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 Post subject: Re: Val Bloodline talent errata
PostPosted: Thu Mar 17, 2016 7:48 am 
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Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 11:34 am
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Location: Southwestern Ohio
Let's be honest here. People play vals because ever since the beginning they have been the race most at the center of things. At least that's how I see it. Everbody else is sort on the edges. Arcanis is in essence a val-centric campaign. This is an observation not a criticism. :)

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Haakon val'Ishi, Beltinian Exorcist 2.7 [Divine]
Ursula val'Holryn, Grand Master of the Tralian Hammer 2.2 [Martial]
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Rikitsa val'Holryn, Psion 1.9 [Arcane]


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 Post subject: Re: Val Bloodline talent errata
PostPosted: Thu Mar 17, 2016 8:19 am 

Joined: Fri Oct 11, 2013 5:01 am
Posts: 84
I think that Henry's vision needs to set the rules here; If bloodline is essentially just magic that you can choose to learn or not as takes your fancy then having options makes sense. If it is a divine mandate that manifests itself then having it follow a set progression makes more sense.

So storywise...do the Val from a single family all manifest the same powers given time? Are there some that have no low level powers but only the big payoff? Do they need training to develop or do they just happen?

The big bonus of Vals IMHO is that you are getting access to special abilities that cannot be replicated by other choices. Anyone can choose particular skills or have access to magic but only the Val can do what they do. It makes them special snowflakes and gives them options that no one else has access to. In any RPG it is having options that make things interesting long term and makes solving challenges easier.


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 Post subject: Re: Val Bloodline talent errata
PostPosted: Thu Mar 17, 2016 8:54 am 
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Location: Southwestern Ohio
mininin wrote:
So storywise...do the Val from a single family all manifest the same powers given time? Are there some that have no low level powers but only the big payoff? Do they need training to develop or do they just happen?


Given that the degree of "valinoric blood/essence" in any given val is a bit of a crapshoot (genetics and all that I guess) I don't how what manifests when would do so with any consistency. At least that's how I see it. :) Also given that there are ways to develop psionics without training it would seem likely that some bloodline powers manifest that way as well. I could for instance see some power manifesting themselves in the heat of combat.

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Michael T. Hebert

Haakon val'Ishi, Beltinian Exorcist 2.7 [Divine]
Ursula val'Holryn, Grand Master of the Tralian Hammer 2.2 [Martial]
Arun of Tultipet, Holy Champion of Neroth 1.10 [Expert]
Rikitsa val'Holryn, Psion 1.9 [Arcane]


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 Post subject: Re: Val Bloodline talent errata
PostPosted: Thu Mar 17, 2016 10:07 am 
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Location: Central Alberta
Remember this: Every Val has the CAPACITY to become psionic, but only a relative few have the mental discipline to pull it off.

Speaking as a fan(boy) and general scholar of this fictional work (I can only theorize as, alas, I do not have any special knowledge of the master plan), I always viewed Bloodline powers to be much the same thing. Here, every val manifests at least some of the 'lower level' powers, like val'Ossan growing gills or val'Assante' being able to produce balls of light. The BL powers which are physical in nature (like the gills) might manifest in birth, while other BL talents (like the Assante' lightshow) probably require at least some training to master even if TECHNICALLY the power is in them all along, and likely would begin to manifest in childhood (I see a lot of these more 'learned' powers being similar to Harry Potter removing the glass from the snake enclosure: he can do it, but doesn't know how or why he can do it it).

Further Bloodline powers beyond these very basic powers require discipline and the plumbing of ones own soul through meditation, practice, or spontaneous generation. Going back to the Harry Potter analogy, at age 10 Harry had the CAPACITY to cast Avada Kadavra, but lacked the magical training or the conviction to actually CAST the spell. He needed to master (like any apprentice) the basic skills, and then he had to power it with his hate, conviction, and force of will. Alternatively, you could have powers manifest more X-men style, surfacing only after your personality/personal faith/power/traumatic event/etc has reached a certain level (more akin to the concept of the Spontaneously Awakened Psion).

In this game, this 'growth' of character is represented by the Tier system. The overwhelming majority of people in the world of Arcanis are Tier I minions: They are not trained in combat, and don't have the stamina or pain tolerance to take more than a single hit in combat before tapping out. Most people lack the mental focus to train to become more than their basic selves, and will remain Tier I creatures until their death. How many people that you know who show no ambition in their lives beyond surviving or pursuing only trivial matter and not caring about 'wider' issues? In our society, we tend to label such people as 'shallow' or 'lazy' (rightfully or wrongly), and in terms of Vals, these are the ones who don't care about delving deep into their souls because they (for whatever reason) do not see the need or have the ability to be introspective and disciplined. Those who show ambition in the world are those that tend to be 'higher tiered' in the world of Arcanis: Those who seek education, those who seek to master a craft such as weaponsmithing, those who delve the greater mysteries of the arcanum or the gods, those who seek to become great warriors, ambitions politicians, thieves of renown (instead of simple cut-purses), etc. These are the people who seek to, if not better themselves seek to become more than they are.

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Haakon Marcus val'Virdan, Divine Holy Judge of Nier
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 Post subject: Re: Val Bloodline talent errata
PostPosted: Thu Mar 17, 2016 12:31 pm 
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What he said.... :) Cody pretty much nails it in my opinion. When in doubt bet on Nierite. :)

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Michael T. Hebert

Haakon val'Ishi, Beltinian Exorcist 2.7 [Divine]
Ursula val'Holryn, Grand Master of the Tralian Hammer 2.2 [Martial]
Arun of Tultipet, Holy Champion of Neroth 1.10 [Expert]
Rikitsa val'Holryn, Psion 1.9 [Arcane]


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 Post subject: Re: Val Bloodline talent errata
PostPosted: Thu Mar 17, 2016 2:07 pm 
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Well said Cody

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aka Leif - Skohir Warped One (Martial 2.6)
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aka Karthik - Tultipetan Stonemason (Expert 1.4)


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 Post subject: Re: Val Bloodline talent errata
PostPosted: Thu Mar 17, 2016 3:29 pm 

Joined: Thu Nov 07, 2013 9:37 pm
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Location: Michigan
I agree as well, thought I have been thinking there are probably caveats. The one that quickly came to mind is blood ranks. While I think characters have a tendency to come from "average" or lower families, I suspect there are those bloodlines like the emperor's who have worked over the generations to keep their bloodlines pure, or strong. Being from a stronger bloodline than normal can be reflected in characters by the "Potent Blood" talent, but I suspect that is nothing compared to being in the right family. And those with truly potent blood probably do get many of the bloodline powers more easily, and in many cases they might be just second nature to them, rather than requiring effort. Whereas in characters I think there is a significant amount of learning to harness the power of their blood, or awaken it, needed to progress to the higher tiered powers.

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 Post subject: Re: Val Bloodline talent errata
PostPosted: Thu Mar 17, 2016 4:20 pm 
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Location: Central Alberta
There is also something to say about the training opportunities available as a scion of Scipio val'Assante' compared to Billy-Joe Bob val'Assante', commoner farmer in the hinterlands of the Empire. Even if they have the same potential (which, as you suggest, can probably be. . . curated through selective breeding), the son of the Emperor will get more attention from the family than a random farmer in the sticks.

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Legends of Arcanis Campaign Staff
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Haakon Marcus val'Virdan, Divine Holy Judge of Nier
Ruma val'Vasik, Martial Crusader and Master of the Spear
Jorma Osterman, Arcane Coryani Battlemage


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