Houses of the Blooded

Houses of the Blooded is a 2008 tabletop roleplaying game by developer John Wick, of Legend of the Five Rings and 7th Sea fame. It was made as a response to Dungeons and Dragons in a vein of self-described "Anti-D&D". The game starts players off as ancient and powerful nobility known as the Ven, a race native to the lands of Shanri. They are a very self-absorbed and emotional race, more concerned with gathering and gaining power than improving the world in any way that doesn't fit into their own views. The only real advancement is in adding to your power and thwarting others, freezing them in their tracks before crushing them.

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Tropes used in Houses of the Blooded include:

• Abusive Precursors: The Sorcerer-Kings, who created the Ven. The worst thing imaginable to a Ven is the return of the Sorcerer-Kings, who would put them back to slavery.
• Alien Geometries: The Puzzle House, an artifact one can find on their land.
• Artifact of Doom: Literally every artifact is this. Someone who wields the tools of the Sorcerer-Kings is explicitly opening themselves up to a karmic smackdown on an important roll.
• The Beautiful Elite: The Ven.
• Blood Magic: Ven were created with supernaturally-powerful blood for use in this.
• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: The Ven, again
• Eldritch Abominations: Orks, also, anything yellow.
• Luck Manipulation Mechanic: One literally run on Rule of Cool. Players get "Style Points" for acting stylish and Ven-like (or getting awesome blowthrough successes on their rolls), which they can use to power magic and improve their die rolls. Taking the Ven definition of awesome further, a Ven can hold more Style Points if they have properly awesome personal gear, and they can lose Style Points for being uncool (either in- or out-of-character).
• Magnificent Bastard: Count Zsanosz Yvarai. Also, many of the player characters will fit into this or...
• Manipulative Bastard:...this trope.
• Our Gods Are Greater: The Ven worship the Suaven, their deified ancestors.
• Our Monsters Are Different: Orks.
  • Interesting case, in that not only are the monsters different but the phrase "Ork" itself is a catch all for every dangerous wild monster.
• Refuge in Audacity: If you do something vulgar (which costs you Style Points) but get blowthrough successes on your role, you can collect more Style Points from the action than you lose.
• Sailor Earth: The Veiled Houses, which are Noble Houses lost or banished from the public circles of Ven that may or may not be attempting to rise again, depending on their survival past their veiling.
• Special Snowflake Syndrome: An entire section of the rulebook is devoted to this, where there will always be that kind of player who wants to play something not available in the book. John Wick calls this "the Vach Problem," after one of his players, and suggests that the GM give the player what he wants in such a way that he'll regret it.
• Sword and Sorcery
• Winds of Destiny Change: One Serpent Suaven power works in this fashion, allowing its user to jinx an opponent's roll.
• Xanatos Speed Chess: If a game does not go like this, chances are you're doing it wrong.