Bleach D20

[Josh the Aspie]

I was not suggesting you introduce a new shinigami progression class. I meant "Social class" in the traditional sense of the phrase, not in the D20 sense of the phrase. Shinigami are set above other spirits in the social order. They are higher in the fudal class system, and above the level of the shinigami are the noble shinigami.

And why on earth avoid multi-classing? It provides the ability to blend the advantages and disadvantages of the various classes, and is an intrinsic part of D&D.

I think that your original intent to use the 3 generic classes is a good one.

Thus far the quincy are definitely far and away inferior to the shinigami at the same level as they are stated out.

If you alter the weapon damage as I detailed above, and combine the ability lists, the only problem left should be magic, which might be handled as detailed below.

You already have caster level for warrior Shinigami equal to 1/2 their class level. When someone multi-classes between warrior and spellcasting shinigami you can add their respective caster levels together, and say that the maximum level of spell they can learn is 1, plus 1 for every 2 caster levels above 1. This would give warriors slightly better casting ability, true, but not substantially.

You could also set the caster level of experts to be 2/3 that of their class level, and use the same system. Experts would also gain a slightly improved casting, but their maximum spell level would only go up to 7th from 6th.

Alternatively, you could say max spell level is 1/2 caster level, rounded down, but that would have mostly the same effect.

[Behold_the_Void]

Ah, I see what you mean about social class. I'll have more about that when I write up the essays on capturing the fluff.

As far as avoiding the multiclassing aspect, since I used the Generic Classes as a base. The way it's set up, the idea is to make a viable gish simply be the expert. With a bunch of different spell progressions and the like, it would probably turn out a bit strange, and it's more number-crunching than I want to deal with right now. The generic classes in the SRD do have the ability to multiclass, and it's possible to incorporate it into the system, but figuring out the caster levels would be complex and something of a hassle. I do have some idea of how to handle multiclassing, but it will be a bit involved and if I have rules for it, it will require it's own chapter to explain. The fact that it goes off something akin to psionics helps, I'll probably be taking something from the Tome of Battle maneuver progressions if I do do it.

I may just make my own Quincy, I haven't had any real opportunity to balance them against each other. Zebedee said he had some changes he wanted to make, but I haven't seen him around in awhile.

[zadcap]

And an additional thought, a simple mechanic that probably needs adding... When a Paladin falls, they can instantly convert their level into Blackgaurd. I think that perhaps when a Quincy or Awakend Human dies, they should make a will save to become a shinigami of equal level. The will save is because, as far as I can tell from 99% of the anime/manga/movies, people dont remember their past life when they get sent to soul society. The ONLY exception I can think of is the little boy who was traped in the bird who befrended Chad. Of course, since the players should get to transform... A will save, if they pass they keep their memories and become a Shinigami of appropriate class and level, if they fail they make a shinigami of their level minus how much they failed the check by with no memory. Therefor, it should be around a DC15.

Change as youd like

[ZebulonCrispi]

And an additional thought, a simple mechanic that probably needs adding... When a Paladin falls, they can instantly convert their level into Blackgaurd. I think that perhaps when a Quincy or Awakend Human dies, they should make a will save to become a shinigami of equal level. The will save is because, as far as I can tell from 99% of the anime/manga/movies, people dont remember their past life when they get sent to soul society. The ONLY exception I can think of is the little boy who was traped in the bird who befrended Chad. Of course, since the players should get to transform... A will save, if they pass they keep their memories and become a Shinigami of appropriate class and level, if they fail they make a shinigami of their level minus how much they failed the check by with no memory. Therefor, it should be around a DC15.

Change as youd like

Give me an example of a Quincy or Awakened Human who dies and instantly becomes a high-level shinigami.

Spoiler tag it, naturally.

[zadcap]

... Ichigo?

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Urahara explained that Rukia gave him her power, and that’s what he lost when Byakua stabbed him. He then goes on to explain that Ichigo had the potential within himself to be a shinigami without someone else making him one, so he knocks Ichigo out of his body and cuts his chain, killing Ichigo. He then throws him in a hole and says something like "Now you must find your power, or become a Hollow." Well, Ichigo finds his power, through what looked a lot like a will save, and gains Shikai almost instantly so he was probably higher level than he was when fighting Renji.
Even before that, he was a Human who could see and interact with spirits (Actually the only one of Ichigo's friends who could see a hollow instantly, vs. being knocked out of body or attacked by one for a while. The only other Human who could do that was his sister.)When Rukia trapped him in a kidou, he broke out of it and surprised Rukia a lot. When Rukia transferd her powers to him, she mentions that she only meant to give him a little, but he became so very powerful. In my opinion, being stabbed in the heart is lethal, and it was the instant transference into shinigami that stopped him from becoming a ghost.

In both cases he was a human who could see ghosts, died and became shinigami. Which makes me curious... is his body just a gigai now?

And you know, even if it isn't a perfect match, it would be more for the sake of the players than anything else. The show revolves around the afterlife, so a players death should NOT be an ending for them. If you wanted to follow the series better, they would become Hollow after they die, since odds are they were killed by a hollow and probably devoured by their killer. Without a resurection spell to bring players back to life death is a one way ticket, but it doesnt have to meen end of game. If the main character can die and become a shinigami, why can't the oh-so-powerfull players?

[NightmareToilet]

It's similar to human + celestial = half celestial
So, sub-race half-shinigami. Can see ethereal, etc.
And others are like touched, they got close to an otherworldy power and awakened powers themselves.

[Spirit Arrow]

Then how do you explain the Quincy. They can seemingly see spirits at birth.

[Bandededed]

I like zadcap's idea, so I may be biased, but

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Quincy and spiritual humans have spirit power / reaitsu / whatever you translate that as. I know it was probably filler crap, but during the backstory that extended the Ichigo v. Renji round 2 fight, we saw that the main requirement for becoming a Shinigami was to have that spirit power (it also was the only reason anyone would be hungry in the afterlife).

So it is feasible that a human / person with spirit power could become a shinigami after they die. It's going about it that is the problem. I feel that it would be best represented by percentile dice. So for every level the ____ had, they would have a x% chance of retaining all of their HD and become a shinigami. Otherwise they lose so many HD per however far they miss their chance, although they can never go below 1 HD.

Edit: It should still require some kind of training to master the zanpakutou, though it would probably reflect the powers the _______ had in life.

[NightmareToilet]

Also, look at the case of Hitsugaiya. He was a little kid but look what was inside him, his powerful ice dragon. I have not seen the movie but I saw some preview with his backstory you can find on youtube and why he became a shinigami.

Maybe some of the people just have something others don't, in addition to some people getting it from a shinigami or special ancestry. Maybe he had a strong will and personality that develped such a powerful creature and such a powerful reiatsu for him to become a shinigami. See his backstory.

[NightmareToilet]

I hope you still plan on doing the dedicated warrior by itself.

I was thinking maybe a good way to show a difference is:

+1 level: you go lev 5 to 7 instead of 5 to 6: gets +1 level here.

This takes into account the spell training time the others have and makes your def and bab +1 better in comparison and gives you the level 6 and 7 abilities, feats, together, whereas the other guys spent time on spells.

What do you think?


Also, with twin mastery, those different shikai abilities don't count separately for bankai base, right, or do they?

[F.H. Zebedee]

Much as when we were discussing Spirit Warrior progressions, I can go and quote BtV. A Quincy that dies, (ahem, major plot point in Uryu/Mayuri's fight!) stays a Quincy without a physical body. Such was stated multiple times.

On the other hand, we do see a low level Spirit Warrior, Ichigo, gain Shinigami powers twice. I'm thinking that maybe we should use the Spellcraft skill to cover rituals.
-Pass the Dark Force: By thrusting their Zanpakutou through the heart of a subject, a Shinigami imbues them with Dark Force, Shinigami powers.
Requires a Spellcraft check (DC 15) by a Shinigami with their sealed Zanpakutou and the willing non-Shinigami subject present. If failed, the subject takes damage equal to a maximum damage roll critical hit by that Zanpakutou, and the ritual fails. If successful, the Shinigami performing the ritual and the subject of the ritual make opposing will saves. Whichever one has the higher result decides how many levels (up to one less than the performer of the ritual's level) are removed from the performer of the ritual, and for how long (with a maximum duration of permanent). The subject then gains that many levels in a Shinigami class of their choice, and loses all former levels.
The subject of this ritual may not unseal their Zanpakutou while they retain levels from this ritual. If they are killed in Spiritual form, then the levels automatically return to the performer of the ritual.
This ritual is a full-round action for the performer that does not provoke attacks of opportunity.

(Ichigo succeeded the will save, but remaining in character, chose the maximum possible ammount, which was somewhere between five and eight levels. Rukia's lack of a Zanpakutou for a while can be chalked up to flavor.)

Metamorphosis at the Boundries: When a soul's chain is cut, they tread the boundaries between Hollow and Shinigami. The war within their soul decides which path they take.
If an individual's Soul Chain is cut, roll 2d20 to determine the number of hours until it fully encroaches. While their Soul Chain is encroaching, an individual is always Shaken. At the end of that time period, the character is entitled to make a will save (DC 20+1 per hit die). If they fail, they become a Hollow, with hit dice equal to their previous form. If they succeed, the become a Shinigami of level equivalent to their previous hit dice.
This character automatically meets the prerequisites for taking Vizard levels at a later occasion.

(I'm assuming that Ichigo was a moderately leveled Spiritual Warrior, that dumped all his ability gains and such into flavor skills. I'd say at least level 7.)

Quincy were under ranged, as my playtesters pointed out. Maybe doubling their range should help fix them. I've been leaving them alone for a while, but I do need to fix them up.

As for my whereabouts, I've been working on my own version of the game, trying to go for a more "Bleach D20 Alpha" feeling, where the mechanics were a bit clunkier, but felt a tad more Bleach-y. Major differences? I've been tweaking the skills/casting systems for personal preferences (Namely redoing the skill list, and instead of using a previous casting system, trying to create one of my own, still using spell points.) Different feats, designed moreso for customizing characters within the system than for including D&D abilities.
Bullet point list?
-Shinigami are the version from before Final Shikai/Final Bankai was added, though those both are going to be filed under a feat.
-Quincy still need a fix, so that'll be on my list, up there with Kidou.
-Casting is going to be all homebrew spells that get rid of the D&D flavor in favor of Bleach style. Various metakidou feats included that are designed to avoid broken casters.
-Different Vizard and Spirit Warrior classes, both designed to be capable of semi-multiclassing with Quincy and Shinigami (So that one can make Spirit Warrior/Quincy Vizard)
-Different Skill list, eliminating useless/contrived skills from D20 while adding some to fix the flavor. Different feat list with some toned down epic feats and powered up basic feats.
-Hollows aren't template based, but individual monsters. I need to create some rules about various templates to add to them, and also about being a Vizard.
-Oh, and Shinigami give big bonuses (+4) to all physical stats, while Quincies get three +2s to burn on any stat they like. Though 90% of the time, at least two of those go into dexterity. -_-

I'm not saying that my version is superior, far from it. It's just moreso designed for my style of DMing and the tastes of my players. I'd say BtV's system is much sleeker and more efficient, more towards 3.5 ed style with ease of play while mine's more towards 2nd ed, more clunky and taking more work, but asserting more flavor.

[Spirit Arrow]

Zeb glad to see you're still alive! Life catch up with ya?

Also I like your idea for bestowing shinigami powers. It can explain later levels in shinigami.

[Ryvaken]

Book 8 chapter 62 page 5. Urahara states that the typical corrosion process takes months or years. Ichigo's little hole in the ground was constructed to accelerate the process to 72 hours. This was not the first or last time Urahara manipulated events in ways that directly impacted Ichigo's power.

[FelixZ]

There's theories that the Vizard were once Urahara's squad members and that he is pulling the strings behind EVERYTHING in the series.


$500 on that theory holding true.

[zadcap]

Book 8 chapter 62 page 5. Urahara states that the typical corrosion process takes months or years. Ichigo's little hole in the ground was constructed to accelerate the process to 72 hours. This was not the first or last time Urahara manipulated events in ways that directly impacted Ichigo's power.

If thats said twords me, I know this quite well. Mr. Shadow King is my favorite character by far
However, even then, when that chain runs out something happens to a person. Most will become weak Hollow, but in the time it takes before that happens a strong soul, namely a mid to high level awakend human, should be capable of taking the power they had as a human and taking it out in the form of a zampakuto. If Orihime were to die, her zampakuto would be the farries. Her sealed form... think Nanao, it's known she has one, but its invisable. Her shikai would be able to project a powerfull sheild and give off a healing aura(Barrier and Healing type zampakuto) and her Bankai... would be the same thing with stats doubled.
And Chad... Sadly, he seems like prime Arancar material. His powers are referd to by manny as very Hollow-like.

[FelixZ]

He even stated himself that his arm blast is a cero.

[F.H. Zebedee]

Here's my take on Arrancar and Vizards, both of which are considerably different. Also noted, I don't use the Captain prestige class, so it ended up being a bit odd with progressions.
ARRANCAR: My take on Arrancar is the opposite of BtV's, placing a limit on the growth of a Hollow instead of removing their limitations, a sort of "Cap". It is designed with ease of application in mind, though it is less modular than the official one.

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Arrancar
Some Hollows decide to remove their mask, the force binding them into their animalistic bodies. When they do such, they gain the ability to restrain their powers while gaining the powers of a Shinigami.

Hit Die: D12
Skill Points: 4+Int
Saves: An Arrancar has two good save progressions and one poor.
Class Skills: An Arrancar receives six skills as class skills, in addition to any skills that it had a racial bonus to while it was a Hollow.

Requirements:
Special: Any Hollow. It must have succeeded a DC 30 or higher Will save at some point, or make a DC 25 Knowledge (Spirits) check.
Level Base Attack Bonus Special
1st +1 Transformation, Zanpakutou, Zanpakutou Ability, Natural Armor +1

2nd +2 +1 DR, Power Unmasked +1

3rd +3 +2 Constitution, Improved Natural Attack 1

4th +4 Zanpakutou Ability

5th +5 +1 DR, +1 Natural Armor

6th +6 Bonus Feat, Power Unmasked +2

7th +7 Improved Natural Attack 2, +2 Constitution, Zanpakutou Ability

8th +8 Zanpakutou Ability, Bonus Feat

9th +9 +1 DR

10th +10 Zanpakutou Ability, +1 Natural Armor, +2 Constitution, Power Unmasked +3

Transformation: When becoming an Arrancar, a Hollow undergoes several major changes.
*Change its size to Medium. All modifiers are applied, except for to ability scores, which remain the same.
*The Hollow loses all special attacks and attributes except for Cero, Gran Rey Cero, Bala, Consumption, and their DR (both normal and Hollow). They lose all move speeds other than their normal one.
*The Hollow retains all feats, ability scores, skills and skill modifiers, BAB, HP, and Saves from when they were a Hollow. They retain their natural armor bonus to AC.
*They lose all natural attacks, and gain a Zanpakutou and Unarmed Strike, both of which deal damage equal to their most damaging former Natural Attack.
*They have their INT, WIS, and CHA increased by 2 each. If these stats totaled still remain under 35, increase their CON, STR, and DEX by 2 each.

Zanpakutou: An Arrancar’s Zanpakutou acts as both a weapon and a focus to help them store up power. When releasing their Zanpakutou, an Arrancar doesn’t only gain the Zanpakutou abilities, they also regain all former movement speeds, special attacks, natural attacks, and special attributes. Upon gaining this ability, they may choose to make it so that when releasing their Zanpakutou, they change their size to match the size of their original Hollow form. If doing so, they receive all modifiers connected to the size change.

Zanpakutou Abilities: Arrancar only have a single release for their Zanpakutou. The abilities used for this are the same as Shinigami shikai abilities.

Natural Armor Bonuses: Arrancar are known for being capable of shrugging off even the most powerful assaults. Every time this appears, they receive a cumulative +1 natural armor bonus to their AC.

DR: An Arrancar’s skin can deflect even the steel of a Zanpakutou. Every time this appears, increase their damage reduction by 1/-.

Power Unmasked: An Arrancar gathers power to such a degree that few Hollows can even compare. Wherever this appears, increase the enhancement bonus on the Arrancar’s Natural Attacks, Zanpakutou, and Unarmed Strike by 1.

Constitution: An Arrancar’s exceeding strength makes it difficult to deal a lasting injury to. Every time that you see this, increase their Constitution by the shown amount.

Improved Natural Attack: As an Arrancar grows, their powers as a Hollow grow as well. Increase the damage dealt by all of their natural attacks by one step. This occurs each time it appears.

Total Class Benefits: +2 to all mental statistics, 5 Zanpakutou Abilities, +3 Natural Armor, +3 DR/-, +6 Constitution (total: +8), +3 Enhancement Bonus to Zanpakutou, Unarmed strikes, and Natural Attacks, and all natural attacks improved by 2 steps

VIZARD: My Vizard class, similarly, is designed to fit more snugly within the 20 level spread (personally, I find that with Bankai at 12, going anywhere above 20 is bordering on absurd, boss territory. E.G. Captain Aizen) It also is designed to be compatible with Spirit Warriors and Quincy, a little touch that I included for plot reasons for my campaign. In a sense, it's almost substitution levels for Shinigami, though it requires a Semi-obnoxious 1st level of disadvantages before it can become an asset.

I'm thinking of including a stacking feat that allows for extended Mask use, though not by more than 15 rounds total.

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Vizard
Sometimes, Shinigami begin to manifest Hollow powers. On such occasions, they usually train to learn to suppress and control these powers, rather than letting the powers begin to control them.

Hit Die: D12

Requirements:
Class:
Any Class, 5+ Levels
Special: To initially take a first level in this class, a character must somehow indicate developing Hollow powers.
To gain a level in this class beyond 2nd requires that another Vizard, or an individual taught in their ways, be on hand to train them.

Level Base Attack Bonus Fort Save Ref Save Will Save Special
1st N/A +1 +1 +0 Hollow Manifestation, Fortunate Mask

2nd N/A +2 +2 +2 Restrain Spirit, Masked Form, 2 Masked Form Abilities

3rd N/A +3 +3 +3 2 Masked Form Abilities

4th N/A +4 +4 +4 2 Masked Form Abilities

5th N/A +5 +5 +5 2 Masked Form Abilities, Masked Adaptation

Shinigami Levels: A character taking Vizard levels continues gaining BAB, Skill Points, Weapon damage and abilities, and Spellcasting progressions as if they were still taking levels in whatever class they have the most levels in. If taking levels in another class after Vizard levels, they gain the special abilities from the levels they missed by taking Vizard levels instead of those for their current Shinigami level, while continuing with their class’s BAB, Weapon damage and abilities, and Spellcasting progressions.
Hollow Manifestation: If a character has less than 2x(total class level) HP remaining at the start of a turn, then they must make a Will Save, DC 20. A character may intentionally fail this save. If failing this save, a Hollow Mask appears on the character’s face, and the character enters Berserk Form. While in Berserk Form, the character gains 8 STR and 8 CON. While in Berserk Form, a character is in a wild frenzy, consumed by pure bloodlust. The only actions they may take are actions intended to somehow attack or harm a character they see as an enemy, and may not use Spellcasting of any sort. While in Berserk Form, a character sees all characters in range, including their allies, as enemies. At the beginning of every turn that a character is in Berserk Form, they may attempt to make a Will save (DC 20-((CHA Modifier)+(Number of Turns They’ve been in Berserk Form)). If they succeed, they tear off the mask and revert to normal.
Fortunate Mask: Whenever this character is hit by an attack that would kill them, roll a Fortitude save, and reduce the damage they take from that attack by the result of the save. This ability may only function once per day. After it is used, a mask is found at the site of the wound.
Masked Form: At 2nd level, Vizard learn how to control their Hollow powers, if only for a short time. They gain access to Masked Form, and may transform into it as a full round action that doesn’t provoke attacks of opportunity once per day per Vizard level. A character may voluntarily exit Masked Form as a free action.
Masked Form lasts for a number of turns equal to a character’s Vizard level. In Masked Form, a character has +20 Feet of Speed, +4 STR, +4 CON, and +4 DEX. In this form, their eyes change color and a hollow mask forms over their face/head. In addition to the statistic increases from Masked Form, a character may pick a number of additional Masked Form abilities per level stated above. These abilities may be used only when in Masked Form.
Masked Form Abilities:
*Damage Resistance: This character gains DR 3/-. This ability may be taken a maximum number of times equal to this character’s Vizard level, each time stacking.
*Cero Blast: Once every (15-Constitution Modifier) rounds, as a Standard Action that provokes attacks of opportunity, this character may fire a Cero Blast attack. A Cero Blast is a ranged attack that deals Xd4 Force damage, where X is the number of hit dice this character has, and has a range of 80 feet. Apply DEX modifier and this character’s highest BAB for the roll To Hit. The targeted character may make a Reflex Save (DC 5+This Character’s Hit Dice) for half damage. This counts as taking two Masked Form abilities.
*Gran Rey Cero: Once every (30-Constitution Modifier) rounds, this character may use a Gran Rey Cero attack as a full round action. It is treated as a Cero Blast attack, but with a range of 200 feet, and dealing xd6 Force Damage. The save DC for a Gran Rey Cero is (10+this character’s hit dice.) To take this ability, one must have already taken the Cero ability.
*Bala: This character may, as a standard action, make a Bala attack. A Bala attack is a ranged attack that deals xd4 Force damage, where X is one quarter of this character’s hit dice. A Bala attack has a range of 100 feet, and applies DEX modifiers and this character’s highest BAB for the to hit roll. The targeted character may make a Reflex Save (DC 5+This Character’s Hit Dice) for half damage. To take this ability, one must have already taken the Cero ability.
*Enhanced Speed: This character increases their speed by 10 feet. This ability may be taken multiple times, and its effects stack.
*Enhanced Strength: This character has an additional +3 STR while in Masked Form. This ability may be taken multiple times, and it stacks.
*Shrug Off: This character receives a +1 Racial Bonus on all Saving Throws. This ability may be taken multiple times, and its effects stack.
*Heal Wounds: At the start of every turn, this character heals HP equal to their Vizard level. This ability may be taken multiple times, and stacks.
*Enhanced Stamina: This character has an additional +2 CON and 5 additional Temporary Hit Points while in Masked Form. This ability may be taken multiple times, and its effects stack.
*Enhanced Reflexes: This character has an additional +3 DEX while in Masked Form. This ability may be taken multiple times, and its stacks.
*Persistent Transformation: This character’s Masked Form lasts one additional turn. This ability may be taken multiple times, and it stacks.

Restrain Spirit: At 2nd level, a Vizard learns how to better control their inner Hollow. They lose the Hollow Manifestation ability.
Masked Adaptation: At fifth level, a Vizard has become comfortable enough with their masked form that they can stay in it longer. They can now stay in Masked form three turns per Vizard level.

So, that's my two variant classes. Feel free to use them in your games if you want.

Next thing I give y'all will be my update to the Quincies. I know exactly what I'm doing, I just need to type it all out.

[merrja666]

I know that this is off topic e.g. not discussing the latest episode in the Hueco Mundo Arc, and how it affects everything, but is there a place where all the files are zipped or can be found easily? Thanks.

[Dante & Vergil]

On the other hand, we do see a low level Spirit Warrior, Ichigo, gain Shinigami powers twice. I'm thinking that maybe we should use the Spellcraft skill to cover rituals.
-Pass the Dark Force: By thrusting their Zanpakutou through the heart of a subject, a Shinigami imbues them with Dark Force, Shinigami powers.
Requires a Spellcraft check (DC 15) by a Shinigami with their sealed Zanpakutou and the willing non-Shinigami subject present. If failed, the subject takes damage equal to a maximum damage roll critical hit by that Zanpakutou, and the ritual fails. If successful, the Shinigami performing the ritual and the subject of the ritual make opposing will saves. Whichever one has the higher result decides how many levels (up to one less than the performer of the ritual's level) are removed from the performer of the ritual, and for how long (with a maximum duration of permanent). The subject then gains that many levels in a Shinigami class of their choice, and loses all former levels.
The subject of this ritual may not unseal their Zanpakutou while they retain levels from this ritual. If they are killed in Spiritual form, then the levels automatically return to the performer of the ritual.
This ritual is a full-round action for the performer that does not provoke attacks of opportunity.

(Ichigo succeeded the will save, but remaining in character, chose the maximum possible ammount, which was somewhere between five and eight levels. Rukia's lack of a Zanpakutou for a while can be chalked up to flavor.)

Metamorphosis at the Boundries: When a soul's chain is cut, they tread the boundaries between Hollow and Shinigami. The war within their soul decides which path they take.
If an individual's Soul Chain is cut, roll 2d20 to determine the number of hours until it fully encroaches. While their Soul Chain is encroaching, an individual is always Shaken. At the end of that time period, the character is entitled to make a will save (DC 20+1 per hit die). If they fail, they become a Hollow, with hit dice equal to their previous form. If they succeed, the become a Shinigami of level equivalent to their previous hit dice.
This character automatically meets the prerequisites for taking Vizard levels at a later occasion.

(I'm assuming that Ichigo was a moderately leveled Spiritual Warrior, that dumped all his ability gains and such into flavor skills. I'd say at least level 7.)

That's something I've really wanted to see for this.

As for my whereabouts, I've been working on my own version of the game, trying to go for a more "Bleach D20 Alpha" feeling, where the mechanics were a bit clunkier, but felt a tad more Bleach-y.

Have you put this "Bleach D20 Alpha" on the forums? If you havn't please do.

[F.H. Zebedee]

All it is is BtV's system with different peripheral classes, skills, feats, and spells, and slightly tweaked Shinigami (Bankai is handled differently, Level 5 Shikai.)

I will post my feat list and spell list when I get around to them.

[NightmareToilet]

So if the vizard or shinigami and an arancar had a child ...?

It should have access to both shinigami and hollow abilities?

Would you give it a mask or how would you handle it?

As for devour, it was mentioned that even devouring 3000 did nothing to improve Grimm's companions, but he had a different ability or destiny.

And the one espada could devour and get abilities but said he was the only one who could advance that way, so it is not something they all get?

[Xuincherguixe]

I got to thinking. Hollows don't seem like they'd be good as a player option, but Arrancar are much more viable. The big thing here is that Hollow's have lost their humanity. Arrancar get at least some of it back.

So, in a similar way to how Ichigo is a human who obtained Shinigami powers, a human character might have Hollow ones. So...

(spoiler for plot points which probably have been mentioned already anyways but I I thought it was courteous to spoiler this.)

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What if they released their Hollow, and smashed their mask? I'm thinking the above might involve some sort of will save. With a reasonable dose of "power of plot".

The Hōgyoku (Wikipedia's spelling) is another way to go about it, but it seems a more cumbersome method.

The problem with the smashing of the mask, is about how much humanity Arrancar regain. (Or in this hypothetical scenario, retain) DM fiat certainly can resolve the problem. Either they could say that despite the odds, somehow they became a complete Arrancar. Or that despite being incomplete, in the important ways they are still human. They only will be perceived as a monster.

A mask smashing human seems like a good way to make one of these "Complete" Arrancar alluded too. A Hollow who has never devoured another person's soul (we'll assume they haven't gone out of control) and doesn't go through some cheap short cut. A pure will that demands their humanity. Just being hungry for power doesn't seem to stack up against that.

If another hypothetical situation similar occurred in which some villain (by which I mean an awful person who probably but not necessarily is a non player character) wishes for power, they would almost certainly fall while short. Their Agenda would have to be a very human one.

This line of thinking brought something else to my mind. A hollow smashing ones one mask. The mask is only a symbol. The smashing of a mask to become an Arrancar should be symbolic too. The problem with this is that Masks can definitely be harmed. Either a Hollow's mask regenerates if they didn't really have the desire to be something different, or a Hollow's physical force is useless against it's own mask only.


I know that you said that the Arrancar in the Heuco Mundo Arc are complete, but it seemed like a good use of the ambiguity.

An Arrancar, or some other form of Human Hollow would work great in a game in which no one is on the players side.


I apologize if this question has been answered already, but what would happen if a human became an Arrancar in the fashion described in the spoiler. Would some of their class levels become hit dice? Or do they keep their old class levels? Or, would they be replaced with levels as Shinigami?

I suggest having the hollow powers leave the body, but in Bleach only Ichigo ever does this. The spiritually aware humans are always in their bodies. When they need to travel to other worlds, they have their bodies converted.

The theoretical Arrancar player would most likely be an Augmenter, or possibly a Manifester. Would they now need to separate from their body? Would they have already lost it? The best way I think to handle it would be to assume that when they activate their powers, they also have a broken mask. Their focus already a Zanpakto equivalent. As an Arrancar, they would have the ability to "release" that focus, and get a Hollow like shell. Which could look very weird if they're say, flying.

If hollows don't work as PCs, it doesn't make much sense to level as one. If they're gaining Hollow Hit Dice, we've already established their's a way they can work, and we don't actually need Arrancar anymore. They might still become one, but they don't NEED to.


I suppose in the end I know more or less how to handle all this. So it's more like a list of suggestions than anything. And pretty much to everyone writing up rules. Still I think I'm onto something with the Arrancar players.

I've also been thinking about making my own Bleach Adaptation using the Shadowrun rules. Probably won't happen though. If it does, I'll start a thread and probably put a link on my profile. Since I procrastinate like crazy, I don't want anyone to get their hopes up. But really, how many people would be at all interested in a Shadowrun Bleach anyways?

[Dante & Vergil]

So if the vizard or shinigami and an arancar had a child ...?

That's saying if it is possible for a vizard or shinigami to mate with an arrancar. I don't even think that spiritual beings can have childeren.

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(Unless they are using a gigai. See Ichigo's dad as an example.)

It should have access to both shinigami and hollow abilities?

If they can mate, that will be a likely result.

Would you give it a mask or how would you handle it?

Since we haven't seen anything like this, I really couldn't say but your free to come up with something.

As for devour, it was mentioned that even devouring 3000 did nothing to improve Grimm's companions, but he had a different ability or destiny. And the one espada could devour and get abilities but said he was the only one who could advance that way, so it is not something they all get?

I think the number is just flavor fluff. If a hollow devoured 3000 souls they would deffinitly reach the 20th level gap a long time ago. On the other hand, I think because he can't become an Adjuchas that becoming one should be a little more difficult. (The hollow I think your thinking of is Shawlong Koufang.)

[zadcap]

If hollows don't work as PCs, it doesn't make much sense to level as one. If they're gaining Hollow Hit Dice, we've already established their's a way they can work, and we don't actually need Arrancar anymore. They might still become one, but they don't NEED to.

You bring up a good point. At the moment, Hollow is either a template or a monster, but Arrancar is a prestige class. Would it not make more mechanic sense to make Arrancar a template as well? One HD in it is an 'incomplete' arrancar, like the early/filler ones, then more HD gains more powers. Espada arnt a class, just the strongest of the arrancar.

And coincidentaly, something brought up somewhere else, the characters are prety much plowing through the Espada. Earlier in the series, it was said that just 10 Vasto Lorde would be able to destroy all of soul society. It has no affect on anything yet, but that implys that Vasto Lorde are stronger than even Espada. If anything should be allowed epic levels, it's them. In fact, I might consider breaking out my Dieties and Demigods book when Tite introduces them.
And to keep going... I'm predicting they will show up after Aizen. The plot rolls on.

[NightmareToilet]

I think maybe devour plus another req, like a high con score, or make a save on a couple scores, otherwise they don't have the ability to ascend. Grimmjow eventually got his scores up, made a save, but the others he was with were too far away from being able to pass it and so devouring failed them and they said devour us. I wouldnt put it to just flavor. Maybe every 100 devoured could raise a score by 1 pt (like the old system with str having 1/100th in it). So you devour a load, make a save to get an increase, or something, maybe.

Considering the "technology" they have, I'd say procreation could be possible, at least if assisted by wierd technology.

Of course with gigai, you could have a quincy gigai, a bount gigai (both would be illegal), a manifester gigai maybe? No, maybe those powers go to the soul in the bodies rather than the bodies.

But yeah, when the hollow becomes an arrancar, only the one Rukia faced had the ability to increase, he said. The others switched to shinigami levels, apparently, but that one could do both due to a special ability?


Fire zanpakuto: how about a lava attack?

Hey I just was watching an early episode and Rukia was using a load of hand signs for her spell on grand fisher, like they do in Naruto, just noticed that.

Maybe the list can be built up using spells from naruto also. In fact, the two look easy to combine, with manifesters like sharingan and other things would fit. Thus, you get a human spellcaster ability. I think it works!
And the Reaper would actually be a Vasto Lord, then.

[Dante & Vergil]

And coincidentaly, something brought up somewhere else, the characters are prety much plowing through the Espada. Earlier in the series, it was said that just 10 Vasto Lorde would be able to destroy all of soul society. It has no affect on anything yet, but that implys that Vasto Lorde are stronger than even Espada. If anything should be allowed epic levels, it's them. In fact, I might consider breaking out my Dieties and Demigods book when Tite introduces them.
And to keep going... I'm predicting they will show up after Aizen. The plot rolls on.

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If you look at the hollow's outline when Hitsugaya gives the description of the Vasto Lorde, it looks suspiciously like Ulquiorra. It is also said by Ashido when the group is in the Forest of the Menos that there are Vasto Lorde in Las Noches. So I assume that Aizen has atleast 1-2 Vasto Lorde in the Espada.

[zadcap]

if Ulquiorra is one, then I am terrified of the numbers lower than him. And for Aizen to control them... But then again, he IS taking an unbeleivably long time getting out of that thing.

But yeah, when the hollow becomes an arrancar, only the one Rukia faced had the ability to increase, he said. The others switched to shinigami levels, apparently, but that one could do both due to a special ability?

No, he said he's the only one capable of infinate growth. The others have room, but only he can go on forever.

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Probably because he doesnt just get stronger when he eats someone, he gains their power. Why, he could even eat Ulquiorra and instantly turn himself into a Vasto Lorde, hmm?

[F.H. Zebedee]

Yeah, the ones they've been tearing through have mostly been adjuchas. Ulquiorra, and presumably the two above him, are most likely Vasto Lorde material. Nell Tu was most likely at the upper limit of Adjuchas at the peak of her power. And yeah, Vasto Lordes are definately epic, since it's been implied that most Shinigami couldn't really stand a chance against them.

10 of them could take out Soul Society? Who gave that estimate, again? Soul Society has the Gotei 13, which was, until Aizen went traitor, two level 20 Shinigamis (Aizen and Yamamoto), and eleven Shinigami that were around level 14-18. Not to mention Lieutenants, all around levels 5/6ish-11 (Plus Renji, at 12-14, Ikkaku, also in that range, and Ayasegawa, who is implied to be at 10/11). Then, there's hundreds of lacky level Shinigami that are a non-factor, and the non-Gotei 13 corps, which are implied to also be pretty beefy. (The fact that Soifon has never used Bankai is really questionable. Yoruichi says that 12 of the captains can use Bankai, but it seems that she's been out of touch for a while.)

(The D20 SRD calculator, when fed only estimated Captains/Bankai users, put the captains (Plus Renji and Ikkaku) at a party ECL of 20.6. So, 10 CR 20s actually would be a major threat, and would probably outright kill a major number of the Seated Officers, Lieutenants, and low Captains. And that was BEFORE losing Aizen, Gin, and Tosen.) (After losing them, they're down to ECL 19.3)

So, my word on it? Vasto Lordes COULD be CR20, though that's most likely only in my No-Epic version. They'd probably be low-epic in this system, up there with Captain Aizen (who, even by my scale, is Expert 20, most likely Vizard 4/5)

[zadcap]

It was Hitsugaya actualy. Looked for it, he actualy said 10 of them under Aizen, so it's just the 9 captains now. That puts them on par with captains, Wikipedia says they are slightly stronger than the average, so by your system they're 18ish.
Thinking on it... what scares me mroe is what tite will do next. Progresivly stronger characters, right? Something stronger than Vasto Lorde... Kenpachi learns Bankai?

[NightmareToilet]

hm, but Aizen supposedly mastered all 4 paths, so how does he do that by level 20? That means all kidou, all shunpo, all zanpakuto, and and hand to hand. Maybe the scale should go up to level 30 for folks like Aizen, before they have to go vizard to keep going. Oh, well, or he is level 20 max but 4 times! So that is character level, gack, 80!? Or say there are prestige classes for each of the 4 paths, then he has 10 levels in each plus ten to begin with is still level 50.