Character Bloodlines

Legacy burns before footsteps fall.

In your blood lies the shape of your legend. A Bloodline is the myth already flowing through you—ancient vows, forgotten wars, buried truths in your marrow. The world hears their echo in your name. You carry promise and peril long before you draw a blade or cast a spell.

Before you write your future, understand the past that breathes beneath your skin.

What Is a Bloodline?

You carry it in your marrow—whether you want it or not.

A Bloodline is your character’s inherited legacy—narrative and mechanical. It represents ancestral power, memory, or burden encoded into your identity. Your Bloodline shapes how others see you and what the world expects of you.

Ask yourself:

• What ancestral legacy precedes your first step? What’s already written into your name?
• What mark does it leave? A gift, a curse, or something in between?
• Will you fulfill it—or rewrite it?

Choosing a Bloodline

Every Bloodline carries echoes of something older—gifts, scars, debts unpaid. Choosing yours isn’t just about powers or perks.

Steps:

1. Choose one Bloodline.
2. Apply all Vitals changes listed under that entry.
3. Copy all listed traits, including abilities, resistances, and vulnerabilities.
4. Record these details clearly on your character sheet.
5. Use its lore to shape your Origin, Skills, and Class.

Tip: Choose the Bloodline that best aligns with the story you envision for your character.

Example: The Ashborn Survivor

I was skimming through the Bloodlines when I hit the Ashborn. That was it. The idea of someone literally burned into purpose clicked instantly. I pictured my character with soot-lined scars, trying to keep her ash bond alive—not just for power, but because forgetting it means forgetting her fallen clan. I jotted down Ashborn, added the +1 Strength, and locked in Ash Surge. She’s not here to win fights. She’s here to burn for the dead.

Example: The Necrokin Philosopher

I didn't want to be undead for shock value. I wanted to explore what it means to exist beyond death. The Necrokin’s blend of curse and autonomy hit hard. Immune to food, breath, healing? Brutal. But perfect. I saw this character as someone who guides spirits because they are one. I copied over their immunities and wrote “Spirit Guide” in big letters beside the traits. This is going to be a haunting arc—literally and thematically.

Example: The Igdrasan Oathbound

As soon as I read that Igdrasan revere Odin and trade in ash, I imagined a stone-faced axe-warrior who sees every fight as a prophecy. Strength bonus? Perfect. Clan loyalty and eternal warfare? Even better. The Bloodline wasn’t just a stat choice—it gave me his voice. Blunt. Brutal. Proud. The kind of guy who names his scars. I wrote down “Ashland Refugee” as his origin, then started sketching out which oaths he’s already broken.

Example: The Ceiban Healer-Warrior

The jungle themes drew me in first—chaos, fertility, sacrifice. But it was the duality that made me stay. The Ceibans don’t just survive the jungle—they reflect it. I loved that. My character is a battlefield medic who performs blood rites to call rain. I gave her the poison resistance and mobility boost, then wrote in her gear: sacred paints, bone blade, and dried herbs. She heals... but the spirits ask for blood in return.

Bloodline Format

Each Bloodline includes:

• Traits Block — Vitals shifts, unique abilities, resistances, vulnerabilities, and common Class affinities.
• Physical Markers — Height, weight, visible features.
• History & Status — Key events and current position.
• Personality — Typical drives, fears, and quirks.
• Culture — Beliefs, rites, and communal identity.
• Relations — Allies, enemies, stereotypes, and tensions.

Tip: Treat these sections as story hooks, not shackles.

Summary

• A Bloodline defines your character’s ancestry.
• You choose your Bloodline before selecting Origin, Skills, Class, gear, etc.
• Apply all Vital shifts and listed traits immediately.
• Bloodline traits include both benefits and drawbacks—make sure you track them both.

Ashborn

Home Fragment: Yggdrasil
Popular Roles: Fighter, Ranger, or Witch
Starting Languages: Old Norse, Trade
Vitals Adjusted: +1 to Strength or Agility

Bloodline Traits

Elemental Resistance

• When an Ashborn takes fire or cold damage, they ignore 1 point of that damage.

Ash Surge (1/day)

If the Ashborn has made physical contact with Eternal Ash this day, they may activate an Ash Surge as a Minor Action.

Effects Upon Activation

• Immediately gain +1 Strength or +1 Agility (your choice) and suffer –1 Cognition for the duration of the Surge.
• While the Surge is active, every time you roll Core or Action Dice, resolve one of the following outcomes:

Duration

The Surge remains active for a number of turns equal to your modified Cognition, after applying the –1 penalty.

• The Surge always includes the current turn.
• Example: With an adjusted Cognition of 2, the Surge lasts this turn plus 2 more—3 turns total.

Ash Rite

Ashborn must renew their elemental bond to the Eternal Ash every few days by performing the Ash Rite.

If more than (2 × Resilience) days pass without doing so, the Ashborn becomes Unanchored. While Unanchored:

• You suffer Disadvantage on all Skill Checks.
• This state ends when you complete one of the following:
  • Smear at least 50g of Eternal Ash on exposed skin.
  • Perform a 10-minute Cleansing Rite using volcanic soot, sacred charcoal, or consecrated ash—all consumed in the process.

Physical Characteristics

Height: Males: 160–180 cm, Females: 150–170 cm
Weight: Males: 65–105 kg, Females: 55–90 kg
Eye Color: Grey, pale blue, or dark black, often glowing faintly during ash surges.
Hair Color: Ashen white, silver, or faded brown.
Maturity and Lifespan: Maturity at 16 years, lifespan 80–90 years on average.

Unique Traits: Ashborn skin has an ashy texture with dark, swirling patterns like soot or smoke that faintly glow along with their eyes when their Ash Surge activates. Their bodies naturally gather ash, giving them a perpetually dusted appearance.

History and Current Status

• After the Sundering, the Eternal Ashfall engulfed Midgard, transforming many of the survivors into Ashborn—infused with magical ash.
• The ash reshaped their bodies and culture, allowing adaptation to the desolate Midgard Wastes.
• Today, Ashborn form tight-knit communities, scavenging and trading in ash.
• They work as mercenaries or guides, drawing resilience and elemental magic from the Eternal Ash—while managing its risks.

Personality Traits

• Survivor Instincts: Resilient and resourceful, Ashborn excel at improvising, especially in harsh environments.
• Emotional Volatility: Tough but unstable, they act recklessly when chaos surges through their ash magic.

Cultural Traits

• Values: Survival and adaptation are vital. Ashborn prize self-reliance, quick thinking, and endurance. Community bonds are strong, but all must contribute.
• Social Dynamics: Leadership goes to those who master elemental surges. Tribes gather around scavenger camps and ruins, relying on ash for sustenance and spellwork.
• Traditions: Rituals invoke the Eternal Ash, believed to hold ancestral memory. Markings honor the past.
• Religion and Beliefs: The Eternal Ashfall is seen as a conduit to ancestral spirits. Ash is sacred—guiding their vision to rebuild Midgard.

Relationships With Neighbours

• Igdrasans: Cautiously cooperative—shared reliance on ash trade brings occasional tension over resources.
• Acacians: Pragmatically neutral—limited trade in necromantic goods, with mutual caution.
• Ceibans: Respectful but distant—shared reverence for nature’s power keeps peace, though interaction is rare.
• Necrokin: Practical allies—both value resilience, forming wary partnerships despite discomfort with the undead.
• K’aan: Tense respect—territorial clashes balanced by mutual recognition of strength.

Human - All

In Shatterholme, the fractured realms have forced human bloodlines from ancient civilizations to adapt to an unstable world, each carrying traits shaped by their origins and the chaos they now face.

As they navigate the chaotic landscape, humans continuously evolve, shifting their skills to meet new challenges and proving resourceful in their quest for survival in this ever-changing, volatile reality.

Bloodline Traits

All humans share these basic traits:

• Vitals Adjusted: +1 to any Vital of their choice.
• Popular Roles: Varied.
• Movement: 10 meters per Minor Action.
• Maturity and Lifespan: Maturity at 18 years, lifespan 70–80 years on average.
• Languages: Varied.
• Adaptable Skills: At the completion of a Story Milestone, a human character can transfer one level from one Skill to another.
  • The receiving Skill cannot exceed the level of the Skill from which the point is being transferred.
  • Example: If a level 3 Skill is used as the source, a level 2 Skill or lower can be raised, but not a Skill already at level 3 or higher.

K’aan

Bloodline Traits

• Vitals Adjusted: +1 to Mobility or Cognition.
• Popular Roles: Ranger or Shaman.
• Languages: K’aan, Ceiban, Trade.
• Movement: 10 meters per Minor Action.
• Serpent’s Tongue: K'aan communicate with serpentine creatures and reptiles, gaining advantage on Animal Handling checks and issuing simple commands.
• Serpent’s Resilience: K'aan gain advantage on poison saves and take 1 less poison or acid damage.
• Poison Affinity: K'aan gain advantage on poison-brewing Skill Checks when using natural venoms.
• Flexible Body: Once per long rest, K'aan activate their serpentine flexibility with a Minor Action. For rounds equal to Mobility VB, they may move through 6-inch spaces without checks and gain advantage on Mobility checks to escape from grapples or being restrained.
• Poison Spit: Once per day, a K'aan may spit venom at a single target up to 6 meters away with a Ranged Weapon attack. It deals poison damage and forces a Physique save. On failure, the target is poisoned for rounds equal to the K'aan’s Physique VB, suffering disadvantage on Attack Rolls and Skill Checks.
• Waterbound: If K'aan avoid full water immersion for days exceeding their Physique VB, they suffer disadvantage on Skill Checks until fully immersed in water again.

Physical Characteristics

• Height: Males: 165–195 cm, Females: 160–185 cm.
• Weight: Males: 65–90 kg, Females: 55–80 kg.
• Eye Color: Yellow or emerald-green, with slit pupils.
• Hair Color: Ridged scalps in hues of green, brown, or dark gold; some with snake-like dreadlocks at the back.
• Unique Traits: K’aan are covered in scales in hues of green, brown, or dark gold; some individuals bear serpentine patterns in contrasting colors. They often adorn themselves with gold paste.

History and Current Status

• After the Sundering, the K'aan emerged from the venomous Serpent Plains, adapting to the chaotic, shifting environment. Touched by K'awiil's magic, they built their society on manipulating natural and mystical forces, especially poisons and serpent magic.
• Ruled by shaman-priests, their priest-kings took key roles in the Mayan fragment's power struggles, advising or challenging human rulers.
• The K'aan thrive today in the Serpent Plains, feared for their mastery over poisons and ability to control land and weather through rituals tied to Chac's storms.
• While many remain isolated and wary, some K'aan venture beyond their lands as envoys or warlords, expanding their power in Shatterholme.

Personality Traits

• Cunning and Patient: The K'aan are known for their patience and calculated approach to conflict. They prefer to strike when the time is right, waiting for the perfect moment to gain the upper hand.
• Proud and Aloof: Their connection to serpentine spirits and mastery over venom has instilled a sense of superiority. They view themselves as the chosen of the jungle, and often see other mortals as weak.
• Mysterious and Secretive: K'aan are secretive by nature, often concealing their true intentions behind layers of intrigue. They rarely reveal their full plans.

Cultural Traits

• Values: The K'aan value power, wisdom, and survival, drawn to nature’s cycles, particularly the balance of life and death, reflected in their use of poisons.
• Social Dynamics: The K'aan society is hierarchical, ruled by priest-kings and shamanic leaders who claim divine right through their connection to serpentine spirits. Loyalty is paramount, but power struggles are frequent, as leaders constantly vie for dominance.
• Traditions: Venom rites are central to K'aan culture, involving poisonous snake handling, toxin crafting, and communing with serpentine spirits. Festivals celebrate Chac's monsoons, which are both feared and revered.
• Religion and Beliefs: K'aan venerate K'awiil and Chac, twin forces shaping their destiny. K'awiil’s chaos brings power and danger, while Chac’s storms are revered as life-giving yet destructive. Serpentine spirits, avatars of these gods, are central to their rituals.

Relationships With Neighbours

• Ceibans: Wary allies with shared reverence; both respect the natural cycle, participating in joint rituals while maintaining caution.
• Acacians: Rivalrous and distrustful; conflicting ideologies over necromancy create tension, though direct conflict is avoided.
• Ahwatan: Cooperative guardians of the land; shared values foster a supportive alliance to protect their territories.
• Necrokin: Hostile distrust; the Necrokin’s undead nature disrupts the balance K'aan uphold, leading to frequent clashes.
• Boaban: Cooperative but competitive; both value natural resources, maintaining practical exchanges while occasionally clashing over territory.

Necrokin (The Awakened)

Bloodline Bonuses

• Vitals Adjusted: None.
• Popular Classes: Necromancer, Rogue, Death Cleric.
• Movement: 8 meters per Minor Action.
• Necrotic Reconstitution: Once per day, when reduced to 0 Vitality or below, at the start of their next turn the Necrokin regains 1 Vitality.
  • After using this ability, the Necrokin suffers disadvantage on all Cognition-based checks until their next long rest.
• Spirit Sight: Necrokin perceive spirits and the undead with a faint necrotic outline, gaining advantage on perception checks related to the undead or spirit realm.
• Undead Resilience: Necrokin do not need sleep, food, or air. They are immune to disease and poison and can only be healed through necromantic or unnatural magic.
• Elemental Resistance: The Necrokin ignore 1 point of necrotic or cold damage from each attack or spell.
• Vulnerability to Radiant and Psychic Damage: Necrokin take +1 damage from any radiant or psychic sources.

Physical Characteristics

• Height: Males: 170–185 cm, Females: 160–175 cm.
• Weight: Males: 65–90 kg, Females: 50–70 kg.
• Eye Color: Pale, hollow shades of grey, white, or green, sometimes glowing faintly when interacting with necrotic energies.
• Hair Color: Faded black, white, or grey, often thin or patchy due to their undead nature.
• Unique Traits: Necrokin skin is pallid and cold, often marred by signs of decay or necrotic scarring. Their bodies retain a skeletal or gaunt appearance, with dark veins or patches of desiccated flesh. Upon utilizing necrotic magic, faint glyphs of binding may appear on their skin, glowing with sickly light.

History and Current Status

• After the Sundering, many awakened Necrokin were created through the necrotic practices of the Acacians, initially bound to necromancers. Amid the chaos, some broke free and learned to survive independently among the perils of undeath.
• These free Necrokin now roam wastelands and cursed lands, driven by a quest for purpose, knowledge, or revenge on those who still enslave the dead.
• Today, Necrokin thrive as wandering survivors, mercenaries, and undead mystics, using their necrotic knowledge to navigate their cursed existence.
• Though often outcasts, they guide spirits, act as intermediaries between the living and the dead, and harness necrotic power for magic, playing a crucial role in cursed or forsaken lands.

Personality Traits

• Relentless and Driven: Known for their determination, Necrokin are often fueled by their unique relationship with death. Having survived it once, they approach goals with singular focus, enduring every challenge.
• Detached but Loyal: Although many Necrokin struggle with forming strong emotional attachments due to their undead condition, once bonds are formed, they are loyal to the end, often viewing comrades as their new purpose in a world that has otherwise rejected them.

Cultural Traits

• Values: Necrokin highly value survival and autonomy. Many were once bound by necromancers and now seek to prove their independence, striving for mastery over their undead nature rather than submission.
• Social Dynamics: Necrokin who escape servitude form tight communities. Leadership gravitates toward those who master necrotic forces, with authority based on necromantic knowledge.
• Traditions: Necrokin perform rituals to maintain their undead state and honor the spirits that linger in the mortal world. Some believe that by understanding the necrotic energies that sustain them, they can free themselves from their undead curse or find peace in undeath.
• Religion and Beliefs: Some Necrokin believe their undead state is a punishment for defying death, while others see themselves as vessels of ancient gods. They perform rituals to commune with spirits, seeking to either escape their curse or embrace it. Legends speak of a time when the veil between life and death will tear apart, and the Necrokin will lead the dead into a new era of undeath or eternal life.

Relationships With Other Races

• Acacians: Resentful originators; tension arises from the Necrokin’s quest for independence from their former creators, though mutual necromantic interests occasionally align.
• Igdrasans: Wary but resourceful trade partners; practical alliances form when necessary, with both groups respecting each other’s resilience.
• Ashborn: Pragmatic survivors; a shared survival mentality fosters respect and alliances in hostile terrains.
• Ceibans: Distrustful rivals; contrasting beliefs in life’s cycle create a strained relationship, with both groups wary of each other’s influence.
• K'aan: Hostile opposition; the K'aan see the Necrokin as an affront to natural order, leading to frequent hostilities.