Bloodborn

Sidebar: Bloodwells

The Bloodwells are artifice left by Those Who Came Before. Most often cast in hues of metallic bronze or gold, the devices resemble sarcophagi that are studded with at least two spindles meant to draw blood from the humans activating the it. Each Well has minor visual differences as exterior runes are adjusted for the Well’s play in a worlds Leyweb.

Damage to the Bloodwells is near impossible but some have been found damaged. Bloodwells may only be used once an hour to create life.

The bloodborn are an offshoot of humanity found scattered through the reaches of the known worlds. Long ago, Those Who Came Before (the ancestors of the bloodborn) colonizing and laying claim to worlds of their choosing. While perceived as aggressive by those they met the mandate of these explorers was simple: accumulate and master all knowledge they encountered. A diverse and cosmopolitan people, the ancestors of the bloodborn were not expecting to accrue enemies as fast as their rapid expansion earned them. When suddenly swarmed with masses of equally powerful races on far too many fronts to contend with, the ancient progenitors of the bloodborn responded with an unusual plan: Preservation. Not of the self, as common in times of war but instead, they chose to preserve their knowledges, their magics, and their essential powers by entrusting them to souls yet born.

Generally speaking bloodborn resemble humans. They emerge from the Bloodwells in a state resembling adult humans and have no physical childhood. Their ethnic variations favor the appearance of their Blood Patrons (see below). The presence of small glowing runes echoing of their Sourcerunes shine above their brow in various formations is their primary distinguishing feature. A canny eye may spot the notable lack of aging and dermatological stress that comes from a young bloodborn’s origins. When a bloodborn’s Sourcerunes are in resonance their eyes often glow the same shade as their runes but this is not always the case.

Standard Racial Traits

The following racial traits represent the bloodborn.

  • Ability Scores: +2 to One Ability Score: As a Human offshoot, Bloodborn characters get a +2 bonus to one ability score of their choice at creation.
  • Type: Augmented Humans: Bloodborn are humanoids with the (human) and (augmented) subtypes.
  • Size: Bloodborn are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
  • Speed: Bloodborn have a base speed of 30 feet.
  • Languages: Bloodborn begin play speaking Common, and a language belonging to one of their Blood Patrons. Bloodborn with high Intelligence scores can choose any languages they want (except secret languages, such as Druidic). See the Linguistics skill page for more information about these languages.

Other Racial Traits

Sidebar: Blood Patron

The Bloodwells must be activated by the blood of two creatures with the human subtype by coating the exterior bloodspindles. The artifacts utilizes the blood to synthesize the physical body of the newly made bloodborn. The bloodborn will resemble both parents but does not require any specific combination to yield a gender. General ideas of the Blood Patrons of any given bloodborn should be known to the player and/ or GM as the racial mechanics and feats in the product may refer to them.

  • Sourcerunes (Su): Each Bloodborn begins play with attunement to at least two Sourcerunes. These Sourcerunes represent the manifestation of ancient knowledge from the collective of Those Who Came Before. Each Bloodborn has at least one primary Sourcerune and one secondary Sourcerune. Bloodborn may not be attuned to a single Sourcerune Family more than once. Each Sourcerune has different game effects depending on whether it is primary or secondary in attunement. The Sourcerunes Families are as follows:
  • Blood Patrons (Ex): Each Bloodborn was born of two blood donors whose power and knowledge becomes the raw material of the newly created bloodborn’s being. The player selects two skills to represent these blood patrons knowledge reborn in the new character and become class skills regardless of class selection. Additionally, the GM may also allow the bloodborn to make skill checks untrained when dealing with circumstances familiar to one of their Blood Patrons.
  • Bloodforged (Ex): Due to the energies of the Bloodwells used to create them, Bloodborn have a -2 penalty to saving throws vs. death effects and negative energy attacks. Additionally bloodborn are sterile via natural means of reproduction and may not trigger Bloodwells with their own blood.
  • Conflicted Soul (Ex): Bloodborn are driven by the conflicting memories of both their Blood Patrons and their Sourcerunes. They resolve these conflicts by embracing diverse skill-sets and mastering counterbalancing arts. Bloodborn who remain single classed after their first level take a cumulative circumstance penalty equal to the number of levels in their single class beyond the first to all d20 rolls made for the character. If this penalty exceeds their highest mental statistic bonus, they descend into madness are surrendered to the GM as NPCs. If you are using the alternate multi-classing rules from Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Unchained you may avoid conflicted soul penalties by giving up the required feats to acquire a multiclass progression.

Sidebar: Sourcerunes

Each bloodborn has a minimum of two luminous runes at their brow.

The runes can be either in vertical or horizontal presentation. In the case of a third rune triangular formations are present in addition. Sourcerunse are supernatural in nature and are suppressed in antimagic. They may shed light similar in intensity to a candle or dim to bare visibility. Runes may be of various coloration and each family has hundreds of variations. If resonance is active the colors blend to the same hues or patterns.

Sourcerune Families

Atkai Family

Signs of Prymmean energy skill:

Primary – Atkai primary attuned Bloodborn may use their Charisma modifier in place of the casting or manifesting attribute normally assigned to a single class of their choosing. Alternatively, the Bloodborn can select a single class that provides supernatural and/or spell-like abilities, these class abilities may reference Charisma instead of their original attribute.

Secondary – Atkai secondary attuned Bloodborn with a Charisma based casting class gain access to an alternate favored class benefit. At each level of the selected favored class, the Bloodborn may choose another spell known. This spell may not be of the character’s highest level known.

Muo Family

Signs of Emmanant energy skill:

Primary – Muo primary attuned Bloodborn may use their Wisdom modifier in place of the casting or manifesting attribute normally assigned to a single class of their choosing. Alternatively, the Bloodborn can select a single class that provides supernatural and/or spell-like abilities, these class abilities may reference Wisdom instead of their original attribute.

Secondary – Muo secondary attuned Bloodborn with the Channel Energy (Su) feature gain access to an alternate favored class benefit. At each level of the selected favored class, the Bloodborn may gain ½ of a daily use of Channel Energy (allowing the character 1 additional daily use of the ability for each two levels she assigns this benefit).

Essal Family

Signs of Vengean energy skill:

Primary – Essal primary attuned Bloodborn may use their Intelligence modifier in place of the casting or manifesting attribute normally assigned to a single class of their choosing. Alternatively, the Bloodborn can select a single class that provides supernatural and/or spell-like abilities, these class abilities may reference Intelligence instead of their original attribute.

Secondary – Essal secondary attuned Bloodborn gain access to an alternate favored class benefit. At each level of the selected favored class, the Bloodborn may choose one skill, this skill receives a +1 racial modifier from ancestral and blood memory. These bonuses stack with each time this benefit is applied to the same skill. Even skills that are not class skills may be selected. This bonus does not count as ranks for other character prerequisites. This total bonus can never exceed the Bloodborn’s Intelligence bonus for any one skill.

Sidebar: Runic Resonance

Each bloodborn has at least two runes that interact with each other under certain conditions. This interaction is referred to as Resonance. While this interaction is active the the bloodborn gains bonuses to attacks, checks or other game benefits. The act of resonance involves visible changes that are highly noticeable. The flash of light and color shift only require a DC 10 perception check to notice. Stealth checks while in Resonance suffer a penalty equally to attribute bonus of your Primary rune.

Juhn Family

Signs of Enduring resolve:

Primary – Juhn primary attuned Bloodborn may use their Constitution modifier in place of the casting or manifesting attribute normally assigned to a single class of their choosing. Alternatively, the Bloodborn can select a single class that provides supernatural and/or spell-like abilities, these class abilities may reference Constitution instead of their original attribute.

Secondary – Juhn secondary attuned Bloodborn with a Soulwell (such as arcane pool or ki pool) pool gain access to an alternate favored class benefit. The bloodborn may select one Soulwell. At each level of the selected favored class, the Bloodborn may gain ½ a point to that Soulwell’s pool.

Jhi Family

Signs of Physical prodigy:

Primary – Jhi primary attuned Bloodborn may use their Dexterity modifier in place of the casting or manifesting attribute normally assigned to a single class of their choosing. Alternatively, the Bloodborn can select a single class that provides supernatural and/or spell-like abilities, these class abilities may reference Dexterity instead of their original attribute.

Secondary – Jhi secondary attuned Bloodborn gain access to an alternate favored class benefit. At each level of the selected favored class, the Bloodborn gains access to ¼ of a bonus feat of their choosing (allowing the character one bonus feat every 4 levels this benefit is selected). The Bloodborn must still qualify for the feat.

Sho Family

Signs of Primal might:

Primary – Sho primary attuned Bloodborn may use their Strength modifier in place of the casting or manifesting attribute normally assigned to a single class of their choosing. Alternatively, the Bloodborn can select a single class that provides supernatural and/or spell-like abilities, these class abilities may reference Strength instead of their original attribute.

Secondary – Sho secondary attuned Bloodborn access to an alternate favored class benefit. At each level of the selected favored class, the Bloodborn may a gain a bonus martial weapon proficiency feat. Alternatively, she may gain ½ of an exotic weapon feat (allowing the Bloodborn to learn an additional exotic weapon feat for every two levels in the chosen favored class).

Sourcerune Resonance

Each bloodborn is marked by the presence of glowing echoes of two or more of the Great Sourcerunes that power the Bloodwells. These echoed Sourcerunes manifest as a runepair (or triad) at the brow of the bloodborn.

The Sourcerunes’ power resonates with the countless spirits of the ancients that sacrificed themselves in their creation. Each pairing of a bloodborn’s Sourcerunes grants the character abilities echoing the ancient orders of his or her ancestors. Under the right circumstances the two runes interact powerful synergies called Resonances.

When a Resonance is triggered both (or all) of the bloodborn’s Sourcerunes flare and blur colors into each other. The Resonance are different for each potential runepair and are listed below:

Atkai-Muo

Soulflare (Su)

When the Bloodborn uses a spell, granted ability or power within one round of using a spell, granted ability or power from a different class, the second effect is permeated with the lingering power of the first granting a bonus of +1 to the effective usage level or +1 to save the effects DC, chosen upon the casting of the second effect.

Atkai-Essal

Mindfire (Su)

When the Bloodborn uses a damaging spell, granted ability or power within one round of using a spell, granted ability or power from a different class, the second effect is permeated with the lingering power of the first granting a damage bonus of equal to bonus of the Primary attribute of the first effect.

Atkai-Juhn

Lifesurge (Su)

When the Bloodborn uses a spell, granted ability or power within one round of using a spell, granted ability or power from the same class, the Bloodborn gains temporary Hit Points equal to the level of the effect. These hit points overlap from round to round, and fade if no damage is taken within 1 hour.

Atkai-Jhi

Skillsurge (Su)

When the Bloodborn uses a spell, granted ability or power within one round of using a spell, granted ability or power from the same class, the Bloodborn gains a circumstance bonus to his next skill check equal to the level of the effect. This bonus fades after 1 full round if no skill check is initiated.

Atkai-Sho

Powerstrike (Su)

When the Bloodborn uses a spell, granted ability or power within one round of using a spell, granted ability or power from the same class, the Bloodborn gains a bonus to melee damage rolls equal to the level of the effect. This bonus fades after 1 round has passed.

Muo-Essal

Soulmind (Su)

When the Bloodborn uses spell, granted ability or power within one round of using spell, granted ability or power from a different class, the Bloodborn’s spirit is suffused with the totality of his diverse powers. He gains a circumstance bonus on his next saving throw equal to the level of the effect. This bonus fades after 1 full round if no saving throw is made.

Muo-Juhn

Soulshield (Su)

When the Bloodborn uses a spell, granted ability or power within one round of using a personal range spell, granted ability or power, the Bloodborn gains a shield bonus equal to the level of the effect. This bonus fades after 1 round.

Muo-Jhi

Soulgrace (Su)

When the Bloodborn uses a spell, granted ability or power within one round of using a personal range spell, granted ability or power, the Bloodborn gains a luck bonus to any penalized rolls (due to curses, conditions, or ability damage) equal to the level of the effect. This bonus fades after 1 round.

Muo-Sho

Soulsword (Su)

Whenever the bloodborn roles initiative, he gains access to the Weapon of the Soul feat, he does not need to qualify for the feat and can manifest this mind blade as per soulknife rules. This ability stacks with soulknife levels as per the normal feat rules. See the feats section for more on this ability. Bloodmind resonance in horizontal formation.

Essal-Juhn

Bloodmind (Su)

When the Bloodborn uses a spell, granted ability or power within one round of using a personal range spell or power, the Bloodborn gains an insight bonus to damage roles equal to their Constitution modifier. This bonus fades after 1 round.

Essal-Jhi

Deftmind (Su)

When the Bloodborn uses a spell, granted ability or power within one round of using a personal range spell or power, the Bloodborn gains a insight bonus to attack roles versus flat-footed foes and on critical hit confirmation rolls equal to their Intelligence modifier. This bonus fades after 1 round.

Essal-Sho

Mindmight (Su)

When the Bloodborn scores a successful critical hit, the DC of the next spell, granted ability or power he uses is increased by his Strength modifier. This bonus fades in 1 round or after the next spell is cast, whichever is sooner.

Juhn-Jhi

Swiftblood (Su)

When the Bloodborn takes hit point or Constitution damage, the character gains a circumstance bonus of +5 feet to his movement speeds for every point of Dexterity modifier he has. This bonus fades after 1 round.

Juhn-Sho

Bloodseethe (Su)

When the Bloodborn takes hit point or Constitution damage, the character gains a circumstance bonus to melee damage roles equal to his current Constitution score. This bonus fades after 1 round.

Jhi-Sho

Swiftstrike (Su)

When attacking flatfooted opponents or confirmation on critical hits, the Bloodborn may add their Dexterity bonus as a circumstance bonus to the roll.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Races of the Lost Spheres – Bloodborn. © 2015, Lost Spheres Publishing. Author: Christen N. Sowards

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