Heya! It’s been a while since I posted any updates concerning my Blood Red Blossoms project. Truth is, the game has changed a lot within the past months and I’ve worked on literally dozens of projects. However, I wanted to share some shots of the current BRB character sheet, now a brochure-like foldable paper with plenty of game information, including a rules summary and the character creation process.
Many things have changed, to the point I’d say this is only halfway forged in the dark – but the core theme is still the same and the design’s roots are still clearly visible 🙂 It will no longer be set in a pseudo-Japanese setting, instead taking place during the Sengoku era but with a few uchronic elements.
Blood Red Blossoms’ development is mainly happening on my patreon (roosterema), but once finished the game will be released for everyone else as well (though patrons will get it at no additional cost, obviously).
If you have questions, please feel free to ask!
That is pretty cool
Love the format and entire aesthetic
Thank you for your kind words! 😀
What lead to your decision to toss the custom setting in favor of a Sengoku slide?
Brandon Perkins it felt like way too much effort for way too small effect. Like reinventing the wheel, except your new wheel lacks the weight of Sengoku era Japan. I found myself recreating stuff that was already there, time and time again, when all I really needed was to say “Yes, this is Sengoku, but there’s a wandering order of pilgrims founded centuries ago. People join this order as atonement for their crimes, as a way to escape the fetters of feudal society, or sometimes simply because it’s the only way for them to get some rice and soup at the end of the day”.
There, it was that simple! Still, all the work I had done when it came to names and locations will not go to waste, as the game is set in the rural areas away from the capital, dotted with shrines, villages and other places that don’t actually exist but that the GM and players may pick from custom lists!
(not to mention the fact that the original game DID stink WAY too much of orientalism/fetishization/appropriation, and my goal is to generate interest towards the historical culture of Japan, not to replace it with an inevitably less nuanced setting)
Love the clean design of this. Nicely done!
John Harper thank you so much!
Yeah this looks really interesting. I like the way you use character age – it makes a lot of sense, and is simple and elegantly done.
John Recca thank you! I found it was one of the most memorable elements during playtest – people enjoyed having groups with PCs of different ages 🙂