This page offers a comprehensive, but not exhaustive, guideline to the Dice System, including character creation and skills.
Above all else, Bloodline is a collaborative space to roleplay. The mechanical systems are only a means to an end and the great narrative you and other players can achieve in a given situation should always come first.
I. New to 1d100?
Bloodline is a d100 or percentile system. Percentile dice, or 1d100, are used to resolve key actions - skill use, combat, magic casting, and so on. It is a roll-under system, meaning that the target number is expressed as a percentage and players are looking to roll less than their skills number.
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If you click Roll on a Skill in your Dice Sheet, you just have to make sure the LEFT result is less than the RIGHT bonus.
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Abilities, such as those in Combat, perform the calculations automatically.
II. Characters
Each character is defined by a series of different elements that describe the character’s capabilities.
These elements are:​
Characteristics: such as Strength of Charisma.
Attributes: such as Hit Points or Movement.
Skills: such as Perception or Acrobatics.
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These are each explained below, but here is a useful link to our Google Sheets that simplifies character dice.
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III. Characteristics
Every character is defined by seven Characteristics which tell you something about a character; how strong or fast they are; how clever or healthy. Characteristics are the core of every Bloodline character and form the basis for most of the other elements such as Attributes and Skills. The seven Characteristics are:
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Strength (STR)
STR represents physical strength: how much one can lift, how hard one can hit, and so on. STR is a component of the Damage Modifier. All characters start with 3 Strength.
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Dexterity (DEX)
Agility, balance, and reflexes are measured by DEX. It is an important aspect of Action Points and Initiative. All characters start with 3 Dexterity.
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Vitality (VIT)
VIT is measure of health and hardiness. VIT is a component in determining Hit Points and Healing Rate. All characters start with 3 Vitality.
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Size (SIZ)
SIZ measures mass. SIZ is used to help figure Hit Points, as larger, heavier creatures tend to have greater endurance against damage. SIZ is also used to determine a character’s Damage Modifier, since mass helps to increase the force of a blow. All characters start with 6 Size.
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Intelligence (INT)
INT is measurement of cognitive ability. Those with a lower INT score are not necessarily stupid, but they are likely to be constrained in how creatively they can employ their wits. INT is a factor in calculating Action Points and Initiative. All characters start with 6 Intelligence.
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Charisma (CHA)
Charisma is a measure of presence and personality, and is independent of physical appearance. CHA affects how many Experience Points your character earns weekly. Each PC earns 1 Experience Token every two days, All characters start with 3 Charisma.
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Power (POW)
POW is a measurement of a character’s soul, spirit, inner drive, or capacity for magic. POW governs a character’s Mana Points and starting Luck Points. All characters start with 3 Power.
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Each player has 50 Characteristic points to distribute and each Characteristic has a maximum of 18.
The limit can only be broken through equipment bonuses.
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Characteristics cannot be increased through Experience Tokens or natural means.
III. Attributes
Each character also has a set of attributes or ‘stats’. These are capabilities derived from the Characteristics or determined by them that are used to govern certain factors of game play.
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Action Points
All characters have 3 Action Points (AP)​
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Characters with Improved Physique have +1 AP, those with Empowered Physique have +2 AP.
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Damage Modifier or Spellpower
Larger and stronger characters and creatures may gain additional damage in certain situations; conversely, weaker and smaller characters may reduce the damage they can inflict. The Damage Modifier is an extra flat damaged added or subtracted to a damage roll. If a negative Damage Modifier takes a weapon’s damage to zero or below, then no damage at all has been inflicted.
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Spellpower works the same, but for spells, using CHA + POW.​
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Damage Modifier Calculation: round down (((STR+SIZ} - 1) / 5 ) - 4)
Spellpower Calculation: round down (((STR+SIZ} - 1) / 5 ) - 4)
Experience Modifier
A character’s CHA score adjusts the number of Experience Tokens the character receives weekly. Every 6 Points in CHA increases the number of Experience Tokens a PC gets in their weekly kit. This reflects the relationship higher CHA characters have with their peers and their reputation in the community.
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Healing Rate
After receiving injuries, a character needs to recuperate. Healing Rate determines how quickly they naturally recover from wounds. Healing Rate is equal to a character’s VIT. Long Rests recover Hit Points to all Hit Locations equal to Healing Rate, but Short Rests only recover one-fourth. Other abilities or spells use Healing Rate also.​​
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Hit Points
Hit Points represent how much injury an area of the body can withstand before Fatigue is inflicted, resulting in dwindling skills and potentially the character’s death. The body of every creature is divided into six locations - the head, torso, arms, and legs - each location with its own Hit Points that is decided by Vitality and Size.
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Head HP = (VIT+SIZ) x .2)
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Torso HP = (VIT+SIZ) x .33)
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Limb HP = (VIT+SIZ) x .25)​
Initiative Bonus
Initiative Bonus is the average of the DEX and INT Characteristics. Further factors - Encumbrance for example - modify it.
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Fate Points
Fate Points represent that strange force differentiating our adventuring heroes in Thedas from everyday folk. Call it fate, karma, or simple good fortune. Fate Points are the same for all, starting at 3. They cannot be replenished and can only be used to Cheat Fate.
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Cheat Fate can be used anytime your character is struck with a Killing Blow. Unless they have a pre-approved PK ticket on your character, approved due to escalation, No Value Life (NVL), or other high-tier circumstances agreed upon to make Fate Points moot in a certain situation.
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Luck Points
Luck Points represent a burst of adrenaline or showcase of willingness to persevere and can be used for:​​​
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Desperate Action: Gain +1 Action Point.
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All characters start with 1 Luck Point, gaining an additional 2 with every 6 points put into Power. Only 1 Luck Point is regained on Rest. None are regained on Recover.​
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Mana Points
Mystical abilities, powers and spells used in Thedas usually rely on Mana Points. A character’s Mana Points are equal to their POW.
Mana is used to cast spells, the cost of which is dependent on the spell or ability used.
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Movement Rate
Every creature has a Movement Rate - a number of meters that can be travelled during a specific period of time. Additional Movement is calculated from Characteristics, and each race has a default value.
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The base Movement Rate for Dwarves is 6 meters.
The base Movement Rate for Elves is 8 meters.
The base Movement Rate for Humans is 7 meters.
The base Movement Rate for Kossith is 7 meters.
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To calculate additional Movement from Characteristics: DEX + INT / 12
V. Skills
Skills fall into two classes.
Everyone has Standard Skills—things such as Persuade or Stealth. Professional Skills on the other hand, are those requiring specific training before they can be attempted - things such as tracking players with Survival, performing dexterous feats with Acrobatics, or picking a lock with Mechanisms.
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Characters are given Standard Skill bonuses for their Race, Subrace, Culture, and Career selection. Each Culture and Career gives access to Professional Skills that can be unlocked by the player. Every player starts with 6 Skill Points that are to be used to unlock the Professional Skills they have access to.
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How Skills Work
A skill has a Base Value built on two Characteristics; or one Characteristic multiplied by two. The upper limit of a Skill is 100. An example is STR + DEX = your base value Combat Style.
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Whenever a character is called upon to resolve some form of test, challenge, or professional ability, 1d100 is rolled and compared with the skill’s value:
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Less than the Skill: Success
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Equal to or greater than the Skill: Failure (prints as a 0 if an ability is making the roll)​​
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You can just select Roll beside the Skill you wish to roll. The bonus that appears to the right of the + is your Skill’s number you are aiming to roll below.​
Professional Skills differ between characters and represent more specialised forms of training and experience. Some Professional Skills are gathered through cultural background and a character’s Career, as the name suggests. Although they differ between characters they work in the same way as Standard Skills.​
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Modifying Skills
There are some occasions where a skill roll is required, but the chances of success need to be adjusted to reflect existing conditions.
Fleeing bandits, for instance, might require an Athletics roll. But what if the character is fleeing through darkness or through treacherous undergrowth? In such a case, players can insist on modifying the Skill of the character to reflect the circumstances. Bloodline is a collaborative space and requests by others to impose a Difficulty Grade should be met with respectful discussion.
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These are also used by Game Masters as a form of 'Difficulty Check' (DC) for actions during events.
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Difficulty Grade Table
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Opposed Rolls
Skills are frequently pitted against other skills - Stealth versus Perception when a rogue attempts to cut a nobleman’s purse, say; or Deceit versus Insight when the same rogue tries to deny the attempt when she is caught.
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An Opposed Roll is determined by: Both participants roll their respective skills. The winner is the one who rolls within their skills allowed range. If the participants both succeed by rolling below their Skill, then the winner is the one who has the highest roll.
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Opposed Roll Examples Table
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So, how compotent is my Character?
Is a Thief with Stealth 48% a professional, or merely a pretender? The Competence Level Table helps summarize the different levels of competence one can expect a rating in a skill to represent.
It also shows the require Experience Tokens to increase a skill's rating by +1.​
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Competence Table
