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Characterisation, Setting and Theme
The characterisation, setting and theme are as follows: Each PC is a member of a noble house, one of the "blooded", which vast lands, vassals and power. Through their desires to accumulate more of the same, and passions of a more common nature they will be hindered, and possibly suffer downfall from their own doing. It is game of tragedy of the powerful. Wick describes the game as "the anti-D&D" RPG, written with D&D in mind, but with a reaction to it. "Almost everything that is true in D&D is untrue in this game". Characters have a past, treasure is of little value (you are already wealthy), the Law (capital 'l' intended) is everywhere, and the centre of attention is the domestic environment. Characters age, as the time frame of activity is accelerated.
Characters are members of the Ven, "a pre-Atlantean" non-human culture whose Virtues (Strength, Cunning, Wisdom, Martial Prowess, Beauty and Courage) form the core characteristics. The behaviour derived from those characteristics is built into the mechanics. Players are rewarded with "style points", that can be used to make their character more powerful, but are acquired by making decisions which make their character more vulnerable. Ven do not die from old age or get sick, but rather their body ceases to move, and they pass into the "quiet winter" or Solace which is marked by vivid, bloody, dreams. Under such circumstances, murder and suicide are emotional extremes to the Ven, even more so than among humans.
A lengthy potted history and explanation of Ven's extremely class-ridden culture and environs is provided, and this is where the Houses are noted which the various PCs will be members of. Each House has a specific Virtue which they excel at; Strength for the Bear, Cunning for the Elk, Courage for the Falcon, Beauty for the Fox, Wisdom for the Serpent, and Prowess for the Wolf. There were four additional houses, but have been veiled through shame. Perhaps the most interesting part of the background history is the possible return of the sorcerer-kings, also known "as the wicked ones" (pun on the author's name possibly not intended) and the pejorative use of their descriptor with those who practise the illegal art of "blood magic". There are also monsters of all forms, translated with the generic term ork in the Ven language, and creatures of the invisible world, generically known as spectres. Dragons make an appearance as well, but rather than being great lizards that hoard gold and eat virgins, they are a presence felt in the manifestation of moments of great emotion; most Ven will sight a dragon perhaps once in their life.
Under their cultural rules, Ven nobles only own what property they can protect; property may be taken by force or trickery. This would hardly lead to a stable society, but such matters are hand-waved in favour of the dramatic narrative. It is also noted that the oppressed peasants do not seem to be particularly rebellious at all, especially given the level of oppression they live under. The closest thing to class conflict is a growing merchant class ("proud peasants") who hold wealth but without the powers of inheritance. A highly aesthetic people, the Ven consider opera to be the highest art, and have strongly associated meanings with colours which they use to express themselves in public. Romance too is a significant element in Ven society and is expected to be part of the game's narrative.
Character Generation
After almost one-hundred pages of cultural background, one is ready for character generation. The initial steps are determining Family, Name and House. The next step is generating the character's Virtues, and the third is determining the number of "Aspects" and Contacts they character has gained through seasonal phases. The fourth step is Devotions the character gives to the sleeping Ven who provide blessings. The fifth step establishes the character's Domain, and a final step covers the spending of bonus points.
The first step is largely random ("you can't choose your family"), but with the three points of modifications allowed. The parent's house is determined on a d6 roll. A further d6 roll determines birth order; a d6-1 determines the number of surviving children. A further d6 roll is made for each sibling; even brother, odd sister. Another d6 roll indicates the parent's rank (Baron, Count or Marquis). All starting characters begin as Barons, and must choose either the house of their mother or father (which makes the supposedly random generation somewhat moot). Character names have three parts; family (House) name, secret name (used and misused in sorcery) and public name. Starting character age is in broad groups, Spring (Adolescence), Summer (Adulthood), Maturity (Autumn) and Solace (Winter). Characters are possibly (d6, 1-4 yes, 5-6 no) married, a political rather than romantic contract, and with children (d6, 1-2 = 0, 3-4 = 1, 5-6 = 2).
Five of the six characteristics are chosen as Virtues; one is chosen as a weakness. One Virtue is chosen at rank 4, two at rank 3, two at rank 2, and then there's the weakness. Add one rank to the House virtue, unless the player chose the House Virtue as the character's weakness. A character's past and age is told as seasonal phases. Spring brings a character 2 Aspects and 1 Contact, Summer gives 4 Aspects and 2 Contacts, Autumn 5 and 3 and Solace (Winter) 6 Aspects, 2 Solace Aspects and 4 Contacts (min-maxers will notice the advantage of "Summer" as an age choice). Aspects are words (Courtier, Swordsman), phrases and quotes ("I will never love again", "My favourite dish is revenge") that help define the character. Their elements are that they can be invoke, tag or compel. To invoke the player receives a bonus die for the character's actions; as a tag it can be used against the character. At times the Narrator will use it to compel a character; a narrative rather than mechanical element. Solace Aspects, which are always a disadvantage, can be tagged or compelled, but never invoked; age is a wearying disadvantage.
Devotions are applied to those in Solace who return the favour as Blessings: "Just like Saint Jude is the 'patron saint of lost causes', Althana Steele is the Suaven of desperate measures". Each player has three points of Devotion ranks to allocate to their character. Domains are measured in Provinces, which are in turn subdivided into ten Regions, based on a geographical feature (a mountain range, a farmstead, a forest etc). Starting characters begin with one Province, which is not completely under their control or explored. Five points are spent on a starting character's Province, with each point providing a Region. The character's Castle and Village are provided for free, but do count against the ten Regions in a Province. Each Region begins with a rank value of 1 and each Region produces appropriate resources equal to the Rank. The Domain also includes vassals, each of which require at least one food per year, but may also require payment to ensure their loyalty. Five points can be allocated to vassals, with each point providing a single vassal.
Each character begins with three Style Points. These may be gained during the game, however at the end of the session they are banked at five. This can be exceeded by allocating style points to items; a wide-brimmed hat, a sword etc. Finally, each character receives five bonus points. These might be artifacts, bonus Aspects, Contacts, Devotions, Friends (an enhanced Contact), Regions, Relics or Vassals.
Task Resolution and Related Matters
The task resolution system is light and simple. Roll a number of d6s and defeat a target number of 10, which is pretty coarse (1d6 = 0%, 2d6 = 17%, 3d6=50%, 4d6 = 90% etc). If the player beats the target number, they narrate the character's success. If the player fails, the Narrator describes the failure. An option rule "dead on ten" allows the character to succeed, but with a negative twist. The normal narration cannot include conjunctions and disjunctions, additional details to the basic "yes" or "no"; the narration cannot include words like for, and, nor, but, or yet and so). The dice pool is determined by any ranks that are relevant to the context; one Virtues, Aspects, Devotions etc. Declaring an act in the public name of the character gains an additional die; using the secret name give three dice. Tagging an opponent's Aspect costs one Style point; if an opponent tags the character's Style, the character gains a style point. For additional effects (successful resolution is usually a rank 1 effect) a character can wager dice. If they succeed, the effect is greater, which can include additional narrative elements determined by the player.
In a conflict situation, where multiple characters are in contest, the gathering of dice from the pool is taken in order with the active character first then the defending character through Names, Aspects etc. Wagers are recorded in secret. If both characters fail in the action, the Narrator describes what happened. The character with the higher roll is the winner gets to narrate their victory. If both characters rolled over ten, only half the wagers apply to the loser. If both rolled under ten, obviously nobody receives their wagers. Finally a list of sample tasks, like a traditional RPG skill list, is provided with a description of the sort of Virtues and Aspects would be appropriate in attempting to succeed at the task. Any Aspect can invoked once per game session, unless refreshed by spending a Style Point. As mentioned previously when tagging an Aspect, a Style Point must be spent which is transferred to the character it effects; this also occurs when a Narrator compels a character to use an Aspect. To reject a compulsion, two Style Points must be spent; which effectively costs three (two for the denial, one not received). Invoking a Style Point gives a bonus of three dice. Tagging another player's Style Point gives a bonus of two dice. A extensive list of Aspects and their use in play as Invoke, Tag and Compel. Notes are also provided for developing new Aspects. Aspects can also be used to insult other characters using the standard mechanics for conflict task resolution. To tag another character's aspect Cunning task needs to be conducted.
Poison is considered significant enough to receive its own chapter. There are no "saving throws" in this particular task resolution, and all of the five main poisons kill (arsenic, cyanide, hemlock, oleander, strychnine). Making poison takes a season, using a poison is 'simply' a case of the most appropriate time and place, but it must be used by the end of the year. One can also become immune to a particular poison over a period of a season as well if they spend this time as an action, although this is limited to three out of five poisons. There are also narcotics (Poppies, Icefire, Foxwine, The Silken Veil) ; brewing also takes a season, with a potency determined by a Wisdom Virtue risk. Addiction is a possibility based on contested resolution between the potency and the Virtue that the drug affects. Recovery from addiction occurs at the same rate as an injury, at a rate of one rank per season.
A chapter each is provided for Revenge and Romance. In Ven society, revenge is embodied in the culture's Laws - there is no word for "justice" only revenge. Despite these laws, the Ven bend and indeed even break them to exact their revenge. Moreso, the application of the laws is highly skewed by other social factors. For example, whilst there is nominal equality in the Law, the Blooded are the owners of land, the carriers of weapons etc Crimes between the Blooded are determined by a jury of peers. A crime between the unblooded is irrelevant. A crime by one of the unblooded against the Blooded results in excecution; and the reverse simply isn't a crime at all. Three offenses are recognised; Insult, Injury and True Pain. The first two are self-evident, and come with stated punishments. True Pain are offenses that case irreparable damage. A duel is a common way of avenging such damage and similar mechanics to other contested tasks are again offered, with a variety of maneuvers (dodge, parry, feint etc). When damage is caused, it too is measured in Ranks; rank one or two is a flesh wound, three or four a crippling wound and five is a mortal wound. Injuries can be used as tags by opponents.
There is a significant amount of background and descriptive material to the romance chapter before moving in on the actual mechanics. The first rule is that you can only have one Romance at a time. Romance begins with a flirtatious banter, with the loser being the first to slip up. If a character loses a contest, they become predator and the winner becomes the prey; the prey then can lead the predator on. The Romance lasts for a number of seasons equal to the wages of the Prey plus half that of the Predator acting as a free Aspect. By spending a Style Point a character can even make their lover take an Injury on themselves. Like Injuries, Romances fade over the seasons. A character is left behind becomes Heartbroken, which is an Aspect. Romances that cross the line with married partners becomes a liaison, and can be seen as a threat to property institutions.
Seasons and Sorcery, Player and Narrator
The last five chapters deal with Seasons, Sorcery, the Suaven, and with Player and Narrator chapters. Collectively these take up roughly half the book. Whilst many of the existing rules cover recovery time on Seasons and so forth, the passage of time is such that no more than three stories ("adventures") per season as the rest of time is spent on upkeep of lands etc. Indeed, the role of Regions takes up the bulk of discussion in the Seasons chapter . Each Season is broken down into Planning, Trouble, Action and Harvest (which is a generic term for the collection of any resources from a Region). Trouble occurs on a roll of 1 on d6 per season; a troubled region produces no resources, receives no goods. Troubles in a region must be quelled in some manner, otherwise it spreads the next season. Assuming all is well, Regions can developed through building, works of art, making contacts, espionage, further exploration, conquer enemy regions, winter parties etc with a number of actions determined by the character's Cunning. The specific activities are described in some detail, especially the actions of subtefuge. Again these use similar mechanics as already explained.
An open secret by members of the Houses of the Blooded, sorcery is based on knowledge of a ritual, herbs, and blood to make the ritual work. Specific rituals, such as the Circle, the Curse, The Familiar, The Oath etc. Also detailed is the magical metal Orichalcum, made from silver, gold and the blood of the Ven, and the acquisition of artifacts from the days from days of the sorcerer-kings. Artifacts are found in ork-infested ruins, and each ruin produces a number of Artifact Points per season equal to the Ruin's rank. When finding seemingly typical items in Ruins (e.g., an old sword, a cloak etc), Style Points can be spent to research the item. However, all artifacts come with Doom. At a point determined by the whim of the Narrator (who calls out "Doom!") any test becomes a '9' (i.e., a failure). An artifacts doom can only be invoked by the Narrator once per Season. Artifacts receive both powers (bonus Aspects) and makes demands, whispering to its owner.
In a sense the process of reaching Suaven, the solace and dreaming acquired in old age, acquires a sort of magic of its own. Regarded somewhat as demi-gods (some are more respected that others). Unlike standard character generation, Devotions in this chapter can be built up to Ranks 4 and 5 (Anointed and Priest). Devotions can be increased by one per season with the sacrifice of resources. Naturally enough increasing ranks are more difficult. In response the Suaven provide benefits to their devotees and bestow wrath on those who betray them. Specific Suaven have House associations, a favoured Virtue and titles. A half-dozen is described, before the description of the specific blessings provided, some of which are specifically orientated towards other Houses. Finally, rules are provided for how a Ven becomes a Suaven in the process of entering Solace in old age. This enters another stage in the character's life, having a new series of ranks and an appropriate theme based on the activities in their life.
The final two chapters are for the player and narrator, not how to play the game, but how to use the rules to get the most out the game. In particular the largely descriptive chapter elaborates on how much of the game's narration can actually be in the player's hands and the versatility of the Style Points to introduce plot devices according to the player's will. The section on min-max advice (get vassals, specialise, get married, build & expand) was useful for those purposes and are clearly orientated towards the thematic considerations of the game.
On the other hand, the narrators chapter lacks even this. It has trivial comments; are you really surprised to discover that adding narrativism to a game takes responsibility and planning off the narrator? Is it at all surprising to discover that social relationship mean that potental conflicts are easy to design? This said the mimetic advice could be helpful to a beginner, but again the rambling text can be frustrating. In addition, there is a sample adventure, "Roses & Thorns", which involves a party which was a generally good example of how the game plays and emphases the importance of NPCs, even if it does read more like a LARP than a table-top, face-to-face RPG, and a large group of useful adventure ideas. These are interesting because they illustrate how the game system only really requires a premise and the conflict requirements can be largely derived from the PCs themselves. Finally, there is a section on the monsters, the Ork. In a nice backhander to D&D, the HotB Ork is no pushover; a genuine monster that comes with it's own Terror rating, (in addition to a range of free Aspects) demanding a conflict against the protagonist's Courage.
Concluding Comments
Overall I have very mixed feelings about House of the Blooded. In terms of satisfying the author's own intentions, one can honestly say it has a degree of success in that regard, insofar it does take a number of the more unrealistic - and for that matter, non-narrative - D&D-like tropes and place a spotlight upon them. Further, once must give credit to developing a fairly complete world and setting for the players to explore and develop - with particular emphasis on the latter. This is very much a case of "player with narrative control" game in accord with contemporary tastes in game design. Of course, one incredibly important trope in the game which is derived from D&D is the idea of the PCs as heroes. To be sure, in D&D (et al) the special characters do progress up a ladder, whereas in HotB they start off powerful and, in all honestly, will probably remain at an equivalent level of power for the rest of their lives.
There are two aspects of the game which really weakened the possibility of a higher rating. The first is the coarseness of the resolution system. Kudos are due, of course, to a design that uses the same sort of mechanic all the way through regardless of the conflict in question. That is important and indeed welcome. But a dice-pool mechanic where an additional basic bonus can mean the difference between almost certain success and an equal chance of success or failure needs some additional cruch; maybe not much more. The second is the language. Despite its size, the density writing in Houses of the Blooded is quite poor. This is both a style and a substance issue; as a style issue the way a rule or descriptor is discussed is entirely subjective; and I prefer formal to informal. But as a substance matter there is a matter of density of writing. One can be informal and still pack information in (e.g., Stephan O'Sullivan's works).
Overall however, HotB does still receive a positive rating. It is quite a good game that steps outside the traditional setting in favour of domestic conflicts of power, romance and revenge. For that alone, it is worthy of play.
This review was published concurrently in RPG Review
Style: 1 + .6 (layout) + .3 (art) + .8 (coolness) + .4 (readability) + .5 (product) = 3.5
Substance: 1 + .8 (content) + .4 (text) + .8 (fun) + .5 (workmanship) + .5 (system) = 4.0
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