AC
> > > +4 racial bonus to Handle Animal and Wild Empathy
> > > Distracting Beauty (Su): All humanoids who attack the half-nymph in melee
> > > combat suffer a -1 to attack and damage rolls unless they succeed at a DC
> > > 11 + Charisma Bonus Will save

> > > Half-dark sidhe:
> > > Dex +4, Int +4, Cha +6
> > > +2 to Spellcraft and Use Magic Device checks
> > > DR 2/cold iron (stacks with warlock DR)
> > > +1 to DCs and caster level of shadow/dark spells

Nice and creative - I like it, particularly the half-nymph. I don't think they are too powerful for LA +2, after all ordinary two levels also give hit dice, skill points, level based abilities and count towards feats, so I don't think these are overpowered at all.

If you do find any of the bloodlines, though, I would be grateful if you could post them too. Among other things, I am looking forward to seeing how you dealt with replacing the affinity bonuses in each case.

 

[Rystil Arden]

Heh, I'll do my best. The problem is that those are in papers that are at my other home, but some of them I sent out in e-mails. So if I find the e-mails, I can post them

 

[Rystil Arden]

Siren Majour Bloodline (you can derive the rest from this)
1st- +2 on Perform checks
2nd- Iron Will
3rd- Charisma +1
4th- Charm Person 1/day (Sp)
5th- +1 to DCs of Mind-Affecting Enchantment Spells (also applies to Spell-like Abilities gained from this Bloodline)
6th- Low-light vision
7th- +2 on Swim checks
8th- Persuasive
9th- Dexterity +1
10th- Touch of Idiocy 1/day (Sp)
11th- +2 circumstance bonus to Charisma-based checks involving use of the voice
12th- Daze Monster 1/day (Sp)
13th- +2 on Sense Motive checks
14th- DR cold iron/1
15th- Charisma +1
16th- Deep Slumber 1/day (Sp)
17th- Gain a Swim speed equal to your land speed and the ability to breathe underwater (this also gives a +10 circumstance bonus to Swim checks and the ability to take 10, etc)
18th- Charm Monster 1/day (Sp)
19th- +2 on Knowledge[Nature] checks (and can make them untrained)
20th- DR 5/cold iron

 

[Roman]

Siren Majour Bloodline (you can derive the rest from this)
1st- +2 on Perform checks
2nd- Iron Will
3rd- Charisma +1
4th- Charm Person 1/day (Sp)
5th- +1 to DCs of Mind-Affecting Enchantment Spells (also applies to Spell-like Abilities gained from this Bloodline)
6th- Low-light vision
7th- +2 on Swim checks
8th- Persuasive
9th- Dexterity +1
10th- Touch of Idiocy 1/day (Sp)
11th- +2 circumstance bonus to Charisma-based checks involving use of the voice
12th- Daze Monster 1/day (Sp)
13th- +2 on Sense Motive checks
14th- DR cold iron/1
15th- Charisma +1
16th- Deep Slumber 1/day (Sp)
17th- Gain a Swim speed equal to your land speed and the ability to breathe underwater (this also gives a +10 circumstance bonus to Swim checks and the ability to take 10, etc)
18th- Charm Monster 1/day (Sp)
19th- +2 on Knowledge[Nature] checks (and can make them untrained)
20th- DR 5/cold iron

Thank you Rysil!

BTW: How do you deal with PCs having bloodlines, blood templates, etc.? My preferred method would be to start them one free level at the beginning of the campaign that could be spent on an LA which would not count towards the level of the character, XP, etc.

 

[Rystil Arden]

Thank you Rysil!

BTW: How do you deal with PCs having bloodlines, blood templates, etc.? My preferred method would be to start them one free level at the beginning of the campaign that could be spent on an LA which would not count towards the level of the character, XP, etc.

I make them pay the full LA but then let them buy off the LA using the rules from Unearthed Arcana. So Nia the half-siren, quarter-dark-sidhe, who recently reached Enchantress9/LA1 (it had been LA 2 until level 6 when she got rid of it), was able to eliminate her last LA.

 

[Roman]

I make them pay the full LA but then let them buy off the LA using the rules from Unearthed Arcana. So Nia the half-siren, quarter-dark-sidhe, who recently reached Enchantress9/LA1 (it had been LA 2 until level 6 when she got rid of it), was able to eliminate her last LA.

I suppose that works too. I would offer the free +1 LA to enable characters to start of with a bloodline at 1st level though - it just seems too strange to acquire a bloodline later, no? I suppose it could sort of work - the PC 'awakens' his/her dormant 'blood' at a later stage.

Just out of interest, wouldn't it be LA +3 (+2 for half-siren, +1 for quarter-dark-sidhe) until level 6?

On another note - do you also use bloodline feats or feat chains? I recall seeing some scattered around the web...

BTW: Unearthed Arcana is a superb book. I was inspired to obtain it due to the spell point system discussion.

 

[Rystil Arden]

I suppose that works too. I would offer the free +1 LA to enable characters to start of with a bloodline at 1st level though - it just seems too strange to acquire a bloodline later, no? I suppose it could sort of work - the PC 'awakens' his/her dormant 'blood' at a later stage.

Just out of interest, wouldn't it be LA +3 (+2 for half-siren, +1 for quarter-dark-sidhe) until level 6?

On another note - do you also use bloodline feats or feat chains? I recall seeing some scattered around the web...

BTW: Unearthed Arcana is a superb book. I was inspired to obtain it due to the spell point system discussion.

Ah, that's the great part about Bloodlines! You don't start off with any LA, but you pick it up slowly as you level up (see page 20). So with a Majour Bloodline you don't feel the hit until level 3, when you have to pick up an ECL (and then you pay again at 6 and again at 12, its the backwards of removing ECL). So you're right that you never pick up a Bloodline later.

As for Nia, I just made her half-fey, rather than stacking double-templates on her, and customised her special abilities a bit to reflect her mixed blood.

Bloodline Feats- they're a cool idea, but I don't use them because I don't want my players to have to spend their precious feats for the abilities. I already have so many feats I allow that players are going crazy over running out of bonus feats with which to purchase them

I'm glad you liked Unearthed Arcana. It's definitely one of the best WotC supplements for my money in recent memory.

 

[HellHound]

We are also huge Bloodline fans at my house. However, I completely disagree regarding the minimum blood content idea for a bloodline.

Bloodlines are not just the result of intermingling of blood (as the name would imply), but are also the result of omens, prophecies, good and ill luck and sundry other sources.

This is from the introduction of a book I'm working on:

Others gain bloodlines for other reasons, some may be conceived, carried or born in times of trouble, disease, pestilence or death. It is said that bearing a child in the vicinity of a graveyard can also have these effects. Cannibalism within the family may result in ghoul-bloodlined children also. Undead bloodlines can also be omens, gifts or curses sent by necromantic gods as part of a prophecy, an ancient legend or as a gift to followers or a curse against the unworthy. While the GM should decide on the truth behind a character’s bloodline, the character need never k'now the reason for his differences.

 

[Rystil Arden]

We are also huge Bloodline fans at my house. However, I completely disagree regarding the minimum blood content idea for a bloodline.

Bloodlines are not just the result of intermingling of blood (as the name would imply), but are also the result of omens, prophecies, good and ill luck and sundry other sources.

This is from the introduction of a book I'm working on:

Others gain bloodlines for other reasons, some may be conceived, carried or born in times of trouble, disease, pestilence or death. It is said that bearing a child in the vicinity of a graveyard can also have these effects. Cannibalism within the family may result in ghoul-bloodlined children also. Undead bloodlines can also be omens, gifts or curses sent by necromantic gods as part of a prophecy, an ancient legend or as a gift to followers or a curse against the unworthy. While the GM should decide on the truth behind a character’s bloodline, the character need never k'now the reason for his differences.

Oh don't get me wrong, I've used Bloodlines for characters who don't actually have blood content, but I use my blood-content chart as a rule of thumb. So while others can get a bloodline, characters with a certain blood content will usually have it (unless their other blood becomes completely dominant).

 

[HellHound]

My only complaint about bloodlines as they stand is that not all bloodlines exist in all three strengths. Regardless of the bloodline type, I make sure that all bloodlines I write are available in all three strengths.

Expect to see a product with necromantic paragon classes and bloodlines from E.N.Publishing in the next few weeks (as soon as the art work comes back from Mr Krug)