At the GM’s option, your campaign may include heroic or divine bloodlines. Some or all PCs may be descended from a legendary hero or even a deity. Your bloodline can grant you access to unique feats.
Bloodlines are a central theme in the Amazons vs Valkyries campaign setting. While all players are not required to select a bloodline for their characters, it is recommended that at least a few do so, as it will likely come into play. Some bloodlines carry specific qualities such as a unique appearance, an affinity with an ancestral weapon, or a taint of good or evil. Game masters may also use bloodlines to introduce family members, backgrounds, and adventure hooks for the characters.
Bloodlines can help flesh out a hero’s background and provide the game master with adventure hooks and sources of conflict. Some examples are:
• Ancestor spirits warn the hero of impending doom
• Family and clan relationships (good and bad)
• Ancestral items such as jewelry, cookware, armor, weapons, estates, and titles.
• Weddings, funerals, and celebrations to attend
• Tombs or sanctuaries that only people with the bloodline may enter
• Organizations that only allow certain bloodlines to be members
• Ancient feuds and vendettas still exist and may be visited upon the heroes, or may be useful to them. For example, Hera may require the sacrifice of a Heraclid before she will help
The table below sums up all the most common bloodlines in the setting. Players are free to choose their bloodline and alignment. The random number column and the alignment column are intended to help GMs develop NPCs and to provide a general description of how common each of these bloodlines are in the setting.
Bloodline Feats. Bloodlines unlock access to certain exclusive feats, as shown on the table below. As your character advances in level and gains feats, you can choose from the these feats in addition to the regular selection in the core rules. A few of these feasts are detailed on this site (linked below). All these feats and a great deal of information about each of these families and the AvV setting can be found in the Bloodlines PDF.
| D100 | Bloodline | Alignment | Bloodline Feats |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01-03 | Achaemenes | Any | Magical Aptitude, Magic Resistance, Master of Magics, Spell Endurance |
| 04-07 | Achilles | Any | Iron Skin, Natural Armor, Wrath of Achilles |
| 08-14 | Aeneas | Usually Good | Divine Health, Spell Endurance, Heroic Surge, Heroic Defiance, Soul Power, Favored of the Gods |
| 15-17 | Anteus | Usually Evil | Iron Skin, Natural Armor, Strength Surge |
| 18-19 | Asclepius | Rarely evil | Divine Health, Healing Hands, Herbal Healer, Master Physician |
| 20-21 | Atalanta | Usually neutral | Beast Companion, Beast Trainer |
| 22-25 | Autolycus | Rarely lawful | Favored of the Gods, Foil Scrutiny, Fortuitous, Heroic Surge,Thespian |
| 26-27 | Boreades | Any | Wind Magic, Greater Wind Magic |
| 28-29 | Dioskouri | Any | Charming Smile, Social Proficiency |
| 30-35 | Halfdan | Any | Cold Born, Demoralizing Strike, Heroic Surge |
| 36-44 | Hercules | Often chaotic | Heroic Defiance, Load Bearing, Strength Surge |
| 45-47 | Hippolyta | Any | Heroic Defiance, War Child |
| 48-51 | Myrmidon | Usually lawful | Iron Skin, Load Bearing, Natural Armor |
| 52 | Orpheus | Any | Foil Scrutiny, Persuasive, Rousing Performance, Social Proficiency, Taunt, Thespian |
| 53-59 | Perseus | Any | Favored of the Gods, Fated Hero, Spell Endurance |
| 60-64 | Saeming | Any | Beast Companion, Beast Trainer, War Child |
| 65-69 | Skjold | Usually good | Protection, Spell Endurance, War Child |
| 70-77 | Tantalus | Often evil | Ignore Pain, Inherited Madness, Warped Mind |
| 78-83 | Theseus | Any | Heroic Defiance, Spell Endurance |
| 84-90 | Volsung | Rarely evil | Favored of the Gods, War Child |
| 91 | Wayland | Any | Master Craftswoman |
| 92-98 | Yngvi | Any | Magical Aptitude Magic Resistance, Master of Magics, Spell Endurance, Fortuitous |
| 99-100 | Zal | Any | Master of Magics, Magic Resistance, Spell Endurance, Strength Surge, Unusual Anatomy |
