Blood Types

[wyrdlyng]

[Disclaimer: I'm waiting on my copy of the book to come in the mail so I don't know if this is covered in the book or not.]

I was just wondering if there shouldn't be a mention and description of the different blood types and their roles in defining character personalities. Shoujo especially includes a character's blood type in character bio sheets.

Dedicated fans of manga and anime would already be familiar with this but it might be helpful for those less familiar with the source material.

Just an idea.

[Michael Hopcroft]

We thought about putting blood types in, but there was one problem -- none of us on the design team knew what the various blood types meant to the Japanese!

Our best guess is that your blood type is a sort of bio-astrological sign, like Westerners view zodiac signs. And thus they mean whatever you want them to mean in terms of compatibility, which is what they are mainly used for in manga.

A point worth bringing up, hwoever, Thanks. I think you'll enjoy the game.

[wyrdlyng]

We thought about putting blood types in, but there was one problem -- none of us on the design team knew what the various blood types meant to the Japanese!

Really? Yes, blood types are akin to Zodiac signs in the West and are a type of shorthand for determining the person's personality type. There is no definitive answer as to what they mean exactly but there are common characteristic traits evident in each category.

Here are some links with good descriptions of each type:

http://www.pojo.com/anime/bloodtypes.shtml
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/5976/blood.htm

In Japan, the blood type and birth date are used together for a more complex personality chart but I haven't been able to find anything solid on it. (Perhaps a synthesis between your Blood Type and the Chinese Zodiac sign?)

[Ron Edwards]

This is so bizarre. OK, clearly blood type has to go into my HQ play, when that happens, because it's (a) apparently so shoujo-manga and (b) so weird.

Can anyone give me examples of how this might be handled in HeartQuest, without it being just another personality descriptor? I'd like to see it get incorporated in some other, modification-type way.

Best,
Ron

[wyrdlyng]

Give me a chance to get my copy of the book and I'll see what can be done.

I haven't been this jazzed up about modding a game since my old days on the DC Heroes mailing list. But after stripping my comics list to a bare minimum the majority of what I still get is shoujo stuff.

[ravi]

Does this mean now HeartQuest can have splats?  This will certainly ensure its market penetration!  Huzzah!

Seriously, here's some ideas for blood-type based modifiers.  Haven't run through the probabilities yet to see if it's really balanced, or if it would be appropriate, but it's an idea.

I also tracked some info on the frequencies of the blood types in the Japanese population.   Odd how the most popular and well-perceived types are the ones most "stereotypically" Japanese.  (Also, AB is really looked down on, to the point where some people actually lie about their blood type, if asked.)

-r

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Type A  (40% of the population)

+1 on rolls vs. Cool when trying to remain calm and composed in the face of stress
+1 on rolls vs. Willpower when trying to hide their true feelings
-1 on any attempt to break someone's trust, especially if they give
their word
-1 on rolls vs. Cool when dealing with people of different personalities/interests

Type B  (20% of the population)

+1 on rolls vs. Appearance or Cool when trying to make a good impression
+1 on rolls vs. any skill roll when starting a project or task
-2 on rolls vs. Willpower to keep attention on the task at hand


Type O (30% of the population)

+1 on rolls vs. Cool when trying to resolve conflicts among a group
+1 on rolls vs. Willpower when faced with a challenging task
-1 on rolls vs. Willpower to avoid helping a friend in need
-1 on rolls vs. Willpower to be intentionally callous toward someone who is hurting

Type AB (10% of the population)

+1 on any attempt to be tactful or avoid offending someone
+1 on rolls vs. Mind when planning an event
-1 vs. Willpower to avoid being critical of oneself or very close friends
-1 on any attempt to resist introspection or nostalgic