Are there enough people interest in a modern magical setting and the Bloodlines and Black Magic rules to get a PbP going?
I'm thinking about running a game, maybe set in fictional small town Maine in the 80s. A bit of a mystery-horror game with a dash of super hero.
Could you tell me about bloodlines? I'm unfamiliar with it.
Bloodlines & Black magic builds on the Pathfinder 1E rules to create a magical modern setting and ruleset. The classes are brawler, mesmerist, spiritualist, slayer, investigator, occultist, and psychic.
Some precepts
1. Magic is real. (Most people don't have or know magic.)
2. There are global elites. (Even the monsters are scared of the men in suits.)
3. Monsters walk the night. (They also walk the boardroom)
4. The Power is in the Blood. (There are secret bloodlines)
5. We are Legion. (There are demons and devils)
6. The Veil is real. (Some people can see the monsters; most can't).
7. The Archons have a mission. (Angels or whatever don't give a s+@@ about you; they've got a job, and taking care of you is barely it.)
*Sees Tarren running another game. Runs over and dots hard.*
I'm unfamiliar with Bloodlines, but I've kind of wanted to play a Tiefling occultist, and the universe looks really cool! I need to look at the rules more thoroughly before taking any decision, but I'm certainly dotting for interest!
Certainly interested in a magical modern setting. Obviously, would need more information for both the recruitment and the different rules set itself.
Certainly interested in a magical modern setting. Obviously, would need more information for both the recruitment and the different rules set itself.
Yeah, that's fair. I've just gotten the rules (ordered myself the hardcover and PDF to celebrate an upcoming milestone and have only started looking at the PDF.)
The levels of play are 1-7 with "capstone abilities" coming at level 7.
You could play stories from Once Upon a Time, Buffy, Global Frequency, and a range of other stories with this.
I'm still reading it but curious if there's a possibility of a PbP here.
I'm looking to start a new PbP and it's either magical modern (1980s) Bloodlines and Black Magic game or a dimension-hopping super-hero adventure with Starfinder rules.
consider my dot as well. The setting looks interesting.
So I picked up the book (the pdf was like 15 bucks, so not too bad) and I'm about through the bloodlines, and they seem pretty neat. Should the recruitment go forward, I have a clear idea of what I am going to play, which is always a good sign.
I do wish the PDF was a bit better organized though...
I got it too, though I only had the time to flip through it. It definitely looks interesting! I'm still thinking of playing an occultist, but I'll need to flesh out that idea a bit, especially since I'm not familiar with either the class or the Bloodlines universe.
The occultist is a great class (I'd argue it's easily in the top 3 classes that Paizo has ever made). They have a very easy-to-understand spells known function, and the implement system does a good job of imitating the core abilities of each school of magic.
IF you have questions about it, feel free to ask and I'll be happy to answer them.
Thanks a lot, that's very kind! :D If I run into a problem, I'll be sure to do so!
I got a package notification that I think was for the book arriving. I've looked through it in the PDF, but I think I want to read it in print.
I think a Tiefling would be the "infernal" bloodline. The bloodlines allow you to spend some build points to choose from a list of possible traits. You could get an infernal with bonuses to Intelligence and Strength, a fiery halo, and the devil's charm. Makes me think of Lucifer Morningstar.
It does look interesting.
It's good to hear some interest.
Looks interesting, urban fantasy is always my jam
I think I'd be eyeing Mesmerist with the Fey or Infernal bloodlines as a John Constantine type of character.
Hmm ... I'm thinking of calling this PbP The Magician's Table.
A fey mesmerist ... Fey-blooded get +2 Dex, +2 Cha and can choose among abilities related to speed, luck, enchantment, and nature. You could get 'enchanting' and charm person 2 or 3 times a day at first level.
Yeah I was thinking if I went Fey it would probably be Enchanting, Winter Court's Magic, and Unseelie Luck. If I went Infernal, it would be Devil's Charm, Devil's Tongue, and Faustian Secrets. I'm not sure yet which I'd prefer, but I'm also not opposed to either if you wanted to limit each bloodline to only being a single person (since Ythiel already expressed interest in the Infernal).
I think the bloodlines are flexible. You can have two or even three infernals who have very different characters and roles.
An infernal-blooded occultist, an infernal-blooded investigator, and an infernal-blooded mesmerist could still be different, but their builds would probably start to overlap a bit...
I'm planning to make a melee focused character, either a brawler or a spiritualist with the ectoplasmic blade archetype; I'll be fey-blooded either way, because they get a stupid good list of powers.
Dotted for interest, the setting sounds very intriguing, going to need to check the pdf though :)
I didn't have the time to start on my character sheet (hope I'll be able to do it this weekend), but oddly enough I wasn't really thinking of a charismatic, Lucifer-type build... I have more of a bookworm in mind :) Possibly a skill monkey rather than a face? The bloodline and class seem pretty flexible, I'll have to look deeper into it to find a build that would work (although, if it doesn't, I'll go with the Face idea).
Very interested. Urban fantasy is one of my favorite genres.
Is there a time table for when you're looking to recruit/start?
I haven't put a date on it. I bought the book for my 50th birthday and that's still a month away, so, the only date I had in mind was "before then." It seems there's enough serious interest that it could be sooner though.
What do people think of the 80s as a time period? I feel like using an era that is pre-Internet and the 90s are a blank spot for me (I was overseas and not keeping in touch with Western culture.)
The 80s is fine with me. I was a kid when I lived through it, and I really enjoy the music from that era.
Rumour: A group of 'Black Monks,' members of a mysterious order of Jesuits that resides in Castle von Wattenwyl in Switzerland, has been spotted hiking along the Camino de Santiago, an ancient trail used for pilgrimages. The trail extends from Rome, through the Alps, and all the way to the English channel, and, then picks up again in England. Tourists on the trail reported the monks were carrying something on a kind of palanquin. They couldn't see what was inside the palanquin, but it appeared heavy. The monks appeared to have taken a vow of silence and ignored questions from the tourists.
I wasn't even born in the 80s I'm afraid ^^" But I'm willing to give it a try!
Dig the 80's, plenty of cool stuff without cellphones and laptops. I would be interested is resurrecting a catholic dhampir gunslinger I played. It sounds like the "Shadow Blooded" bloodline may fit the bill. Unfortunately don't have much knowledge on the system.
I like to link to images or music to create atmosphere. If the PCs ever chase the bad guys into a goth nightclub I'd link to era appropriate videos of the Bauhaus and Dead Can Dance, etc.
An occultist bookworm could be nicely oblivious to any 80s culture that enters the game.
I guess for a dhampir gunslinger in B&BM, you'd use a shadow-blooded slayer. They get a bonded weapon at first level.
Thinking Seraphic-blooded Spiritualist
I'm a huge fan of the 80s, so that works for me!
So it seems like we have enough interest (at least to me); did you want to have us start rolling up characters? I saw that the default stat method is 4d6 drop lowest, so I'm assuming that you want us to use that.
Just going to roll my stats now and get it out of the way, cause I'm bored. If we're using a different stat method, lmk and I'll switch it up.
Are archetypes from the many miscellaneous Paizo sources okay to use?
I have never seen anyone besides myself run a game of Bloodlines and Black Magic, so consider this my own stamp of approval.
How do you feel about a character who knows of, and supports, the Archons? I know the possibility is there for them to be an antagonist, depending on what kind of story you are telling, but I like the idea of playing a character that totally isn't a Seer of the Throne (MtAw2E reference).
It does sound like there is enough interest and that the game could start sooner than I planned.
I'm not very good at 'recruitment' and making decisions when there are more than enough players, but I know that PbPs get bogged down if everyone is waiting for one person and there are too many people. I also don't like the idea of having people do a lot of work and then being rejected.
I guess, first, I should say more about what I'm hoping for and see who is still in.
- When running a PbP, I keep a tab open for it so I can update it daily at least. I always hope the players are looking at it everyday and posting if it's their turn, but I know that's not always a possible expectation. If you haven't posted in a week and you find the story has moved on without you, you might feel left behind.
- The PbP starts in the 1980s, so greed and corruption will probably be themes. I can be a little dark, but I also don't want to make people feel uncomfortable. I remember an 80s that was more casually sexist and racist, but I wouldn't want the game to feel sexist and racist. I guess I would be careful in how I presented that.
- Cultural appreciation is good. Cultural appropriation is tacky and cheap. If you're playing across cultures or playing a person of a different sexual orientation or race, I'd want it to be done well. For example, I lived in Korea for 8 years and speak Korean, but I'd still be careful and reflective when playing a Korean character, especially a Korean woman.
- In terms of characters, I guess I'd want a group that could become a team. I'd want to avoid overlapping between roles and make sure to have coverage in a range of class roles.
Maybe, to keep recruitment simple and to help choose a good team, I'd like to hear, in a sentence, your character concept and, in another sentence, hear how that character would have come across and/or reacted to one of the rumours in the 'campaign info'.
I have never seen anyone besides myself run a game of Bloodlines and Black Magic, so consider this my own stamp of approval.
How do you feel about a character who knows of, and supports, the Archons? I know the possibility is there for them to be an antagonist, depending on what kind of story you are telling, but I like the idea of playing a character that totally isn't a Seer of the Throne (MtAw2E reference).
I'm going to need to sit down with the book before the game-world is fully developed in my head. I'm not sure about the Archons, but I like the openness about who is behind them. This world is ruled over by The Magician, and, perhaps, he uses the Archons to do his bidding. I just need a bit more time to know which lore I'm keeping and which is popular misconception in the local occult communities. A character who knows of and believes in the celestial entity known as The Magician might work.
Arianna Grimaldi is the youngest daughter of the Monaco royal family. She is a tomboy and frequents underground fight rings where she is known as the Ice Queen. Arianna's awakening came about when she fought something that only looked Human in the ring. Intrigued, she began to focus on studying the occult. She is currently in her first year at university, where she is majoring in comparative religions.
Having heard the rumour of the monks secreting things along the Camino de Santiago, Arianna spent several months staking out the route under the guise of a vacation. The monks either did not move anything during her stay, or she somehow missed them.
Maybe, to keep recruitment simple and to help choose a good team, I'd like to hear, in a sentence, your character concept and, in another sentence, hear how that character would have come across and/or reacted to one of the rumours in the 'campaign info'.
Very cool, I will include Sariel's original back story, don't know how easily it fits into this 'world' but I'm hoping the transition would be simple.
Sariel will be a defender against 'things that go bump in the night' in his neighborhood and potentially a bounty hunter for the church or for other groups.
It would be possible that he heard about the 'Monks' through his church contacts and at father Johns request investigate it. It would also be possible that he would work with someone searching for 'the coin.' Depending on the reputation of 'the coin.' He prefers dealing with occult issues not mundane.
Is a a shadow-blooded slayer similar enough to a traditional slayer to start a character sheet?
He was abandoned at St Patrick’s Church, in Chicago, in the early hours of September 16, 1877. Taken in by the Nuns at the orqhanage, because of the ghastly pallor of his skin, he was not expected to live. They said a prayer for him and laid him aside in the nursery, tending to children that may have a chance. They named him Sariel Patrick Cornelius, so they would have a name for the death certificate; Sariel after the angel of death, Patrick after St. Patrick’s where he was found and Cornelius after the day he was found, dedicates to Saint Cornelius on the General Roman Calendar. He did not die.
Sariel spent several years in the orphanage at St. Patrick’s. He was always small for his size and he retained the ghastly pallor from his infancy, his hair grew in a dull red that can only be described as “the color of dried blood” with a large amount of grey. After several years when it was observed that he was not growing at a normal rate they started bringing in “specialists”. Sariel did not like being poked and prodded; and when the Nuns started talking about sending him to a special hospital for testing; Sariel decided to take his chances on the streets of Chicago.
From just a few years before the turn of the century until the roaring twenties Sairiel lived as a street urchin on Chicago’s south side, picking up skills that would serve him the rest of his life, his natural nocturnal skills serving him where experience was not able to. He regularly had more money than was safe for someone living on the streets of Chicago, so he gave the rest to the St. Patrick’s orphanage.
One cold night during the depression Sairiel felt a gut-wrenching pull that he had experienced before, but never knew what caused it. He decided to find its cause. As he felt the pull strengthen and then grow lax he followed the sensation through the streets of the lower south side that he was so familiar with. Finally coming to a dead end, where he watched a dark figure raise a sharp implement and stab another dark figure below. The sensation stopped. This was not the first murder that Sairiel had witnessed everything told him to run, but he must know the cause of the sensations. As he drew near, the bent figure that had wielded the implement of death, raised a crucifix, and making the sign of the cross, began to pray in latin.
Father Raphael, immediately recognized Sairiel for what he was, a Dhampir. The father, seeing the good in all things, took Sairiel in. Father Raphael was a hunter of the un-dead, not only did he explain Sairiel’s unusual heritage to him he explained how he could sense the undead and how his other gifts worked. He taught Sairiel how to hunt and he helped Sairiel bridge the gap between his birth and his faith. Father Raphael hid his hunting from the church, because of the turmoil it would cause. But he was able to introduce Sairiel to a loose network of independent private hunters who would sometimes use Sairiel’s unusual skills.
Father Raphael, through providence that made both Raphael and Sairiel joke about; was the priest at “Queen of Angels church” on the south side of Chicago. When He grew too old to perform his duties as priest he was replace by a younger man named Father John. Even though “Father John” was not a hunter Sairiel saw him as a confidant and confessor. Sairiel also remained on speaking terms with any new Mother Superior of the St. Patrick’s Orphanage; where he would donate money and sometimes “grease the wheels of bureaucracy“ anonymously to benefit the orphanage.
Sariel lives as a homeless transient, using several lockers at bus stations in and around Chicago to keep needed items; like fake ID’s, disposable phones, clothing, technical gear and weapons. He also keeps a couple of post office boxes that he moves mail through before he opens it. He has maintained a relationship with Father John, the newest priest at “Queen of Angels Church” and Mother Superior Martha at the orphanage.
In late 1998 Sairiel was working on a free-lance job with a hunter know as “Mr. Little”. He and his team need a “blood hound” to smell out a nest of vampires. Little and his group were arrogant and unprepared, Sairiel tried to warn Mr. Little, who would not listen. Sairil left without his cut; declaring the raid not safe. When he next responded to a “sit down” from someone in the network it was Mr. Little; with a sad story, an uzi and a desire to blame Sairiel. While Mr. Little began his monologue Sairiel turned the tables on him; literally, he tipped the table of the small street café over and ran off, taking two bullets in the arm and shoulder.
Since that time Sairiel has not responded to any request from the network and was surprised to see the letter in his new post box. ]\
I'm currently flexible on gender and ethnic background (though I'm leaning towards a female from England, New England, or France). The reason for the vagueness is that I'd like to work with someone else to establish a sort of "investigative" team as siblings, spouses, or even simply partners, not unlike The Warrens. To Tarren's point of feeling like a team, I think it would be cool if we all didn't come from a background of not knowing each other. (More on that below)
For the sake of simplicity, I'll refer to my character with feminine pronouns (though it isn't a definite).
For build, she'll be a Mesmerist, focused on some parlour trick illusions, but also has some psychic talent primarily when it comes to people, and is interested in getting to the truth. She'll have the Fey bloodline, crossblooded with either Infernal or Seraphic, depending on which seems more useful to the group as a whole - Seraphic would be to take King Solomon's Touch to get some healing (if we don't have someone more dedicated for it), while Infernal would be for more spells and speech. Focused much more on the social and investigative aspects and less on combat.
For a background, my rough thoughts are this: She's always been a bit psychic but attributed it more to a sense of "intuition" than anything else, getting feelings about things and people. During law school, deep in the library stacks she found an ancient grimoire. In something of a punk phase, she stole it, figuring that no one would notice / miss it (they didn't). She never dove into it much, but kept it around because it was "cool" to bring out at parties. Now that she's in her late 20's, she's graduated and the punk lifestyle and her days of frontmanning a band are all behind her, somewhat regretfully. She's still a bit cynical, only made worse by having spent a few years practising law. She was benched by the firm she was working for after mistreating a suspect she was prosecuting whom she knew to be lying. What she couldn't figure out was how he did it. Ready to believe anything, she winds up looking into supernatural possibilities.
Personality-wise, she's very much the "Brains over brawn" type, and will fight dirty if it comes to it, but prefers cunning to a fight any day. She's a talented marksman, but hates firearms, using them primarily as a last resort. Aside from (the other player character), she has no real relationships and is something of a loner - she can "turn it on" when she has to, and make people feel like they have a real connection, but she can also be quite detached when she isn't on the job. That isn't to say she doesn't care for other people, but that she knows how to put up walls to protect herself just as easily as she can tear them down. She smokes like a chimney.
Basically, I'm going for some John Constantine from Hellblazer, some Theodora Crain from The Haunting of Hill House, and some Doctor John Watson.
In terms of how the other player and my character's would work together, I'm thinking something like...
a) They have more of an Academic / Investigative / Occult background and it's sort of a Holmes and Watson thing where I'm more of the medic / people person.
b) They're more of a Criminal who has access to and connections that I don't, and I try to keep them out of trouble while we investigate things less-legally.
c) They have more of a Law Enforcement background and we have a good cop / bad cop thing going on where I'm maybe seen as more of a "consultant".
Pretty flexible to fleshing any of these out, if any of y'all are interested!
Where the rumours are concerned, I think if we're European, Rumour 2 could be a strong possibility, maybe hiring the ship to move some things over to America for us, as an excuse to check it out. Otherwise, Rumour 5 is something my character would be very interested in checking out. Crimes of an occult nature are rapidly becoming an obsession of hers.
Are archetypes from the many miscellaneous Paizo sources okay to use?
I'd have to get to know the rules better before I said yes. Bloodlines & Black Magic says:
"When it comes to class assumptions in Bloodlines & Black Magic, we do a few things differently than the standard version of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Each class, for instance, gains a capstone ability at level 7, which represents a degree of concentration inside of that class or in a particular concentration sometimes associated with that class. In a way, this allows a player to build a specific type of character without seeking out additional archetypes or even prestige classes (which don’t perform well when you only have seven levels of play to navigate). These capstones are also intended to encourage play inside of the class. Generally speaking, characters who take on more than a single class (characters who multiclass) have a much harder time taking these capstones, as many of them have prerequisites that are only satisfied by remaining inside of that class."
Yeah the capstones have a surprising number of really cool options, and aren't really limited by class. The ability to choose the bloodline abilities, and the career specials really helps to open up a lot of doors, too. I was a bit iffy on the Level 7 cap, but I think this version actually gives a lot of flexibility.
There are certainly alot of caster capstones. The non-caster ones, however, are like...3.
There are certainly alot of caster capstones. The non-caster ones, however, are like...3.
If we get to the point where we need more capstones, we will write them. I'd love to see a PbP get that far through the levels ...
Are these details correct so far?
PCS (POSSIBLE CHARACTERS)
NAME: ARIANNA GRIMALDI
DETAIL: Youngest daughter of the Monaco royal family.
BLOODLINE: ???
CLASS: Occultist???
HOOK: Heard the rumour of the monks secreting things along the Camino de Santiago and found out some more details.
NAME: SARIEL
DETAIL: a defender against 'things that go bump in the night
BLOODLINE: Shadow
CLASS: Slayer
HOOK: Heard 'The Coin' has resurfaced and knows that some very bad people will be looking for him.
NAME: FEMALE FROM ENGLAND
DETAIL: Has sibling possibly
BLOODLINE: Fey, possibly crossed
CLASS: Mesmerist
HOOK: Heard of the rats fleeing the ship in Calais.
NAME: A...
DETAIL: ...
BLOODLINE: ???
CLASS: ...
HOOK: ...
NAME: A...
DETAIL: ...
BLOODLINE: ???
CLASS: ...
HOOK: ...
Maybe, to keep recruitment simple and to help choose a good team, I'd like to hear, in a sentence, your character concept and, in another sentence, hear how that character would have come across and/or reacted to one of the rumours in the 'campaign info'.Very cool, I will include Sariel's original back story, don't know how easily it fits into this 'world' but I'm hoping the transition would be simple.
...
I'm thinking a dhampir with over a hundred years of experience might not be first level. If some suspicious characters boarded him up in a coffin and he was buried alive for much of that time, maybe, but I'm still thinking about that ... It could be cool to have a PC from a different century, but I'm not sure about one with a century worth of experience and knowledge at 1st level.
I'm thinking a dhampir with over a hundred years of experience might not be first level. If some suspicious characters boarded him up in a coffin and he was buried alive for much of that time, maybe, but I'm still thinking about that ... It could be cool to have a PC from a different century, but I'm not sure about one with a century worth of experience and knowledge at 1st level.
I totally understand, when I wrote him dhampir matured slower than humans so I had to build him through childhood to the modern era.
I'm good with shortening his life and making him closer to human age, born in early 1960's. He could still could be a orphaned street rat who is trained by a slayer priest.
If 'shadow blood' age slowly or we wanted to keep him that age he could be a wino wasting a few decades and get sobered up when he meets Father Raphael in the late 70's.
Or, he could be locked in a mausoleum and finally freed by the friendly priest who would then train him. Not sure who would be doing the 'locking' of how he would survive, but it's doable :)
Possibly locked away by the same nuns who he was left with, they would learn what he is and out of fear lock him away. So childhood in the late 19th century, locked away for 100 years and freed by the slayer priest who would train him?
Any idea is viable, what information would be different with dhampir and 'shadow blood' that would also effect the potential backstory?
Thinking out loud is good. I'm just thinking out loud about the fit, but we won't really know until we see more characters. I'm reading Planetary right now (for the umpteenth time) and a few characters are 99 years old. How they fit with the other normally aged characters is a bit of a sub-text.