On Sat, 2002-08-03 at 05:56, Gary wrote:
At 01:18 PM 8/2/2002 -0500, Kenneth Gauck wrote:
>IMO, the rule book only covers standard, ordinary bloodline transfers.
>There are other more exotic options out there.
I agree. I think there should be other methods of transferring
bloodlines. Rather, I think there already are different methods, depending
on how one views the origins of certain NPCs in the various published
materials. These methods just aren`t described anywhere....
I agree as well. The rulebook describes investiture in quite basic
terms. I think there could be many variations on the theme allowing for
a great diversity in culture and custom, heritage and divine will.
In the case of the Quickfoot, however, the Blood Enemies book says QF19
divided his bloodline between his two twin sons. That`s rather an odd
thing to do if "half" in that text is meant to refer to the bloodline
strength score of the bloodline that makes the Quickfoot THE Quickfoot
because if QF19`s spouse was a commoner his two sons would have had half
his bloodline strength score already.
I really don`t like the rule that creates blooded children from blooded
parents. I no longer use it at all. Investiture by gaining of
inheritance (bloodright/birthright) is sufficient.. Not all cultures
pass property/titles etc to just one heir. In some cases it was common
for sons to share the inheritance after their father - and joint
rulership was also quite common - (meant to be two tribunes of
Republican Rome e.g. - or was that three?)
Although only indirectly germane to the Quickfoot question, there`s the
issue of how tightly bloodline and domain are coupled.
(Barring acts of bloodtheft and
spending RP to increase his bloodline after they were born, that is.) If
QF19`s mate had a bloodline herself, then their sons would have had
bloodlines greater than half QF19`s own, so giving them half his bloodline
seems pretty pointless and may very well represent a sort of demotion. The
best solution for this is that this special "half/half" investiture action
knocked up the bloodline strength score of the twins a point or two per the
investiture/bloodtheft description in the Rulebook.
This special bloodline transfer need not have been transferring bloodline
strength points at all. The major consideration here would appear to be
the transfer of the blood abilities that make the Quickfoot quick of foot,
not just the bloodline strength score that goes along with it. In which
case, it`s hard to see exactly what "halfing" his bloodline did
exactly. Did he divide the blood abilities up between the two of them, or
did the transfer somehow demote (great to major, major to minor) the
strength of those blood abilities?
One scenario is that the bloodline score is halved. My theory is that a
bloodline is a unique gift, with blood abilities that are common to all
those that carry the bloodline - the bloodline itself is unique but may
be distributed among many recipients. The blood powers of the bloodline
are fixed - but the number of these powers that manifest in an
individual depend on their bloodline score.
So, in this case both sons would have the same bloodline strength as
their father but half the score each. Traditional Anuirean custom would
not fragment the bloodline - but these are Anuirean Halflings, and it
does seem a break with tradition as well.
The blood ability issue is entwined with the bloodline strength score
issue, however, in that the twins may not have had a high enough score
after the investiture to still have all the blood abilities that their
father did.
exactly.
Lastly, is the ceremony required to perform this sort of special
investiture the same as the typical one? Should a research action be
performed or some other requirement met in order to be able to perform a
particular type of investiture? In this case, the transfer was to a pair
of twins. Should that factor into the way the investiture
happened? Because the target of the investiture were twins the bloodline
was able to be shared between them?
Investiture as a ceremony may be quite varied in both its formality and
its restrictions by the customs of the culture to which the individuals
concerned belong. Investing/acknowledging an heir to a kingdom is
usually quite a big public display, while acknowledging an heir to a
family name or as the next head of the family unit may be a far more
private affair. I think its important not to get caught up in the mechanics of investiture` but rather to play it by concept.
So, my answer is “all investiture ceremonies are special”. Investing the
next Duke of Boeruine would be quite different to investing the next
head of a Khinasi Name. Even the involvement of priests is not
mandatory in all cases - but that doesn`t mean optional.
I think this case is simply that of a fathers wishes, and the family
respecting and accepting those wishes. I would assume that property and
household leadership was also split evenly. The bloodline itself may
also be pseudo-sentient and have had a say - if one of the twins was
especially evil for example, it (the bloodline) may have refused to
split (similar to land`s choice).
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