Blood Pact RPP Spend
| About Blood Pact Spends | |
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Blood Pacts involve an agreement with any outsider, such as one from a djinn (the most common) to other minor planar beings, including a previous ancestor. Many pacts are overseen by invoking the might of Rada, Vardama, or similar contract-binding deities though this is not always the case, and pacts are not always made willingly. Pacts may not be made with deities, but are instead made with their servants. Most Entities fit this role.
Once the pact is made, there is typically little contact with the outsider--it is assumed the PC will have arranged the price for their abilities in some IC way as part of their own story. Divine characters may select a servant of their deity for this spend. Characters who choose this spend typically bear a mark of some sort. The nature, look, and so on of this mark is up to them to determine, though it should reflect the nature of the being they made the pact with in some way (DC 20 Spellcraft or appropriate Knowledge check to identify). The being granting the pact is hereafter referred to as Entity, though ICly another term might be more correct for your character. |
 Blood Pact
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| Tier | Benefit | Cost | |||
T1 |
Pact-Bound Affinity The sign of your Pact upon your skin is enough for similar creatures to recognize you. You receive a +2 insight bonus to Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, and Perform checks made to interact with creatures who are of the Entity's race.
Entity Revealed: At this time, you must select your Entity's primary alignment, and request that staff record it. This will affect your progression in this spend.
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10 RPP | |||
T2 |
Blood Sacrifice Pool: Drawing powers from your pact requires sacrifice. Each pact is different (and the RP details up to you), though overall you've learned whatever ritual words and gestures are needed to sacrifice some of your own energy to receive some in return.
At this stage, you gain the ability to sacrifice a number of hit points to gain certain benefits of your choice. A character may sacrifice a number of hit points per day up to their tiers in this spend. The sacrifice is mostly symbolic: typically only a drop or two of blood is required, and it is treated as nonlethal damage. It heals just as any other wound would, though after healing, a "scar" is left behind for 24 hours. This scar is visible to any Detect Magic spell or similar effect. Committing a sacrifice is done as part of activating the ability and is not considered a separate action on its own.
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10 RPP | |||
T3 |
Otherworldly Knowledge: Your pact increases your knowledge of other realms. You receive a +2 insight bonus to any knowledge/the planes skill checks.
Pact-Bound Affinity II: Your bonus to to Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, and Perform checks made to interact with creatures of the Entity's race increases to a +3. In addition, due to the nature and increased depth of the pact, your align shifts 1 step towards the Entity's along an axis (your choice), if it has not already. Finally, you learn your entity's language.
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10 RPP | |||
T4 |
Pact-Bound Defenses (Sp): By drawing upon your blood pact, your Entity lends you the ability to protect yourself against those who oppose him/her by summoning a protective aura versus those who directly oppose its intentions. For example, if your entity is Chaotic Good, then you may summon an aura that works as Protection Against Evil, or Protection Against Law. In this case, you may choose what the aura defends against each time you summon it. If your entity is TN, then this ability may be selected to work against either Law or Chaos each time it is summoned.
Enacting this aura is a swift action, and it lasts a number of rounds equal to your tiers in this spend, per use. This otherwise works as per the spell, and is considered a spell-like ability. Sacrifice Cost: 1.
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10 RPP | |||
T5 |
Ethereal Tongues (Sp): You call upon the Entity's knowledge and gain a limited understanding of other realms. This works as per the Tongues spell, but is limited to 1 minute per point you sacrifice.
Knowledge Surge (Su): You may draw on the magic that connects you, gaining knowledge you did not possess. As a free action, you temporarily gain the use of a combat or metamagic feat which you did not possess, but still meet the pre-requisites for. Alternately, you may select combat casting, or a spell focus or greater spell focus feat. You retain the use of this feat until the start of your next turn. You may do this once per day. Sacrifice Cost: 3, Special
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10 RPP | |||
T6 |
Outsider's Resistance: You gain an understanding of your Entity's true form, and learn to guard yourself against this energy. This grants you a permanent Resistance 10 versus your entity's energy type. If your entity does not have a specific energy type associated with it, select a type which would be appropriate for the story. Once selected, it may not be changed.
Resist Mental Control: The closeness of your bond allows you to resist mental persuasion. By offering a sacrifice of one hit point, you may attempt an additional save against an ongoing compulsion or charm effect as a standard action, even if the effect does not normally allow one. You may do this once per day. You pay the cost whether you succeed or fail. Sacrifice Cost: 1 Shared Bond: So you have learned, so you teach the ways of the blood pact. Anyone you mentor comes to their bond more easily, and may receive T1 in this spend for free. In addition, you receive a 5 RPP bonus which may be spent on any spend of your choosing. If the trainee is at least 1 level tier lower than you, you also both receive the value of a PrP at your level. Level 20 PCs receive a slightly reduced award, as they are basically at the end of their leveling. |
10 RPP | |||
T7 |
Walk With Me: By making a greater sacrifice, you may use Ethereal Jaunt as a spell-like ability (self-only) for up to 1 minute per point you sacrifice. Sacrifice Cost: Special
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10 RPP | |||
Pact-Bond Tokens
Pact-bond tokens are optional abilities and opportunities available to you as part of your Pact-Bond spend. You must fully qualify for any token you select.
 Pact-Bond Tokens
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| Benefit | Description | Cost |
| Outsider's Blood | Outsiders do not need to eat, perhaps sustained by some otherworldly force. Now, neither do you. Once purchased, this is a permanent ability, earnable once. | T4+, 10 RPP |
| Pact Shift | Not all pacts are taken willingly. In addition, over time, a pact may shift. This spend represents making a new pact and effectively, over-riding the old one. Whether this is a peaceful process is up to you. This may be done once. Entities likely would not trust you enough to offer a third bond. | 5 RPP |
| Invoked Tattoos | Your bond has given you the ability to (temporarily) store limited energies within your skin in the form of enchanted tattoos. Each tattoo stores any spell that you know, of up to 3rd level. The number of tattoos you may possess at one time is equal to your tiers in this spend. Magic tattoos must be placed on any part of the body, though the wearer must be able to see and touch the tattoo in order to be able to activate it (this means that few tattoos are scribed on the back).
Crafting a tattoo takes one day, and costs an amount equal to 1/4 the market price of a scroll of that type, plus any additional material costs, which must be provided in the form of unusual inks, etc. When you create the tattoo, you set the caster level and any additional metamagic or effects (and pay appropriate costs). Activating the tattoo is a standard action (or the spell's casting time, whichever is longer) although it does not provoke an attack of opportunity as a spell or scroll would. It otherwise functions as casting from a scroll. After such a tattoo is activated, the tattoo becomes instantly useless, and visibly fades from the skin after 1 round. The pact bearer may later scribe a new tattoo in its place. Magical tattoos count as magic items for the purposes of dispel magic, and may be identified with an appropriate Spellcraft check. The spell erase can permanently destroy a magical tattoo, but the bearer of the tattoo can resist the spell with a Will save, in addition to the caster needing to make a successful caster level check to erase the tattoo. Physically removing a magical tattoo with a sharp instrument or defacing it with fire or acid can destroy it as well. Doing so is a full-round action that not only requires the target to be willing or helpless, but also provokes attacks of opportunity. At least 2 points of damage per caster level of the tattoo must be dealt to destroy a magical tattoo in this manner. This ability is permanent once purchased. |
15, T3+ |
| Blood Lore | Select a 0-level spell from the wizard, druid, witch, or cleric list. You may now use that spell as a SLA up to 3xday. You must possess at least a 10 in the requisite stat (for example, a 10 Int if you select a wizard cantrip). Once purchased, this is a permanent ability. | 10 RPP, T2+ |
| Mindscar | When a humanoid attempts to read your mind via a magical effect, the reader must attempt a will save opposed by your Wisdom or Charisma check (your choice). If they fail this check, they are shaken for 1 round. If the reader fails by 10 or more, they are instead frightened for 1 round, then shaken for 1 round. Once purchased, this is a permanent ability. | 10 RPP, T4+ |
| Lingering Auras | Your pact heightens your awareness of the other world. You receive a +2 insight bonus to Perception checks when trying to locate ethereal or invisible creatures. Once purchased, this is a permanent ability. | 10 RPP, T2+ |
| Seance | You gain the ability to conduct a seance. This is a ritual for you, and allows you to communicate with the Entity you bonded with, and possibly spirits beyond. Performing the ritual takes 10 minutes, and requires some flattery of the Entity in question--the other world does not work for free. Its effects are otherwise similar to Augury. Once purchased, this is a permanent ability. | 10 RPP, T2+ |
| Bound Soul | Your spirit guards your soul jealously. Once per day when reduced to 0 hit points or below, you may convert a number of hit points equal to your tiers in this spend to nonlethal damage, as an immediate action. If you are at negative hit points due to lethal damage, you immediately stabilize. Once purchased, this is a permanent ability. However, using this ability is draining. Your Entity will expect payment at the earliest opportunity. That is, the next ability you use will cost 1 higher sacrifice, which counts against your total for the day. This does not stack with abilities such as Guarded Life. | 15 RPP, T4+ |
Developing Your Entity
Uncovering your character's entity is a process that happens at the pace of story. A full reveal can or cannot happen early on, with the character exploring it through RP. The Entities interact primarily through their Pact--sort of like an extraplanar broker. They have wishes and desires, but aren't necessarily going to force your character to follow them. In a sense, you're paying them for the goods with your blood. Eventually, they'll have exerted some influence on you (through the alignment change).
This means that they're more of a back-of-the-mind presence for most purposes, though you can certainly work with a DM, or RP the Entity to bring them forward. Typically this is through the use of signs, and so on.
Many players feel it helps to develop a mission for their entity. If this is a route you'd like to take, we suggest something broad and simple that would let you explore and deepen over a period of time. For example: your entity was a guardian of a civilization's great libraries, one of the few who could read and write. When your character comes across important knowledge, he has a hard time destroying it, and instead might seek to recover it to an appropriate place. Over time, your character might learn which of the libraries the entity guarded, or perhaps uncover a more specific mission.
Alternately, your entity could have been one of the final defenders of a lost nation. You might decide your character has a hard time responding to members of that ancient, conquering race, and so on. The story could then develop from there.
Developing a mission in this way gives you room to explore, as well as a means to react to a variety of situations. This is only one approach however.
Character Page Badges
Want to show off your Blood Pact on your Character Page? Use the following wikicode! (More badges here!)
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{{Badge}}
{{Badge-Icon|Blood_pact.png}}
{{Badge-Content}}
{{Badge-Title|(RPP) Blood Pact PC Badge}}
{{Badge-Entry|Entity}}With whom?
{{Badge-Entry|The Contract}}What about it?
{{Badge-Entry|History}}Your history together. How did the contract occur?
{{Badge-Entry|Other Landmarks}}What landmarks have you accomplished? Tokens grained or unique training achieved?
{{Badge-End}}