FA+
Shop
Furry-Friendly D&D Settings #4: Blue Rose
9 months ago
Dating back to 2005, Blue Rose got its start as a setting inspired by romantic fantasy novels such as the work of Mercedes Lackey. Instead of using 3rd Edition D&D, it had its own rules-medium toolkit known as True20, which spun off into its own generic system for several years. But while True20 eventually faded, Blue Rose would see resurgence not once, but twice, with its line updated for the AGE system in 2017 and then 5th Edition in 2021. We will be focusing on this latter ruleset in discussing Blue Rose.
Blue Rose was also notable at the time for emphasizing overt socially progressive themes and LGBT representation, whereas other D&D gaming lines at the time often locked such themes behind “mature content” labels.
In terms of Lore, Blue Rose is different from other entries in this thread due to not having any playable anthropomorphic people. What it does have are rhydan, creatures fully animalistic in physical form yet gifted with telepathic speech and the ability to fashion strong mental connections with others known as the rhy-bond. There are rhydan for just about every mundane animal out there, although wolves, horses, bears, dolphins, and great cats are the most common. For different species designation, one uses the “rhy” prefix before the typical species, such as rhy-bear or rhy-cat. Rhydan are a widespread and populous people, and magical items and spells exist that help make up for their lack of opposable thumbs. Rhydan are integrated into most societies, although they face persecution in Jarzon and Kern. Certain species are more common in particular regions, such as rhy-horses having a presence among the nomadic clans of Rezea and the dolphins living among the oceanic sea-folk.
Beyond mundane animals, archetypical magical beasts such as griffons and unicorns are also classified as rhydan, with those two examples being the rare stuff of legends as powerful forces of good. A spirit known as the Golden Hart, the collective manifestation of the people of Aldis, takes the form of a shining deer to appoint that country’s next ruler, and who was also instrumental in bringing about the downfall of evil sorcerer-kings in ages past.
In terms of Playability, the True20 and AGE System versions of Blue Rose provided only a small range of species for playable rhydan. But 5th Edition incorporated a broader system for designing rhydan PCs. A rhydan PC derives their base form from a creature of the Beast type (including giant versions) with a Challenge Rating of 1/4th or less. The rhydan gains the Armor Class, Speed, Senses, Special Abilities, and Actions of the original species, but generates skills, Hit Dice, and Hit Points via class. Ability scores are generated as per usual, but Small and Tiny beasts have a maximum Strength score of what is normal for their Beast species plus 2. Finally, they gain the Psychic and Psychic Shield feats representing their mental powers, and the ability to form a rhy-bond with others.
Sadly this relegates rhy-bears to NPC status, but otherwise opens up the species options to a diverse array. Just with the core rules, you can get options like rhy-rats, rhy-boars, rhy-birds of prey, and even rhy-constrictor snakes! Add onto this popular third party sourcebooks such as Kobold Press’ Tome of Beasts, and you can end up with rhy-bulls and even rhy-meerkats!
It should be noted that these rules don’t provide balance between potential species, as certain animals are going to be ideal for particular classes and builds. But it is a pretty straightforward option that should work for players seeking an authentic-feeling set of rules for their feral fursonas, or those who just like the idea of a talking animal protagonist.
Blue Rose was also notable at the time for emphasizing overt socially progressive themes and LGBT representation, whereas other D&D gaming lines at the time often locked such themes behind “mature content” labels.
In terms of Lore, Blue Rose is different from other entries in this thread due to not having any playable anthropomorphic people. What it does have are rhydan, creatures fully animalistic in physical form yet gifted with telepathic speech and the ability to fashion strong mental connections with others known as the rhy-bond. There are rhydan for just about every mundane animal out there, although wolves, horses, bears, dolphins, and great cats are the most common. For different species designation, one uses the “rhy” prefix before the typical species, such as rhy-bear or rhy-cat. Rhydan are a widespread and populous people, and magical items and spells exist that help make up for their lack of opposable thumbs. Rhydan are integrated into most societies, although they face persecution in Jarzon and Kern. Certain species are more common in particular regions, such as rhy-horses having a presence among the nomadic clans of Rezea and the dolphins living among the oceanic sea-folk.
Beyond mundane animals, archetypical magical beasts such as griffons and unicorns are also classified as rhydan, with those two examples being the rare stuff of legends as powerful forces of good. A spirit known as the Golden Hart, the collective manifestation of the people of Aldis, takes the form of a shining deer to appoint that country’s next ruler, and who was also instrumental in bringing about the downfall of evil sorcerer-kings in ages past.
In terms of Playability, the True20 and AGE System versions of Blue Rose provided only a small range of species for playable rhydan. But 5th Edition incorporated a broader system for designing rhydan PCs. A rhydan PC derives their base form from a creature of the Beast type (including giant versions) with a Challenge Rating of 1/4th or less. The rhydan gains the Armor Class, Speed, Senses, Special Abilities, and Actions of the original species, but generates skills, Hit Dice, and Hit Points via class. Ability scores are generated as per usual, but Small and Tiny beasts have a maximum Strength score of what is normal for their Beast species plus 2. Finally, they gain the Psychic and Psychic Shield feats representing their mental powers, and the ability to form a rhy-bond with others.
Sadly this relegates rhy-bears to NPC status, but otherwise opens up the species options to a diverse array. Just with the core rules, you can get options like rhy-rats, rhy-boars, rhy-birds of prey, and even rhy-constrictor snakes! Add onto this popular third party sourcebooks such as Kobold Press’ Tome of Beasts, and you can end up with rhy-bulls and even rhy-meerkats!
It should be noted that these rules don’t provide balance between potential species, as certain animals are going to be ideal for particular classes and builds. But it is a pretty straightforward option that should work for players seeking an authentic-feeling set of rules for their feral fursonas, or those who just like the idea of a talking animal protagonist.
