Sorcerer - New Role, Better Bloodlines

[Epic Meepo]

Jason Bulmahn wrote:

As he stood in 3.5, the sorcerer was very similar to the wizard. I am hoping to diversify the class a bit more and that means adding abilities that do not exactly mimic the wizard.

The idea here is to diversify the sorcerer by making bloodlines his defining class feature. However, I am currently running into a few bloodline-related problems in a playtest, as outlined in the following spoiler.

Spoiler:

In a playtest, several of my players read the sorcerer and were inspired to create characters with unusual ancestry. One was inspired to play a noble warrior descended from ancient dragon kings. One was inspired to play a mischievous rogue with fey blood in his veins. And one was inspired to play a repentant priest looking to atone for the misdeeds of his demonic ancestors.

All very cool, very memorable bloodline-related character backgrounds. But notice the problem: not one of these bloodline-inspired character concepts has anything to do with casting arcane spells. I now have three players all clamoring to play the party's sorcerer in order to get bloodline abilities, and not a single one of them intends on filling the arcane caster role in the party. The first will try to twist the sorcerer class into a front-line fighter, the second will try to use it to emulate the rogue, and the last will try to play it as though it were a cleric. None of them wants to play the sorcerer as intended.

To fix these problems, I propose that bloodlines be expanded upon: instead of being a class ability exclusive to sorcerers, bloodlines should be feat trees that any character can take. And to preserve the sorcercer's role as an arcane spellcaster of unusual ancestry, each of the bloodline powers of that class should be replaced with a bonus feat that can be used to acquire a bloodline feat. In that way, the sorcerer as written could be recreated almost exactly just by selecting the appropriate feats.

In addition to freeing up bloodlines for non-sorcerers, this change would free up sorcerers who don't want to rely on bloodline powers to take another direction. Specifically, sorcerers should be allowed to select either a bloodline feat or a metamagic feat each time they get to choose a sorcerer bonus feat. That way, some sorcerers could fill the bloodline-related niche in the party exactly as they do in the Beta rules, while others could instead choose to fill the metamagic caster niche.

Regarding opening up this additional niche to interested sorcerers, I see the metamagic niche being particularly appropriate for the class. Whereas wizards learn a large array of spells, sorcerers have a small selection of spells with which they are intimately familiar. This familiarity for their spells would suggest that they should know those spells inside and out, being able to easily shape them to their whim using metamagic.

Hence, my suggestion that both sorcerer roles - bloodline caster and metamagic caster - be made equally valid through the use of sorcerer bonus feats and bloodline feat trees instead of hard-wired bloodline class abilities.

As an added bonus, converting bloodline abilities into feat trees which sorcerers can access through bonus feats allows for new bloodline-related character concepts that have nothing to do with the sorcerer - such as a noble warrior descended from ancient dragon kings, a rogue with fey blood running in his veins, or a repentant priest looking to atone for the deeds of his demonic ancestors. All without pigeonholing any those characters into an arcane spellcasting class.

[Jason Nelson]

I have an extensive system for this already written up, which I used in my just-completed 3.5 Al-Qadim style campaign. It draws upon a lot of feats from WotC splatbooks and so could not be used whole cloth in PF, but it might be useful. Maybe I'll post it.

[Jason Nelson]

BLOODLINES

You can choose to have your character be descended from—or perhaps tainted by—some extraordinary bloodline. What follows are seven bloodlines for use in the campaign. Each bloodline has an ‘entry’ feat that serves as a prerequisite for all other feats. You can take this entry feat at any level; it is just assumed that you had the bloodline all along and it only finally manifested at that point. Bloodline feats are considered racial feats, so only a character of that race/bloodline can take them, and you can select them with the bonus feat slots normally allotted for racial and regional feats

In this campaign, every character got a bonus feat at 1st level and then at every level divisible by 5 (by 4 for humans) that had to be a racial feat (every race had a dozen or so), a regional feat (likewise, and based on either where you were FROM or where you WERE in the campaign world when you gained that level), or a bloodline feat. You could also take race/region/bloodline feats with your regular slots if you wanted, though not with class-restricted feats like a fighter's bonus feats.

You may only have one bloodline.

CELESTIAL BLOODLINE

Your heritage has been touched by the angels, and the blood of the heavenly planes flows through your veins.

Celestial Heritage – You gain +2 to Sense Motive checks. You also gain a bonus to saves vs. disease and vs. spells or spell-like abilities with the evil descriptor equal to the number of Celestial bloodline feats you have. You also have an aura of good with strength equal to your character level.

This feat is a prerequisite for the following feats. Other prerequisites, if any, for the following feats are noted in parentheses.

Ancestral Relic – You inherit a masterwork item that belonged to an ancestor and which gains power as you gain levels. See Book of Exalted Deeds p. 39.

Celestial Companion – If you have a special mount, animal companion, familiar or similar, it gains the celestial template.

Celestial Hands (Improved Unarmed Strike) – Your unarmed strike or natural weapons are considered good-aligned.

Celestial Sorcerer Heritage (saher* 1st) - Player’s Handbook II p. 90

* The "saher" is an Al-Qadim arcane caster, sort of midway between a wizard and sorcerer.

Celestial Sorcerer Aura (Celestial Sorcerer Heritage) - Player’s Handbook II p. 90

Celestial Sorcerer Lance (Celestial Sorcerer Heritage) - Player’s Handbook II p. 90

Celestial Sorcerer Lore (Celestial Sorcerer Heritage) - Player’s Handbook II p. 90

Celestial Sorcerer Wings (Celestial Sorcerer Heritage) - Player’s Handbook II p. 91

Celestial Spirit – You can cast aid, detect evil, and protection from evil once per day each as spell-like abilities (caster level = character level).

Exalted Spell Resistance – You gain SR 4 + Cha bonus + character level vs. spells and spell-like abilities with the evil descriptor or used by evil outsiders.

Eyes of Light (Nimbus of Light) – You can substitute a searing light spell (caster level = character level) unleashed from your eyes for your normal Nimbus of Light effect. You gain one extra use of Nimbus of Light per day.

Flyby Attack – Monster Manual p. 303

Holy Radiance (Nimbus of Light) – The radius of your Nimbus of Light is doubled, and while it is activated undead and evil outsiders within 10’ of you suffer 1d4 points of damage per round. You gain one extra use of Nimbus of Light per day.

Hover - Monster Manual p. 304

Improved Flight (Outsider Wings) – Your maneuverability increases by one step and your fly speed improves by 10’.

Light to Daylight (Nimbus of Light) – When you activate your Nimbus of Light, you can instead duplicate a daylight spell centered on you (caster level = character level). You gain one extra use of Nimbus of Light per day.

Lightbringer (ability to channel positive energy, divine spellcaster) – You can channel positive energy to make your spells more powerful. As a full-round action, spend up to 3 channeling attempts; you can keep doing this each round until ready to cast a spell and the effects stack. Once you cast a spell, add a bonus to the save DC and any caster level checks involved equal to the number of channeling attempts sacrificed. If the spell has the light descriptor or uses positive energy, you add this as a bonus to the effective caster level of the spell, not just to caster level checks. The effect is lost if you do not cast a spell within 1 round after you stop channeling positive energy.

Nimbus of Light – As a swift action, you can cloak yourself in radiant light lamp (5’ r. bright, 10’ r. shadowy). This glow gives a beneficent image of good, granting +2 bonus to Diplomacy and Sense Motive checks made with good creatures. You can use this ability 1/day and it lasts 10 minutes per character level.

Otherworldly (base Fort, Ref, and Will saves +2) - Your type changes to outsider (native), so you are no longer subject to humanoid-affecting spells. You gain darkvision to 60’.

Outsider Wings (Otherworldly, base Fort, Ref, and Will saves +4) – You gain feathered wings allowing you to fly at your normal land speed (enhancement bonuses to land speed do not apply) with average maneuverability. If you are carrying a medium or heavy load, your speed is reduced appropriately and your maneuverability drops to poor.

Quell the Profane (Power Attack, Sanctify Martial Strike, BAB +8) – On a confirmed critical hit vs. an evil opponent with a weapon in which you have Weapon Focus, your target must make a Fort save (DC 10 + ½ level + Cha bonus) or suffer 1d4+1 points of Strength damage.

Sanctify Martial Strike (Cha 15, Weapon Focus) – When fighting with a weapon in which you have Weapon Focus, your weapon is treated as good for bypassing DR and inflicts +1 damage vs. evil opponents.

Wingover – Monster Manual p. 304

If you wanted to arrange them in a hierarchical table, I suppose it would be:

Celestial Heritage
. Ancestral Relic
. Celestial Companion
. Celestial Hands
. Celestial Sorcerer Heritage
. . Celestial Sorcerer Aura
. . Celestial Sorcerer Lance
. . Celestial Sorcerer Lore
. . Celestial Sorcerer Wings
. Celestial Spirit
. Exalted Spell Resistance
. Nimbus of Light
. . Eyes of Light
. . Holy Radiance
. . Light to Daylight
. . Lightbringer
. Otherworldly
. . Outsider Wings
. . . Flyby Attack
. . . Hover
. . . Improved Flight
. . . Wingover
. Sanctify Martial Strike
. . Quell the Profane

[Jason Nelson]

Anyway, I did bloodlines like the above for:

Celestial
Elemental (air)
Elemental (earth)
Elemental (fire)
Elemental (water)
Fiendish
Yuan-ti

The players seemed to enjoy them quite a bit. I think over the course of the campaign we had:

1. A jabari (wizard type)/monk who was an aquatic elf with a fiendish bloodline.
2. A human mamluk (fighter type) with an elemental fire bloodline.
3. A halfling mystic (cleric type)/sa'luk (rogue) with an elemental earth bloodline.
4. A human ranger with a yuan-ti bloodline.

We had a few PCs and a cohort who didn't take a bloodline and used their bonus feats for racial or regional bonus feats instead.

That was what I thought was the beauty of the concept - you COULD take a bloodline if you wanted, but you weren't necessarily advantaged or disadvantaged by doing so. You could spend your feats as you chose, and there were good options along any of the routes. It all depended on what you wanted to do. You also could find feats that were beneficial for any kind of class. Some bloodlines, races, or regions were perhaps a little bit more favorable in one direction or another, but each of them supported pretty much all of your options.

Anyway, if people are sufficiently interested I could post the others some other time (as in, after work, since I've already wasted wayyyy too much time today!).

Enjoy...

[primemover003]

Meepo I don't see your problem.

You have three players who are using the bloodlines of the Sorcerer class to fill a role that isn't the traditional arcane caster... so what? I have a player whose choosing to take the Abyssal bloodline to become a combat caster. Claws + Enlarge Person + Bulls Str + Mage Armor + Shield... he's really just a Psychic Warrior.

I think you're seeing this the same way some people see the Bard as only being a minstrel type. You can create a wealth of character types using the same mechanical bases. You're just stuck on the Arcane Caster role...

[Epic Meepo]

Jason Nelson wrote:

It draws upon a lot of feats from WotC splatbooks and so could not be used whole cloth in PF, but it might be useful.

Actually, I wasn't talking about replacing the bloodlines with existing feats. I was talking about converting each bloodline into new feats. For example, something like the following:

Spoiler:

Bloodline (Celestial)
Your bloodline is blessed by a celestial power, either through having a celestial relative or through divine intervention. Although this power drives you along the path of good, your fate is your own to determine.
Benefit: You gain Heal as an additional class skill.
Special: If you have one or more sorcerer levels, you also gain the ability to unleash a ray heavenly fire as a standard action, targeting any creature within 30 feet as a ranged touch attack. Against evil creatures, this ray deals 1d6 points of fire damage +1 for every two character levels you possess. Against good creatures, this ray heals them of 1d6 points of damage +1 for every two character levels you possess. A good creature cannot benefit from your heavenly fire more than once per day. Neutral creatures are neither harmed nor healed by this effect. This is a supernatural ability.

Bloodline (Celestial) - Resistance
Your celestial blood protects you from harm.
Prerequisites: Bloodline (Celestial), character level 3rd.
Benefit: You gain resist acid 5 and resist cold 5.

Bloodline (Celestial) - Improved Resistance
Your celestial blood better protects you from harm.
Prerequisites: Bloodline (Celestial) - Resistance, character level 7th.
Benefit: You gain resist acid 10 and resist cold 10.

Bloodline (Celestial) - Wings of Heaven
Your celestial blood grants you supernatural wings.
Prerequisites: Celestial Bloodline, character level 11th.
Benefit: As a standard action, you can sprout feathery wings and fly for a number of minutes per day equal to your character level with a speed of 60 feet and good maneuverability. This duration does not need to be consecutive, but you must use it in 1 minute increments. This is a supernatural ability.

Bloodline (Celestial) - Conviction
Your celestial blood grants you supernatural conviction.
Prerequisites: Bloodline (Celestial), character level 15th.
Benefit: You can reroll any one ability check, attack roll, skill check, or saving throw you just made. You must decide to use this ability after the die is rolled, but before the results are revealed. You must take the second result, even if it is worse. You can use this
ability once per day. This is a supernatural ability.

Bloodline (Celestial) - Superior Resistance
Your celestial blood better protects you from harm.
Prerequisites: Bloodline (Celestial) - Improved Resistance, character level 19th.
Benefit: You gain resist electricity 10, resist fire 10, and a +4 racial bonus on saves against poison.

Bloodline (Celestial) - Ascension
Your celestial blood grants you supernatural conviction.
Prerequisites: Celestial Bloodline, character level 20th.
Benefit:You gain immunity to acid, cold, and petrification. You also gain the tongues ability, allowing you to speak with any creature that has a language. These benefits are supernatural abilities.

Do the above to each bloodline, then give sorcerers the following progression:

1st - Bloodline, cantrip, eschew materials
3rd - Bonus feat, sorcerous blood
7th - Bonus feat
11th - Bonus feat
15th - Bonus feat
19th - Bonus feat
20th - Bloodline

Bloodline: At 1st level and again at 20th level, a sorcerer gains a bloodline feat whose prerequisites he meets as a bonus feat.

Bonus Feats: At 3rd level and every four levels thereafter, a sorcerer gains a bonus feat. He must select either a bloodline feat whose prerequisites he meets or a metamagic feat whose prerequisites he meets.

Sorcerous Blood: Starting at 3rd level, a sorcerer gains bonus spells based on the bonus bloodline feat he selected on 1st level. [Followed by a list of bloodlines and their related bonus spells.]

EDIT: Tweaked a few of my sample bloodline feats and put them in a spoiler.

[Epic Meepo]

primemover003 wrote:

Meepo I don't see your problem.

I have a group of three players, and because they all want to have bloodlines, no one wants to play a warrior, a rogue, or a cleric. Actually, they want to, but they can't. So I get a party of three sorcerers, each trying to fill any role except arcane caster.

Hence, I suggest converting the bloodlines into feat trees and giving sorcerers bonus bloodline feats to retain their emphasis on bloodlines.

[primemover003]

Again what's wrong... let them play. It's about having fun, not doing things the right way.

As Drago said in Rocky, "If he dies, he dies."

--Vrock the Vote!

[Epic Meepo]

primemover003 wrote:

Again what's wrong...

Your opinion is noted.

Now, does anyone who sympathizes with the plight of my pigeonholed players have any comments (or suggestions, a la Jason Nelson, above)?

[seekerofshadowlight]

I myself am not seeing an issue, my players normal do not use any type of casters.

At lest your guys will have spells they cant get the bloodline powers if they dont level in sorcerer anyhow.