FASA Games, Inc.

Missed one.

Blood oaths must be sworn voluntarily, but if a character swears a blood oath while under the influence of self inflicted or willingly submitted to magical charms, spells, or drugs (including strong drink) he is considered to have done so voluntarily.

A character not willingly under the influence of magical charms, spells, or drugs (including strong drink) is NOT considered to have done so voluntarily.

When a blood oath fails due to one of the participants being ineligible both participants are aware the ritual has failed, but not necessarily the reason why.

Shields don't add Armor any longer, they add Defense. You would need to rethink your house rules in that context.

Here is another house rule relating to blood charms and depatterning I have developed for my 4th Edition game.

Blood Charms & Depatterning
All blood charms listed in 1st, 3rd or 4th Edition will exist, but the availability or the secret of how to make some will be restricted to certain areas or groups.

All blood charms (including implanted living armor e.g. blood pebble and living crystal) will provide a minimum depatterning rating of 1 each. A character may implant any number of blood charms with a total amount of depatterning up to and including their Willpower step without ill effect.

If a character’s total depatterning rating exceeds their Willpower step they must make a Depatteringing test by making a Willpower test (Steel thought or Willforce could also be used) whenever they activate a blood charm which requires strain to activate. The difficulty number for the Depatterning test is equal to the amount their character’s depatterning rating exceeds their Willpower step. (rule of one applies) If the Depatterning test succeeds, then the charm functions normally. If the Depatterning test fails then the charm will function, but the character also suffers Depatterning.

When a character Depatterns they take an amount of damage equal to their wound threshold and suffer 1 wound, in addition the blood charm they used fractures and no longer functions. This wound cannot be healed until the broken blood charm is removed. The characters depatterning rating is not reduced until the broken charm is removed.

Stress depatterning will occur when charms susceptible to stress depatterning are struck in combat using the Called Shot combat option. If the attack succeeds the character with the blood charm must make a depatterning test against a difficulty number equal to the amount their character’s depatterning rating exceeds their Willpower step or 1, whichever is higher. (rule of one applies)

Crystal limbs being used to replace a missing limb of the same type are not susceptible to stress depatterning.

If the damage incurred from the wound is sufficient to kill a character then the character’s death should be suitably dramatic/grotesque.

Depatterning only relates to the use of blood charms and has no effect of any other uses or forms of blood magic.

I've collected our house rules into a document:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZgY ... sp=sharing

Many of them are preference, experience, or cribbed from these forums. Still stress testing them, and adding when we find issues.

Thanks for posting those. Whether or not I use any of them, the surprised glyph is now the official surprised glyph.