Blood Curses!

[JongWK]

Here's what I used against Fiona and Bleys in a campaign. It's borrowed from Shadowrun's Harlequin, but the minute I saw I knew that it belonged to Amber.


From the focus of my heart, I call the words
Of anger spoken and desire revealed
By my Challenge of word and deed
By my blood consecrate thy bane invoked
Thy shape and form decreed never was

On thy Physical form, I call the words of rendering
On thy Hates, I invoke Justice, thy anger unappeased
On thy Past in shadows, I shine the light revealed
On thy Loves and joys, I gift separation
On thy Spirit, I speak abandonment
On thy Future, I bring fear and grief
On thy I invoke all

The winds shall erase thy name
The sands the traces of thy path
The sun the coolness of thy shadow
And into the waters I command thy essence
Thy shape and form decreed never was


Things didn't go quite well for both NPCs after this.


So, have you ever used a Blood Curse? What was it and how did it go?

[finarvyn]

I've never really used Blood Curses, but I like the idea of players writing out a poem or statement that represents the curse.

This reminds me a little of my D&D campaigns where players got wishes. At first they would wish for little things, but I made them write down the wish and sometimes found ways to twist their wish into something else. It made them be more careful with how they wished in the future.

Blood curses can be like that. Corwin cursed Eric, but inadvertently cursed Amber at the same time when the curse allowed easier access by the Black Road. Looks to me like a curse can be a neat GM tool as well as a means for player revenge.

[Otha]

I don't think the Black Road was that much of a stretch.

Corwin's curse required that Eric's reign never be easy; an invasion of limitless foes is a pretty straightforward fulfillment of that desire.  It may not have been how Corwin would have wanted it to work out, but I don't think there's any twisting in it.

I like the idea that a poetically evoked blood curse is more potent, though.

There is power in ritual, and there is ritual in art.

[RPGPundit]

The important thing is that blood curses, so that they not be used lightly, must monumentally fuck up everything around the victim of said curse, and sometimes do collateral damage in ways the curser never expected (as was the case with Corwin's curse on Eric).

Its supposed to be the "scorched earth" tactic of amber, something you only do when you really don't give a shit anymore who ends up getting hurt, as long as you get your man.

RPGPundit

[Sydius Mendoza]

The important thing is that blood curses, so that they not be used lightly, must monumentally fuck up everything around the victim of said curse, and sometimes do collateral damage in ways the curser never expected (as was the case with Corwin's curse on Eric).

Its supposed to be the "scorched earth" tactic of amber, something you only do when you really don't give a shit anymore who ends up getting hurt, as long as you get your man.

RPGPundit

Mechanics-wise does this involve the assignment of bad stuff points to the target of the curse, in your opinion? Or do you consider it to be outside the whole stuff points spectrum?

[Artifacts of Amber]

Never seen a Blood curse go off in game. Players and NPC's for that matter are scared of how powerful it is and at its lack of control. So far know one has been that desperate, Guess I haven't been as big a jerk GMing as I could be

Bt I agree that they come off as old D&D wishes. Easiest way to accomplish the goal and all. It also depends I think on what actually, you decide, fuels the curse is it the Pattern or something else. That may in its own way define just how bad it is and how bad the fall out is.

I think that wold be the most interesting question, Where exactly does a Blood curses come from, something I never really thought about, Great now I have something else to keep me awake to think about.

Migtht have a bettr answer in a day or two.

[RTrimmer]

Poetry while dying? That's dedication.

My best take on blood curses was that they essentially laid down a line of new code on Creation. No buying them off, ever.

So Dara, outmaneuvered by her enemies, challenged Benedict to a death duel he could not refuse and, dying, cursed him to Never Heal.

Not long after that Benedict cursed the enemies of every prominent Chaos lord with "Success". Dozens of Chaos lords fell to fluke holes in their defenses and the Courts dissolved into a vendetta storm.

[Sydius Mendoza]

My best take on blood curses was that they essentially laid down a line of new code on Creation. No buying them off, ever.

I rather like this. I hadn't thought about it in terms of a programming analogy. So if I understand you properly the curse is a tweak to the "source-code" of existence?

[Panjumanju]

I rather like this. I hadn't thought about it in terms of a programming analogy. So if I understand you properly the curse is a tweak to the "source-code" of existence?

That's a really nifty idea.

//Panjumanju

[RTrimmer]

Or as adding a new law of nature.
Pattern, drawn with Dworkin's blood, generates Shadow and the blood of his blood can modify it.

[Artifacts of Amber]

I tend to think of Blood Curses as a High end Shadow of desire effect. YOu get what you wish for but not quite the way you want. I tend to think even Amber is a shadow only one slot from the Primal pattern so even Pattern works there. If you can walk out into shadow from it, to my mind, it must still be a shadow and like the rest open to Desires. The Blood curse is just a very speciific use of that Pattern ability.

This leaves some possible ways to shed yourslef of one depending on the campaign and such but opens up some other possibilities on dealing with them.

Next question to ponder is who ladi the first one. I.E. how was it discovered? Or was it just something they know?

[RPGPundit]

Mechanics-wise does this involve the assignment of bad stuff points to the target of the curse, in your opinion? Or do you consider it to be outside the whole stuff points spectrum?

I did not assign bad stuff to the victim of the curse, no. Because I think that the curse should instead be something that is happening to the victim, not a measure of the victim's own luck.

In other words, while curses will be deeply problematic to all involved, a victim with a high good stuff value should be able to still have a bit more fortune in how he weathers the curse than someone with bad stuff, who will end up having way more difficulty managing it.

RPGPundit

[Artifacts of Amber]

I agree with RPGPundit for those reason's, as well as, I see the curse as a personal and direct thing. Stuff, as the books define it, IMHO is how the universe interacts with an individual be it luck perception etc. Where as a Curse is concentrated in one area. Say if it is a curse keeping Benedict off the throne he avoids that curse by not seeking the throne, His curse may be one that is focused on bad stuff happening if he gets the throne so he avoids getting the throne. I think in some ways the curse should be more direct and specific to the target. Stuff is a constant haze about you a curse is the lightning strike ready to hit when you get close to it's subject matter.



just a thought

[Tolknor]

I agree that a death curse should be about the victim, and it needs to be harsh and cruel.  It should take all the force of the person to cast it, and they shouldn't survive it.  Corwin's death curse should be the one exception, as commented on later.  "He didn't even have to die to make it stick."  Players should never think that a death curse is an option for an attack.

In the two campaigns i ran, each over 5 years long, i only had instances to deal with Death Curses twice.  One was the very last act in the campaign by a character that was utterly shocked at the final betrayal.  The player was shocked as well.  Though he realized the complexity and appropriateness of the set up, that took years to arrive at.  The character, plummeting to almost certain death kept screaming DAMN YOU  RANDOM!  While the player kept repeating, "He lied to me.  He lied to me"  Till poor Lyta hit the ground.   So the death curse was simply "Damn You, Random"  

The other instance was an NPC, and while spectacular in its place in the game, is not worth mentioning.  

Not everyone can die like Dutch Schultz, spouting poetry.

[RPGPundit]

In the two campaigns i ran, each over 5 years long, i only had instances to deal with Death Curses twice.  One was the very last act in the campaign by a character that was utterly shocked at the final betrayal.  The player was shocked as well.  Though he realized the complexity and appropriateness of the set up, that took years to arrive at.  The character, plummeting to almost certain death kept screaming DAMN YOU  RANDOM!  While the player kept repeating, "He lied to me.  He lied to me"  Till poor Lyta hit the ground.   So the death curse was simply "Damn You, Random"  

Well, that sounds pretty intense...

RPGPundit