Cursed Blood, part 7 - Creating a member of the Ascended
Cursed Blood Old School EssentialsCursed Blood is the codename for a Castlevania inspired setting of psychoactive horror I'm working on.
I recently talked about how the concept of vampires evolved when developing my ideas for the Cursed Blood setting into these Castlevania-Dracula-esque demigods that I'm referring to as the Ascended.
Names #
Roll for inspiration
(Thanks to donjon.sh for the various multicultural name options)
| d66 | Name |
|---|---|
| 11 | Wulf |
| 12 | Aedwyn |
| 13 | Frega |
| 14 | Balda |
| 15 | Wotan |
| 16 | Tsui |
| 21 | Ai |
| 22 | Javach |
| 23 | Tsai Lao-Ying |
| 24 | Arious |
| 25 | Vlad |
| 26 | Cullen |
| 31 | Varney |
| 32 | Barnabas |
| 33 | Comptus |
| 34 | Leonkurt |
| 35 | Barlow |
| 36 | Nicodemus |
| 41 | Antirys |
| 42 | Arys |
| 43 | Althaeas |
| 44 | Darkthorn |
| 45 | Hefere |
| 46 | Du Lac |
| 51 | Manfred |
| 52 | Magnus |
| 53 | Ankheret |
| 54 | Chawa |
| 55 | Prana |
| 56 | Bradak |
| 61 | Martheson |
| 62 | Ziva |
| 63 | Trova |
| 64 | Balthazar |
| 65 | Z'Brite |
| 66 | Olvion |
Temperament #
This is a role-playing prompt more than anything else.
| d4 | Temperament |
|---|---|
| 1 | Melancholic |
| 2 | Sanguine |
| 3 | Choleric |
| 4 | Phlegmatic |
Powers #
Roll 2 or 3 times, depending on how old and powerful this Ascended is. Spells are as their closest OSE equivalent.
| d20 | Power |
|---|---|
| 1 | Mesmerism |
| 2 | Form of wolf |
| 3 | Form of bat |
| 4 | Form of mist |
| 5 | Flight |
| 6 | Control of blood |
| 7 | Control of storms |
| 8 | Control of still water |
| 10 | Phrenome manipulation |
| 11 | Summon a weapon from hell |
| 12 | Summon a demon from hell |
| 13 | Control of stone |
| 14 | Petrification |
| 15 | Addictive blood |
| 16 | Cause pestilence |
| 17 | Lengthy claws |
| 18 | Telepathic domination of their armies |
| 19 | Summon inferno |
| 20 | Domination |
Characterists #
Roll until you are inspired.
| d66 | Characteristic |
|---|---|
| 11 | Relentlessly hungry |
| 12 | Finds the company of others unpleasant |
| 13 | Haunted by the recent death of their magical pet |
| 14 | Fades from existence when not perceived for too long |
| 15 | Obsessed with collecting rare artifacts |
| 16 | Every sentence they speak contains a lie |
| 21 | A flowing red robe; hair in a tight bun |
| 22 | Holds a deep-seated grudge against another member of the Ascended |
| 23 | Private chambers are deep under water |
| 24 | Horribly disfigured |
| 25 | Several animate shadows follow them around |
| 26 | Nonverbal |
| 31 | Obsessed with clocks and time |
| 32 | Has a demon trapped inside of a cello |
| 33 | Draws power from The Blood Star |
| 34 | Pyromania |
| 35 | A talented alchemist |
| 36 | Cannot distinguish one human face from another |
| 41 | Private chambers are deep inside of an ancient, rotten tree |
| 42 | Their touch and footfall leaves behind a growth of black grave mold |
| 43 | Possesses a collection of preserved hearts |
| 44 | Speaks in a barely audible whisper |
| 45 | Dresses in ragged friar's robes |
| 46 | Dresses in opulent regalia |
| 51 | Has a massive sharpened wooden cross they use as a sword |
| 52 | Cannot be deceived |
| 53 | Plants die at their approach |
| 54 | Collects and wears jewelry made from the teeth of their victims |
| 55 | Can and does paint incredibly lifelike paintings, but can only do so from life |
| 56 | Collects books of poetry |
| 61 | A large an unwieldy collection of progeny |
| 62 | Never attempted to sire an heir |
| 63 | Two large but dead and useless wings |
| 64 | Favorite color is purple - every room in thier castle is painted thusly |
| 65 | Prehensile third arm emerging from their chest |
| 66 | Sticky black toad flesh |
Statistics & Sample Ascended #
You will note that by default, the Ascended is very similar to the OSE Vampire. It's intended that there is some variablity with the numbers - there may be young members of the Ascended, for example, or ones who haven't fully realized their arcane power or built the locus where their power is centralized.
Stats should be rolled or customized for each individual member of the Ascended, and XP adjusted accordingly. Most of the Ascended are lawful, but not all.
Strahd Von Zarovich
A member of the Ascended
AC 2 [17], HD 7 to 10** (31/36/40/45hp)
Att 1 × touch (1d10 + energy drain) or 1 × gaze (mesmerism),
THAC0 13 [+6]/12 [+7]/12 [+7], MV 120’ (40’), SV D8 W9 P10 B10 S12 (7 to 9),
ML 11, AL Lawful, XP 1,250/1,750/2,300/2750, NA 1d4 (1d6), TT F
Mesmerism: Save versus spells at –2 or be charmed: move towards the Ascended (resisting those who try to prevent it); defend the Ascended; obey the Ascended commands (if understood); unable to cast spells or use magic items; unable to harm the Ascended. Killing the Ascended breaks the charm.
Regeneration: A damaged member of the Ascended gains 1d6 HP at the start of each round.