Everything you need to know about the jewels, and getting the ones you want!

As in the Anne Bishop novel The Shadow Queen, Dark Jewels are a rarity amongst the blood. Here at Blood Rites we are striving to represent that power-vacuum while at the same time maintaining a fair amount of Dark Jewels on an out of character level so that our players can enjoy the benefits of playing the powerful characters in the Realm. Our take on the matter is as follows, the characters of Blood Rites are the heroes (or maybe villains) of the Realms. So whilst it is very likely that you have a small handful of dark jeweled characters in your arsenal, they are the exception to the rule. It is unlikely that in regards to your character's family that any of their relatives would reasonably possess a jewel darker than the green.

To help maintain a fair balance of light to dark jeweled characters, while still allowing everyone their opportunities to play the more powerful characters, Blood Rites has a Light to *Dark Jeweled Ratio Policy. For every two light jeweled characters you possess, you may have one dark jeweled character.

*Dark Jewels, for the ratio, are characters with a Descent of Green or Darker. In the case where only a Birthright is requested a Dark Jewel is considered to be Opal or darker. If a character makes an Offering and receives Green or Darker their character will then be considered dark jeweled and the player's ratio adjusted accordingly.

Please note, Jewel Ratios were created explicitly for Blood Rites and all credit is given to the founding staff for their creation. Many thanks for the effort and time put into making this balanced system for the board. © Blood Rites 2009


There are five methods total that can be used when a character's birthright jewel is being determined:

Methods for Determining Jewel Rank

• Selected: This Option is ALWAYS there. No matter what, you’re free to pick you character’s birthright from the following jewels: White, Yellow, or Tiger Eye. One may also choose to have White, Yellow or Tiger Eye as their Descent with no Birthright.
• General Randomized: As long as you have a Dark Jewel Slot open, and you request a random jewel roll the administrative team will use this method to decide your Birthright roll. Your Birthright jewel will be selected at random and will come out anywhere between White to Red. Please note, a random roll of Sapphire or Red for Birthright will require 2 Review Council approvals due to world changing power.
• Light, Randomized: Your birthright jewel will range from the White to the Purple Dusk. You can also specifically request to receive a Light Randomized roll.
• Petition: Petitioning for Jewels is something that is to only be done under very special circumstances, such as the character most assuredly needs a certain Birthright to work for your plot and the story. Petitioning is covered HERE.
• Points: Points are an activity and incentive system created by the lovely Jamie and is covered in further detail HERE.

As you can see we’re all about being fair and fun. With the methods we have in place, and the wiggle room and flexibility our system offers, we are striving to ensure that the distribution of power is fair and balanced both in and out of character. The Administrative team of Blood Rites is subject to these rules just like our players!

Jewel Descents
Here at Blood Rites your character will always descend at LEAST two ranks. Whilst it is perfectly canon for some people to only descend one rank.

You can always choose to descend one rank. Players who choose to only descend one rank receive an extra +10 to their character's BR and Descent Power Ranks

Methods for Determining Jewel's Power
A Jewel’s Power Ranking (a number between 1-100) is important since in the Black Jewel’s Books Anne Bishop herself states that there are varying degrees of power amongst the ranks. Your Jewel Power also determines whether or not your Birthright and Descent Jewels are Cut or Uncut.

Now, since we want to keep an aura of mystery around who is the toughest of the tough, or conversely the weakest of the weak – players are not allowed to know their exact jewel ranking. When you post your character application and ask for your birthright and descent jewels you will simply be told your jewel ranks, and whether your jewels came to you CUT or UNCUT. The uncut jewels represent a deeper well of power. So, if Character A and Character B were both Warlords who wear the Sapphire, but Character B’s Sapphire came to him uncut, you can know that Character B will likely win in a straight on clash of Sapphire power.

The difference between Opal and Blood Opal is not as simple as cut or uncut at Blood Rites. Opal is the lighter half of the spectrum while Blood Opal is inherently a darker Jewel, there is a clear split between Light (Opal) and Dark (Blood Opal) that is not defined by cut or uncut status.