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I have a show on youtube where I sometimes show off the homebrew class options I think of. I noticed that we have a more confined list of Bloodlines for bloodragers than we do for sorcerers (obviously because bloodragers are very new) and I had the idea of a bloodrager transforming into a monstrous silhouette, so the first bloodline I decided to 'port to the bloodrager' was the Shadow Bloodline. I want feedback for what you think I could modify about this bloodline to make it fit the theme better or smooth out the mechanics. I don't want this bloodline to be optimized for power, I want it to fit the theme. I would not recommend this post for people who are not familiar with the Advanced Class Guide yet (at least the bloodrager section). Thank you all in advance!
Shadow Bloodline (Bloodrager)
You are a twisted being with intrinsic ties to Plane of Shadow and its inhabitants. For many bloodragers, the transformation is an awesome one to behold, brought on by passion or anger. Yours is much more quiet and dreary as your features slowly distort and blur into a smoky, warlike silhouette.
Bonus Feats: Blind-Fight, Dodge, Exotic Weapon Proficiency, Improved Disarm, Improved Trip, Intimidating Prowess, Quick Draw
Bonus Spells: ray of enfeeblement (7th), darkvision (10th), displacement (13th), shadow conjuration (16th)
As you perfect your bloodrage, your features become increasingly dark and warped, until you become a true herald of shadow with the quasi-real creations of the Shadow Plane at your command.
Shadowstrike (Su): At 1st level, as a swift action up to three times a day as a swift action you can taint your attacks with pain-inducing shadow. For 1 round, your attacks deal an additional 1d6 points of nonlethal damage. Any creatures without low-light vision or darkvision successfully hit by the attack are dazzled for 1 minute. At 12th level, you may use this ability five times per day.
Shadow Blend (Su): At 4th level, in any light conditions other than bright light, your form blurs and dissolves into the shadows, granting you concealment (20% miss chance). You also gain darkvision 30 ft. If you already have darkvision, increase the range by 30 ft. Every four levels after 4th, the range of your darkvision increases by 30 ft.
Obscured Arsenal (Sp): At 8th level, a bloodrager with the shadow bloodline can unsheathe a weapon from the shadows, including her own dark form. You can cast shadow weapon at will as a move action that does provoke an attack of opportunity, this is treated as drawing a weapon when interacting with feats or effects such as those from Quick Draw or peacebond.
Enveloping Darkness (Sp): At 12th level, when entering a bloodrage, you may choose to envelop your surroundings in darkness, as per the spell deeper darkness. You may see through this darkness without penalty, and the spread is always centered on you. At 16th level, all creatures except you within the area of darkness are entangled unless under freedom of movement or a similar effect.
Unnerving Gaze (Su): At 16th level, your lack of features and warping form ceases to be tolerable by mortal minds. You gain a gaze attack with a range of 30 ft. Targets must make a Will save with a DC (10 + ½ bloodrager level + Charisma modifier). Anyone that succumbs to your gaze is frightened for 1 round.
Knight of the Night (Su): At 20th level, you can see perfectly in natural or magical darkness and gain resistance 10 to cold and electricity damage, even when not bloodraging. Whenever you confirm a critical hit against an opponent, they must make a Fortitude save equal to (10 + ½ the bloodrager’s level + the bloodrager’s Charisma modifier) or receive the effects of blindness/deafness (though only to blind).
I would consider a save for enveloping darkness's secondary entangle effect, otherwise that seems a bit powerful.
I would probably not do both the AOE entangle from enveloping darkness and the gaze attack from unnerving gaze. That seems a bit much to keep track of, and quite a bit of nasty AOE control effects to generate all the time while bloodraging.
I'd consider dropping the See in Darkness power from Knight of the Night to a lower level, as it's not going to see much use at 20th.
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I dig it, but i agree that at 20th that power wont be used, here is mine, i really liked the Nanite bloodline to begin with and i have this player that wants to play a bloodrager but probably wont be a big fan of the bloodline list. Feel free to tell me what i missed.
Nanite Bloodline:
Your conception was marked by alien influences.
Bonus Spells: mirror strike (7th), defensive shock (10th), gaseous form(13th), miasmatic form (16th)
Bonus Feats: Blind-Fight, Combat Expertise, Dodge, Eldritch Heritage,Expanded Arcana, Improved Disarm, Lightning Reflexes,
Bloodline Powers: The microscopic nanites in your blood grant you incredible powers and alien magic.
Nanite Strike (Ex)
At 1st level as a free action while bloodraging, you can cause nanites to flow from your body and coat the striking end of any manufactured melee weapon you wield. When you hit with a melee attack using this weapon, some of the nanites infect the blood of the victim (Poison—injury; save Fort DC 10 + 1/2 your bloodrager level + your Con modifier; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1 Str damage; cure 1 save).
At 4th level, weapons you use with this ability are treated as magical for the purposes of overcoming DR, and the poison also deals 1 point of Constitution damage. At 8th level, the damage increases to 1d2 points of Constitution damage and 1d2 points of Strength damage. At 12th level, the cure becomes two successful saves.
You can use this ability for a number of rounds per day equal to 3 + your Charisma modifier; these rounds need not be consecutive.
Nanite Surge (Ex)
At 4th level, once per day as an immediate action, you can cause your nanites to surge, granting you a bonus equal to 3 + your Bloodrager level on any one d20 roll; this ability must be activated before the roll is made. If you already possess the nanite surge ability from another source (such as from being an android), you can use your nanite surge an additional time per day.
At 8th level, you can use this ability an additional time per day.
Nanite Resurgence (Ex)
At 8th level, once per day as an immediate action upon being reduced to one-quarter your maximum hit points while bloodraging, you can force the mechanical swarm living inside you to keep you alive. This ability functions like a resurgent transformation spell using your Bloodrager level as the caster level, except it is an extraordinary ability and cannot be dispelled.
At 12th level, you can use this ability twice per day (though using this ability twice in one 24-hour period entails a chance of system shock and death; see the spell's description for more details).
At 16th level, you never die of system shock from using this ability.
Distributed Body (Ex)
At 12th level, anytime you are struck by a critical hit or a sneak attack, there is a 50% chance that your nanites scatter and reincorporate around the attack, negating the extra damage and causing the attack to deal damage as normal instead.
Swarming Bloodrager (Su)
At 16th level, once per day you can at will, you may break down your body into small flying nanites, you are not subject to critical hits or flanking, never staggered, or reduced to a dying state by damage. Immune to every spell or effect that targets a specific number of creatures (including single-target spells such as disintegrate), with the exception of mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, morale effects, patterns, and phantasms). You take half again as much damage (+50%) from spells or effects that affect an area, such as splash weapons and many evocation spells. You cannot be tripped, grappled, or bull rushed. Your weapons and items remain solid and can be weilded as normal.
Living Swarm (Su)
At 20th level, you and the machines within you become one. Your nanites consume and replicate your body, allowing swift and radical physical alterations with little more than a thought. You become immune to bleed effects, diseases, and poisons, and gain an additional DR 5/—. At will, you can break down your body and move in a shimmering stream of flying nanites, as if affected by gaseous form. You can gain all these benefits constantly as well as the abiity to use Nanite Resurgence even while not bloodraging.
I would consider a save for enveloping darkness's secondary entangle effect, otherwise that seems a bit powerful.
I would probably not do both the AOE entangle from enveloping darkness and the gaze attack from unnerving gaze. That seems a bit much to keep track of, and quite a bit of nasty AOE control effects to generate all the time while bloodraging.
I'd consider dropping the See in Darkness power from Knight of the Night to a lower level, as it's not going to see much use at 20th.
Okay, thank you for the input, I think I may drop the entangle effect entirely. That after all is a bit too potent for a class that isn't full spellcasting. I'm going to modify enveloping darkness so that at that point, your darkvision can also pierce magical darkness. For Knight of the Night, I'm going to probably add something that makes your shadow weapons from Obscured Arsenal function like real weapons.
I like Kujinata's Nanite idea. Love it for the sorcerer and I was a bit disappointed to see the Bloodrager didn't have one officially. (Perhaps in another book?)
Unless I'm mistaken, they're keeping the sci-fi stuff out of the core Pathfinder RPG line and putting it all in Golarion-specific products. I'd expect to see that kind of thing in a Golarion-focused book about the Advanced Class Guide - I think it's going to be called Advanced Class Guide Origins?