Vampire Rebalance, Crimson Witches, Witchblood Rework

[MonMarty]

Affected Pages

• https://wiki.massivecraft.com/Vampirism
• https://wiki.massivecraft.com/Phantasma

Why

• Based on internal research, we track the frequency of Vampire lines. By far the vast majority of the Vampires were Zikiel Vampires with the Varghul Form Mutation on the trait that allowed them to pick a trait from another Bloodline. That presents a strong case for minmaxing, especially when the Zikiel line was always supposed to represent a mage lich, less a jack of all trades.
• There were other Vampire traits considered useless, no-brain-picks, or just plain not fun in roleplay. All feeding traits for example were kind of pointless since feeding rarely happens and many traits didn't make any sense in the thematic lines in which they belonged.
• Witchblood have recently increased in popularity, as well as their instant-wipe area of effect screams that just ended up being layer spammed on top of each other to perma-brick any abberant. Witchbloods were never intended that, so they had to receive some particular love.

Witchblood Changes

• Removed Witchblood hunger for mage juice and feeding altogether. That is no longer part of their lore and retroactively retconned from lore.
• Removed all static Witchblood Traits in favor of a customize-able trait tree.
• Witchbloods now affect Vampires, Silven, Mages and Kathar. Nothing else.
• Check out the Mutations, ruled included in the image , 3 traits (or less), can be chosen diagonally, more traits per column, only one trait per row. Picking all 3 traits from the same column unlocks the 4th row trait, all traits at a cost of 2 Proficiency Points each. Mutations not required.

Vampire Changes (oh boy, big balance update)

Alais Bloodline

• Bloodline Trait remains the same.
• No other changes.

Von Kërle Bloodline

• Bloodline Trait remains the same.
• Blood feasting (limb regeneration) removed and replaced with Vlacha Flight, allowing the sprouting of Bat-like wings to make a single winged leap out of combat, once per day use.
• Vampiric shriek wording changed from 30 feet dizziness every 5 minute use to 10 block radius shriek causing dizziness for 2 minutes every 5 minute use.
• Bloods Brawn (taking body stat from feeding) replaced with Crackpot's Luck which makes the Vampire immune to toxins, poisons, diseases and Alchemy Effects.

Shilot Bloodline

• Bloodline Trait changed from able to consume expired blood to does not turn anyone on feeding or by feeding others their blood.
• Unturned feeding (which became the trait instead) was replaced with Egoic Sustenance, able to touch food and drinks and turn them into putrid horrid messes.
• Brood Stasis (hibernation) replaced with Iskarit Gift making the Vampire immune to Holy Water damage.
• Brood Barrier (stops broods and vampires from entering their home) changed to Tongues of Mortals giving +18 Linguistic Proficiency thus three new languages.
• Drawl Thirsting (cause others to be addicted to their blood) changed to Drawl Thickening, making anyone addicted to /any/ drink they make (including if it has their blood in it).
• Slow Metasis (needing less feeding) changed to Alluring skin, making them appear clean and handsome to the eyes of others (not attractive, just handsome, attraction is subjective).

Doughal Bloodline

• Bloodline Trait changed from being able to cast local small illusions to having a +20 Body Stat that factors into Body Shape and being able to break Vampire Body Shape limitations.
• Shimmer Mask (appear like a person they touched) changed to Beast Lording allowing the body melding with other beast creatures (such as Manebeast, GrizzleBeast, Dragon, Anterrin Feral, Mages with animal forms, Varghul, general monster/animal forms etc.) and take over their body while melded.
• Mountain Call (which was moved to the trait) changed to a once per day usable ground stomp causing a mild earthquake (not enough to destroy buildings, but enough to make people get knocked over or items thrown about).
• Ness Misting (turn into a mist) changed to Call of Ness Mist allowing the imitation of loved ones cry for help and pain
• Dearth Disguise changed from group insertion to making Vampire traits invisible to friends and family

Anterrin Bloodline

• Trait remains the same, but specified that other Anterrin cannot control an Anterrin Vampire turned Undead.
• Adapting Sight (nightvision) changed to Auld Grip, allowing the Vampire to turn a non Vampire non Undead into an Undead for up to an hour before they turn to normal (useful for combining with the Bloodline trait).
• Spirit Shift respecified to be a skeletal canine/feline
• Racial shift (change race) changed to Emptyness Mark allowing the Vampire to turn off someone's emotions with a Holy Water removable mark placed anywhere on their body.
• Wildlife Sapping (melding into trees) changed into Stonework sapping, allowing the melding into stonework to hide.
• Holy Flight (sensing Holy Water & Holy Magic) changed to a single-use per fight ability that can cancel a single anti-Vampire ability or trait (for example Witchblood Traits or castables).
• Grave Grip (turns undead upon dying) removed specification of whether or not the character turns undead because this is a player choice anyway, but changed the wording so it states clearly to keep all Vampire traits upon becoming undead.
• Chainless Flight changed wording from chains or other magical restraints to specifically being bound or frozen by traits or abilities, no longer allowing them to just slip out of physical iron chains.

Zikiel Bloodline (this one was really problematic, lots of complaints)

• Funnel wind Bloodline Trait removed and changed to being able to send out magical chains to latch onto enemies. These chains aren't whips or restraints, but rather something like a chain between the Vampire and their victim to prevent them from getting away.
• Arcana Vampirica (suck mages) removed and replaced with Lich Guise, allowing the Vampire to disguise into a skeletal lich with glowing blue eyes.
• Mutating Birth (allowing the choice of another Bloodline Trait) replaced with Books of Cold Ones, giving +20 Magical Knowledge
• Bending Arcana (allowing any and all spells to be redirected onto the caster) changed to any spell that /has already hit the Zikiel Vampire/ being usable by said Zikiel Vampire for up to 10 minutes.
• Mind Wall (immune to mind slavery and control) changed to being able to see through Illusions and Mind drugs.

Cryptall Bloodline

• So the only real reason this bloodline existed was to allow child Vampires and to allow "Good" Vampires who never feed on humans. We decided to combine this with the Dorkarth line, because both were rarely used, and many of the traits were similar. As such, Cryptall became merged with Dorkarth.

Dorkarth Bloodline

• Bloodline trait previously gave +5 shielding and +5 axe combat, axe combat proficiency boost removed and added in that Dorkarth Vampires can be infected at any age, even before the Vampire age minimum.
• Blood Scrying (Able to pinpoint someone's location with their blood) changed to Wild Feedalation, allowing the feeding off any source (animal, Vampire or dead) without turning Feral.
• Mind Wall changed from mind control and enslavement immunity to being able to see through illusions and mind drugs.

Crimson Witches (Banshee Call needed to go, sorry)

• Blood wonder (command Broods) changed to All Land's Mark, ability to walk on ceilings and walls as if it was surface level.
• Banshee Cry (Sylvanas Terror Shriek) changed to Witch's Lust, allowing them to choose a single intimate partner to mind slave to themselves.
• Harpy's Call remains the same, just clarified that it can also be bats, not just ravens.
• Mind wall (mind control and slavery immunity) changed to being able to see through illusions and mind drugs

Click to shrink...

Closing Notes

• We made a stance against mind slavery as of late, but allowed Crimson Witches this trait anyway, for a specific reason. We feel that if you as a player romance rp with a Kathar Crimson Witch, you're kind of asking to be entranced by a slaanesh worshiping succubus demoness, frankly, if you'd invested in that already then it's assumed you don't have a problem with being mind controlled and sacrificed to the god of infinite pleasures.
• These changes, as per usual, are not inherently final. They will be reviewed based on player feedback and actual gameplay use, and modified where need be.

 

[fantuinn]

Absolutely love this rework. Don't even care that the magic draining is removed, it just feels like such a breath of fresh air as someone who's played a Witchblood since it was Trustee-only.

 

[MrNoot1]

It does help give people A LOT of breathing room for Witchbloods, the feeding ability was cool though was quite hard to keep track of personally.

 

[DolittleGuy]

was that a filthy chaos reference? im calling the commissar and hes gonna exterminatus ur world
Lowkey tho neat rework, it'll be nice to maybe see some vampires doing neat vampire things that aren't the 'usual' stuff, woop

 

[SnashuuPomaymay]

the actual death of me.

 

[HeyoBiggums]

Well done! I love the update!