Question for those who played the "Baldur's Gate" cRPGs (spoilers)

[Wycen]

I think I tiefling could grow up not knowing they are a tiefling and look pretty much like everyone else.

 

[Stormborn]

I would certainly allow a PC to play a planetouched race with the physical qualities so downgraded that they were virtually unnoticable -although might recommend something like an odd eye color or a "birthmark" to indicate the difference. Immunities and spell like abilites can be explained away as a touch of sorcerous blood that was never fully developed (unless the PC is a sorcerer).

For Baal Spawn I would probablly create a simple LA+1 template to represent an unawakened Baal Spawn - nothing major just some racially abnormal traits. Then I would develop an Awakened Baalspawn Prestige Class that only someone with that Template could access.

 

[The_Warlock]

That's what you get for using proper punctuation and grammar.

Oooooh, now you're just being mean!

 

[The_Warlock]

For Baal Spawn I would probablly create a simple LA+1 template to represent an unawakened Baal Spawn - nothing major just some racially abnormal traits. Then I would develop an Awakened Baalspawn Prestige Class that only someone with that Template could access.

I like that, it's elegant, and allows the Player to decide whether or not they are "embracing" their heritage.

You could also make the template grant a few powers/abilities at higher levels, modeling the fact that as they gain more power, regardless of method, their godsblooded nature wants to exert itself more. Possibly use a modification of the "Taint" rules introduced in Dragon a few years back.

 

[Sejs]

If this game were done in 3e, would the protagonist be considered a Tiefling (since s/he's an offspring of an evil deity Bhaal)? Just wondering.

Nah. Tieflings are a speciffic case: humans with a trace of fiend blood somewhere back in their ancestory. Not all Bhaalspawn are human, they don't all have the same abilities - what abilities they do have are based on their alignment and 'other' factors - and Bhaal wasn't a fiend. He was a god. Not the same ballpark, even if they did live in the same neighborhood.

It's said that Bhaal mated with many different races (as seen in ToB, there's even Dragon Bhaalspawn). Would they all be part Tiefling? Is there a way tocreate such a character in 3e?

Honestly?

Bloodline rules from UA. Lets you apply them to anything, and you can customize the abilities gained. Also lets you (or the player) choose how much they want to embrace their abilities, represented by taking different levels of bloodline strength.

Skip over the whole Slayer thing from BG2; that arose out of a very particular and very odd set of circumstances.

 

[Sejs]

Is it possible, for character creation purposes, to play either a Tiefling or Aasimar and not know it (in character)? Can they look human, and have the backstory "I was adopted, know nothing about my real parents," ect.? Or are there enough distinguishing characteristics that you'd know this person was not Human?

That'd be kinda tough.

Particularly keeping the character ignorant of their own abilities. A tiefling, even if they look almost completely human, would eventually figure out that most normal fires don't hurt them at all, they can create an area of supernatural shadow, and can see perfectly well in pitch darkness out to 60'.

 

[Drowbane]

Nah. Tieflings are a speciffic case: humans with a trace of fiend blood somewhere back in their ancestory. Not all Bhaalspawn are human, they don't all have the same abilities - what abilities they do have are based on their alignment and 'other' factors - and Bhaal wasn't a fiend. He was a god. Not the same ballpark, even if they did live in the same neighborhood.




Honestly?

Bloodline rules from UA. Lets you apply them to anything, and you can customize the abilities gained. Also lets you (or the player) choose how much they want to embrace their abilities, represented by taking different levels of bloodline strength.

Skip over the whole Slayer thing from BG2; that arose out of a very particular and very odd set of circumstances.

Back in 2e I ran a mini campaign that featured a number of Bhaalspawn PCs. None of them initially knew what they were, or why they had special powers. Until one of them had eventually slain the others (directly and indirectly) and claimed thier powers for his own. At which point the other players were playing more normal characters (this was 2e, alot of whackiness around anyways!)

In 2e, I ran it as random Wild Talents that manifested when story elements needed them. None of the players knew what thier PC could do, some of them had more than one power.

Blake, the PC who eventually won out against his rivals, was a Human Thief with a few Wild Talents (I think he had 4 to start).

When 3e came out, Blake was eventually reproduced as a Human Rogue with the Psionic Template.

Later he was rebuilt as Human Rogue / guild thief with the Bhaalspawn Template.

Some yrs later UA came out, and we cooked up a Bhaalspawn Bloodline for all three strengths. Hide in Plain Sight and Death Attack were amongst it's final abilities.

Thats the last incarnation of Blake that I know of...

 

[Nightfall]

Drowsbane,

Nice. Yeah I don't see why you need to be a tielfling to be the son of Bhaal. Sure he's evil, but he's well above most powers that are fiendish. (Well not Orcus but still...) Son of a god should have bloodline powers or else a background power feat tree.

 

[icedrake]

Since gods have their crazy super-divine powers and actually create the world, you can do whatever you please. I think Bhaal shifted into various races all across the world trying to produce an offspring that would inherit his divine power after the Time of Trouble so that he might survive. Did you play Throne of Bhaal? I haven't but a friend of mine did. He said it was an epic game that had you fighting the god's offspring, either for the good of the world or defend your right to godhood.

 

[Trickstergod]

The bloodlines from Unearthed Arcana are one way to help simulate things.

Another would be to add the half-celestial, half-fiend template.

Just base which template gets applied on the alignment of the character or, in the case of a neutral individual, on just which side the individual mostly lies.

All those options involve gaining powers as you level up instead of being completely frontloaded with them, though the templates still come with a number of starting powers.

And the game makes it pretty clear that, while you may have Bhaal's blood, you're able to "influence" it. Gaining the ability to heal, resurrect, generally do benign things with your divine heritage, despite the fact that it's from Bhaal. So if a template or race is decided, it shouldn't be a set infernal race, but have the option for the side of angels, too.