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Not too long ago, Dreamscarred Press released Hybrids and Halfbreeds, a race-themed supplement emphasizing individuals of mixed blood. For various reasons, that release was pulled and canceled.
But now it's back!
For the last few months, Matt Medeiros and I have been working on retooling Hybrids and Halfbreeds into its new form, Bloodforge. It's on the cusp of release and we're extraordinarily excited about it! What can you expect out of Bloodforge? Well, among other things:
- More than 25 (!) new races, each of which claims mixed blood from two or more parents.
- New feats that emphasize unusual heritage or properties in monsters and PCs alike.
- 4 new prestige classes that emphasize heritage and blood sympathy
- Brand-new spells, magical items, and even templates!
Want a hint of what's coming? I've assembled a teaser document that contains some - but by no means all - of what will be in the final release.
It's been a helluva ride, working on this project, and I'm glad to finally be able to share it with all of you! Look to see Bloodforge available soon!
- Jade Ripley
Freelancer, Dreamscarred Press
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Hello, I'm Matthew Medeiros and one of the two authors of this great book of "heretical heritage." This book really does offer players and GMs alike a new way to approach characters with a spice to their ancestry, however subtle.
I'm really excited to finally be able to present this alongside Jade and hope it inspire entirely new character concepts and stories for your table!
Design Manager
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Nice! I did a (very) little work on this bad boy too, so anyone who's picked up our Akashic Mysteries Subscription will find that several of the new races have akashic favored class bonuses and alternate racial traits.
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I just wanted to throw out that I was really skeptical about this when Andreas asked me to edit it. As I passed through the table of contents, it struck me "this has got to be silly". I mean, some of the combinations here are really off-the-wall.
Then I got to the meat of it. And did a very solid 180.
Every one of these races is cool. The authors were very careful about building up plausible and sensible origins for each of the crazy mixes and their abilities are extremely fitting for what they are.
Bottom line is that I went from mentally dismissing this as a silly book for silly people to being thoroughly impressed by the creativity of the authors. This is allowed at my table, which wasn't going to be the case when I started reading it.
I just wanted to throw out that I was really skeptical about this when Andreas asked me to edit it. As I passed through the table of contents, it struck me "this has got to be silly". I mean, some of the combinations here are really off-the-wall.
Then I got to the meat of it. And did a very solid 180.
Every one of these races is cool. The authors were very careful about building up plausible and sensible origins for each of the crazy mixes and their abilities are extremely fitting for what they are.
Bottom line is that I went from mentally dismissing this as a silly book for silly people to being thoroughly impressed by the creativity of the authors. This is allowed at my table, which wasn't going to be the case when I started reading it.
'm touched, my friend. It wasn't always easy, but I'm honestly really proud of what Matt & I got done here. I'm hoping it'll be something folks will want to try out and introduce into their home games and settings.
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Design Manager
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I just wanted to throw out that I was really skeptical about this when Andreas asked me to edit it. As I passed through the table of contents, it struck me "this has got to be silly". I mean, some of the combinations here are really off-the-wall.
Then I got to the meat of it. And did a very solid 180.
Every one of these races is cool. The authors were very careful about building up plausible and sensible origins for each of the crazy mixes and their abilities are extremely fitting for what they are.
Bottom line is that I went from mentally dismissing this as a silly book for silly people to being thoroughly impressed by the creativity of the authors. This is allowed at my table, which wasn't going to be the case when I started reading it.
I did the same thing. I think I literally messaged Jade going "Half-unicorn elves? Are you freaking kidding me? And why would an orc even do that with one of those?" And then by the time I'd finished going through it to find where I wanted to add in Akashic tie-ins I was pretty sold.
I know some people don't like race bloat, but I live with a woman who has said the words "I want to play an orca-man who can use whale song to frighten away predators, can you make me something like that?", so as long as a race is cool, we're generally pretty open about making room for it.
Dotted. And will be getting it. Sounds fun.
Hey, um, I bought the original Hybrids and Halfbreeds on Dreamscarredpress.com. Would I be able to get a discount for Bloodforge as a result?
We're aware of this situation (you're not the only person >.>) and I do believe the great and powerful Bossman had a battle plan to resolve it. He'll drop by to give an official statement.
Hey, um, I bought the original Hybrids and Halfbreeds on Dreamscarredpress.com. Would I be able to get a discount for Bloodforge as a result?
'Kay, discussed with the Bossman. Those who purchased the original will be getting it updated free of charge.
It looks pretty sweet.
For the Mixed Blood feat, you should probably list the benefits having each subtype grants in the table. Making players go look up each subtype to see what it does for them is a little tedious and in some cases kinda broken.
For example, Air creatures "always have fly speeds and usually have perfect maneuverability". But it doesn't list what fly speed you get if you pick Air, or your maneuverability. Or Elf, which grants low-light vision that isn't reflected in the table.
Also, the Mongrel's Morphic Visage special attack option has a save DC of 10 + 1/2 class level + Cha, which is going to be a really low DC 12+Cha at maximum. I'm guessing you meant character level?
Edit: What the hell triggered that? o.O
It looks pretty sweet.
For the Mixed Blood feat, you should probably list the benefits having each subtype grants in the table. Making players go look up each subtype to see what it does for them is a little tedious and in some cases kinda broken.
For example, Air creatures "always have fly speeds and usually have perfect maneuverability". But it doesn't list what fly speed you get if you pick Air, or your maneuverability. Or Elf, which grants low-light vision that isn't reflected in the table.
I'll make a note on Air, which was not intended to grant flight. Other subtype ability inclusions are intended and are a case of letting the system do some of the lifting for us. Page space, y'know? Thanks for the catch!
Also, the Mongrel's Morphic Visage special attack option has a save DC of 10 + 1/2 class level + Cha, which is going to be a really low DC 12+Cha at maximum. I'm guessing you meant character level?
Edit: What the hell triggered that? o.O
Thanks for the catch, will be fixed, probably to 10+class level (so max of 15 + cha)
I suspect "s morph" was close enough to "that word".
EDIT: I think that confirms it.
I suspect [REDACTED] was close enough to "that word".
EDIT: I think that confirms it.
Meaning...?
I am really confused as to what's going on here.
Paizo's forums replace your avatar if you use the word "smurph" in the body of the text. Don't quote this, lest the smurphiness overcome you as well.
There are other avatar shenanigans if you use certain words, but I can't remember them off-hand. But yeah, what Aratok said.
Yay! I absolutely loved the idea behind Hybrids and Halfbreeds!
Back on the dreamscarred press site I gave some feadback on the original book and I'm gonna copy it here. Were some of my concerns addressed?
Looked over the Document and here is a mini-review
Races
-Fluff Portion: Well written and pretty cool. Each race makes sense and can be relatively easily incorporated into a setting by using these entries.
-Stats portion: Mostly good. Most of them are about right at the appropriate balance point, but some races have odd choices for racial bonuses.
-The addition of "suped up" racial stat blocks is super cool and I love it.
Templates
-I am not too good at considering balance for monsters, so I can't really judge the relation to CR that each template should have.
-Fluff wise I like this section.
Feats
-Fluff wise they are really cool
-Rules wise they can range from really bad, Throw Back stood and Skirmish Tactic stood out, to just about what a feat should be worth.
-Except Lost Tradition, which is too powerful for allowing classes that are balanced around certain stats to use a different one.
Prestige classes
-All of them are super cool concepts and I would almost run any of them
-Unfortunately they are a bit weak, but are some small tweaks away from being awesome!
Overall: This writer did a great job creating an image in my mind of what each race is within the world and how they act as a part of it. It seems he erred on the side of caution a bit too much and ended up creating options that are a bit too weak in an attempt not to make anything game breaking. I think that with another editing pass and some feedback this book could become exactly what it deserves to be.
6.5/10- This book is full of awesomely written fluff and the passion of the Author is obvious and this is the strongest point of the book. There was a ton of crunch in the book for both DMs and Players and that was a bit lower in quality. It felt too many times that the author preferred to err on the side of caution over creating something "OP" and it resulted in a lot of "cool concepts that don't pan out at the table." I would recommend this book to anyone who wants some really cool half breed races as the best part of the book is those races, their fluff, and their crunch.
Errors I noticed:
-No bookmarks on the PDF
-The Feat Lockjaw uses a very small font
-The Brood Champion (and Autarkic) is d10 hit die, but 3/4ths BAB. Considering the class features I think that full BAB would be appropriate.
-Defensive roll on Autarkic will only succeed on Natural 20s the way its written (Reflex save with DC=to Damage) because things start hitting for 40 and up damage per strike after level 8 in a lot of cases. Since it's a limited use ability just let it auto succeed.
-Does the Autarkic's "Damage Reduction" scale off his total base fort save or just the fort save from the class?
There is one feat that lets you pounce with your claw attacks, can you please let it pounce with the claws and the bite?
Also the feat that lets you "fly by attack" on the ground shouldn't have 4 feat prereqs, can you just have the requirement be a very high movement speed or a BAB requirement?
HUZZAH!!
Yay! I absolutely loved the idea behind Hybrids and Halfbreeds!
Back on the dreamscarred press site I gave some feadback on the original book and I'm gonna copy it here. Were some of my concerns addressed?
** spoiler omitted **...
Well, if I said "we burnt the whole thing to the ground and re-wrote it all starting at the art," would that count as addressing concerns >.>
Well, if I said "we burnt the whole thing to the ground and re-wrote it all starting at the art," would that count as addressing concerns >.>Yay! I absolutely loved the idea behind Hybrids and Halfbreeds!
Back on the dreamscarred press site I gave some feadback on the original book and I'm gonna copy it here. Were some of my concerns addressed?
** spoiler omitted **...
Tell me more.
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Am I the only one who looked at the Driegi, their description as being broad humans with oversize hands, and thought ...
"I'M GONNA WRECK IT!"
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Am I the only one who looked at the Driegi, their description as being broad humans with oversize hands, and thought ...
"I'M GONNA WRECK IT!"
Damn you to hell sir, I laughed so hard that I need to get Mt. Dew out of my keyboard now T_T
Well, if I said "we burnt the whole thing to the ground and re-wrote it all starting at the art," would that count as addressing concerns >.>Yay! I absolutely loved the idea behind Hybrids and Halfbreeds!
Back on the dreamscarred press site I gave some feadback on the original book and I'm gonna copy it here. Were some of my concerns addressed?
** spoiler omitted **...
Well mostly. I liked the ideas behind all the PrC, so as long as you kept those ideas and redid the mechanics I'd be really happy!
How about the fluff? I liked the fluff a lot. If I could state my concerns as one sentence it's that "The crunch was not as awesome as the fluff."
Well, if I said "we burnt the whole thing to the ground and re-wrote it all starting at the art," would that count as addressing concerns >.>Yay! I absolutely loved the idea behind Hybrids and Halfbreeds!
Back on the dreamscarred press site I gave some feadback on the original book and I'm gonna copy it here. Were some of my concerns addressed?
** spoiler omitted **...
Well mostly. I liked the ideas behind all the PrC, so as long as you kept those ideas and redid the mechanics I'd be really happy!
How about the fluff? I liked the fluff a lot. If I could state my concerns as one sentence it's that "The crunch was not as awesome as the fluff."
...No, I'm rather afraid that all of that got set on fire. The fluff, the crunch, the PrCs themselves. I think the only things even remotely similar to their initial incarnations are the spells, and even they endured the hideous Rite of Burnination. 'm sorry to break it to ya. I...was very much not in love with the fluff, and alterations thereto emerged as changes in the mechanics as well. F'rinstance, would you believe that the Dreige in the teaser document were the Jovians in the original?
Well in that case I now have two books about Half Breed races!
Well in that case I now have two books about Half Breed races!
Hi, is personally life to apologize for the first book. You'll notice that a lot of the races are the same combination, so if you wanted to use the old fluff you still could. The mechanics SHOULD still make sense for... Most. We changed the more questionably trademarked combos so I hope you like the work as much as I do!
I would rather see a book with more backup for psions and more powers!
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They have those in the works too....
I like that DSP has a diverse product line. They have Psionics, Initiators, Veilweaving, and now Bloodforge. To me having multiple supplement lines is way more awesome than focusing on one.
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That might be true^^
Aside from that Prince is writing a book of Psionics stuff with Wilder Archetypes, feats, and PrCs. Also more powers.
Last I heard at least 1 untitled supplement for Psionics is also in the works.
I would rather see a book with more backup for psions and more powers!
Not only are those in the works (look to see Psionics Augmented: Wilder soon!), this book contains several psionic races, including the frustrated Rana and the unsettling Thrallspawn.
Hmm. I think the biggest problem you might face with Mixed Blood is that there are a lot of subtypes with benefits that most players aren't aware of. Like, how many people know that the Dwarf subtype has the actual mechanical benefit of granting Darkvision? I didn't, until I got curious and looked at creature type listings. This doesn't necessarily mean you need to fill out the table, but it could be a good idea to have a note about looking up what your new bonus subtype does for you in addition to what's on the table.
There is one other hole that should probably be addressed directly though. Earth creatures with a burrow speed also get tremorsense. If you have a burrow speed when you get this feat (or acquire a burrow speed later), what is the range of your tremorsense, or are you supposed to get it at all?
Once again, the teaser looks great! My only worries about the product are really minor minutiae about a single feat, everything else looks fantastic and I can't wait. :)
To get back on Bloodforge, I love the name!
I haven't looked at the preview document because I want to be surprised, but based on the name it sounds cool. It evokes the image of bringing forth and perfecting inborne abilities.
Whoa, as if there weren't enough hybrid races in PF already! :)
It's all good. This looks like a gaggle of new playable races to choose from, some of which will probably be very interesting to play. Speaking of which, will we see the descended "playable" equivalents of axiomites/inevitables, proteans, and psychopomps in this book?
Whoa, as if there weren't enough hybrid races in PF already! :)
It's all good. This looks like a gaggle of new playable races to choose from, some of which will probably be very interesting to play. Speaking of which, will we see the descended "playable" equivalents of axiomites/inevitables, proteans, and psychopomps in this book?
I'm afraid not, my friend. Maybe in a sequel if this does well enough, but there were...design constraints, shall we say, on the specific combinations in Bloodforge.
OK, I'm being dense. I am unable to "purchase" Bloodforge from the DSP site because it insists on me entering a value of more than $0.
Is the teaser doc the only document that is actually available at this time? Is there a WIP planned or is this pretty much complete?
OK, I'm being dense. I am unable to "purchase" Bloodforge from the DSP site because it insists on me entering a value of more than $0.
Is the teaser doc the only document that is actually available at this time? Is there a WIP planned or is this pretty much complete?
We're working on getting it up properly on all of the usual sites. Were you one of the folks who'd snagged Hybrids and Halfbreeds? If you were, I beg your patience - we're getting it fixed. If you're not, we do have it available on the new site
What's up with the flying races, like the Aellar? Aellar, for example, can't actually fly until 9th level, which means the vast majority of their race is grounded for their entire lifespan. Doesn't that kinda defeat the point of them being created to fight in the skies? And their background suggests that it's a period of their life they can't fly during, but in reality for most of them they'll never be able to fly. It's... kind've a weird dissonance between mechanics and fluff. It's not a huge deal, since the mechanics are solid and I can always change the fluff, but out of the box their lore isn't very usable.
Also, there's a weird suggestion that there are a lot of Aellar paladins, while they actually make quite bad paladins (with a bonus to a relatively unimportant ability score and a penalty to their most important ability score). Seems strange to me.
What's up with the flying races, like the Aellar? Aellar, for example, can't actually fly until 9th level, which means the vast majority of their race is grounded for their entire lifespan. Doesn't that kinda defeat the point of them being created to fight in the skies? And their background suggests that it's a period of their life they can't fly during, but in reality for most of them they'll never be able to fly. It's... kind've a weird dissonance between mechanics and fluff. It's not a huge deal, since the mechanics are solid and I can always change the fluff, but out of the box their lore isn't very usable.
Also, there's a weird suggestion that there are a lot of Aellar paladins, while they actually make quite bad paladins (with a bonus to a relatively unimportant ability score and a penalty to their most important ability score). Seems strange to me.
The implementation was inspired by Raptorans back in 3.5, who likewise start as gliders and only gain true flight later in their lives. Mostly it depends on the average level of your campaign world. If it sits around 3-6 then the glory days of the Aellar army are gone and only exemplars of the race ever really learn to fly, but if it sits higher than flight might be something that middle-aged Aellar grow into, with adventurers developing faster because, well, adventurers. Either way, Aellar flew in the olden days because their enemy was both great and terrible; low-level Aellar didn't exist then. You got good or got dead.
We're working on getting it up properly on all of the usual sites. Were you one of the folks who'd snagged Hybrids and Halfbreeds? If you were, I beg your patience - we're getting it fixed. If you're not, we do have it available on the new siteOK, I'm being dense. I am unable to "purchase" Bloodforge from the DSP site because it insists on me entering a value of more than $0.
Is the teaser doc the only document that is actually available at this time? Is there a WIP planned or is this pretty much complete?
I am not on of the early adopters. I'm not sure which site, new or old, I was on when I was having trouble. Thanks for the link!
My daughter's being nagging me for some new races. I'm grabbing this first thing next month.
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And we're alive!
Links:
Dreamscarred.com
DreamscarredPress.com
D20PFSRD
Paizo
DriveThruRPG
The downloads should be updated for those who purchased the original through Dreamscarredpress.com or Paizo's store; just download the new PDF. There may be a difficulty with DriveThruRPG/RPGNOW; if so, snag the bossman at stormhierta@gmail.com by forwarding your receipt and he'll set you up.
Thanks for your time and interest!
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Design Manager
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What's up with the flying races, like the Aellar? Aellar, for example, can't actually fly until 9th level, which means the vast majority of their race is grounded for their entire lifespan. Doesn't that kinda defeat the point of them being created to fight in the skies? And their background suggests that it's a period of their life they can't fly during, but in reality for most of them they'll never be able to fly. It's... kind've a weird dissonance between mechanics and fluff. It's not a huge deal, since the mechanics are solid and I can always change the fluff, but out of the box their lore isn't very usable.
Also, there's a weird suggestion that there are a lot of Aellar paladins, while they actually make quite bad paladins (with a bonus to a relatively unimportant ability score and a penalty to their most important ability score). Seems strange to me.
This is actually a fairly interesting conversation, some of which I've had with Prince, other pieces with Cheapy, and some with various other people.
The game says that reliable flight should kick in right around 9th level, and you'll see that most racial feat chains, spell lists, etc. match up with that expectation, give or take a couple levels.
However, the suqur race in Akashic Mysteries have flight available from 1st level, which a few people have questioned me on. It's balanced about as well as it can be balanced, but it is there. While I could point out that anyone who wants to play a Druid or Hunter can easily access flight from 1st level, I'd rather look at it from this perspective: if a race is supposed to be able to fly, and flight is a key component of their backstory, then they should probably be able to fly. If the GM doesn't want low level flight in the campaign, then it's best, in my opinion, for him to make that call and say "no race or class options that allow flight before level X", but leave the races that are supposed to be able to fly mechanically consistent with their own background. It doesn't make sense to me that a race full of falcon people who commonly serve as aerial guardians would have 95% of their population never actually figure that flying thing out.
So, basically, the good news is that DSP is going to be presenting two races who do the whole birdman thing. One of them, the aellar, is a race of mechanically correct gliders who sometimes learn to fly. They should be appropriate for all campaigns. The other race, the suqur, can fly right from first level and will be printed including a sidebar detailing for the GM the risks and rewards of low level flight and cautioning them appropriately. That way, if you happen to be running the kind of campaign proposed by Companions of the Firmament or with lots of big, open vistas with Feather Tokens and airships and flying pyramids, you'll have the suqur to help sell the idea and thrive in that environment. If, instead, you want to mix some funky DSP races into your Rise of the Runelords campaign, you'll probably want to go with the aellar who won't trivialize challenges like hard to scale cliffs and rickety bridges.
I enjoyed reading through it and enjoyed the fluff. The PrCs are much nicer too :)
I'll write a review in the next week.
I enjoyed reading through it and enjoyed the fluff. The PrCs are much nicer too :)
I'll write a review in the next week.
Yay!
I must ask, out of unavoidable personal interest: anything stand out as particularly good/fun?
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5 level prestige classes with a focus and that don't destroy your character.
In particular Kith Hunter was cool to see as it kinda just fit's into things, offers actual benefits, makes you feel unique for picking a race, and can fit a lot of character concepts. I also like that it can be used by some current races like Half Orc, Tiefling, or Dhampir that thematically may want revenge on a parent race.
The prestige classes overall are fun, but seem more for NPCs as it would be hard to convince an entire party to play one race.
I like the spells Inferno Edge, Power in Numbers, as 10 Minute/Level buffs are favorites. Didn't like what classes get them though as Clerics, Wizards, ect already have good enough spell lists.
The Mixed Blood Feat, with its table, is a favorite as it actually let's players do crazy magical experimentation using game mechanics instead of GM fiat.
There isn't too much that I found at fault and the complaints I do have are more whines. The Races, Feats, and PrCs create very obvious and strong thematic ties. You can't just go into this book and pull one thing out, unless that one thing is Mixed Blood, and that is more good than bad.
This post was more about mechanics as I haven't had the time to read half the race entries. Some races had a few problems that I would mention in a review, such as "Transfusion of Pain" alternate feature for Alicorns. Dreigi in general have way too many relevant and scaling bonuses to stuff.
And now, the errata, now available for open testing. Let us know if any errors persist within the errata or despite it.