Hi all, I posted this in another forum, but wasn't sure if I had placed it right. For anyone who is interested, I created a Rakshasa bloodline for sorcerers. Enjoy.
Brilliant and malevolent, full-blooded Rakshasas are nefarious outsiders who cherish power above all else. In their far-ranging quest for self-pleasure and status, Rakshasa often pay little heed to the lives they destroy in their wake. Some of the more nomadic of the race have scattered mixed progeny across the realm of Golarion – a rare event indeed. The influence of these bloodlines have enhanced sorcerous tendencies in some of the more common of races.
Class Skill: Diplomacy
Bonus Spells: Disguise self (3rd), detect thoughts (5th), displacement (7th), phantasmal killer (9th), baleful polymorph (11th), disintegrate (13th), greater polymorph (15th), iron body (17th), time stop (19th).
Bonus Feats: Alertness, Combat Casting, Dodge, Quicken Spell, Improved Initiative, Spell Focus, Persuasive, Spell Penetration
Bloodline Powers: Tainted by the power of the mystical Rakshasa, you gain many powers that illustrate your power over mind, body and time.
Claw Force Ray (Su): Starting at 1st level, you can unleash a force-based ray that takes on the shape of a tiger claw. To do so is a standard action, targeting any foe within 30 feet as a ranged touch attack. The Claw Force Ray deals 1d6 points of force damage +1 for every two caster levels you possess.
Arcane Barrier (Su): At 3rd level, you gain +1 on all saves versus arcane spells. As you begin to exhibit more control over your body, you also gain DR 1/Piercing, which increases to DR 2 at 7th, DR 3 at 11th, DR 4 at 15th and DR 5 at 19th.
Zero Presence (Su): At 9th level, you can turn invisible a number of rounds equal to your caster level. This ability functions as greater invisibility. These rounds need not be consecutive.
Revealing Eye (Su): At 15th level, you gain the ability to see things as they really are. This ability functions as True Seeing at half your level (thus 15th level sorcerers could use it for 7 minutes) but it does not need to be used in consecutive rounds as the spell. To activate the ability is a standard action.
Empty Mind, Empty Body (Su): At 20th level, you’ve gained a form of mastery over your mind and physical form, granting you a continuous mind blank effect. In addition, your saving throw bonus versus arcane spells increases to +3 and you can go ethereal once per day as the spell ethereal jaunt for your level.
Initial glance, I like it.
I'd lower the claw ray down to 1d3+ just because it's a force effect.
I like it too. Of course, that probably means it's better than the bloodlines that exist now. Seems like they all have one or two things that make me go bleh.
Bah! No self respecting Dwarf worth his beard would ever have anything to do with sorcerers! Now a cleric of Torag ... that's a class a Dwarf can be proud of!
Just kidding! Seriously, I like it. I think the new bloodline aspect of Pathfinder sorcerers offers a potential goldmine of untapped potential ...
Thanks Matthew, I think that's a good idea. I appreciate everyone's feedback. Note on the force effect - at d6+1 it is simply in line with the other bloodline powers at lvl. 1 and I thought it a bit more creative to make it a force effect.
And Dalgrim, you are just jealous because your blood is untainted!
I generally dislike anything that has True Seeing as an ability, because the power is better known at Hose All Illusionists.
I'm also a little surprised at a rakshasa bloodline that has no illusion powers, other than the ability to hose them.
And the Ray of Flaming Tiger Claws looks more like a maneuver from Mortal Combat than anything a self-respecting tricksy rakshasa would want anything to do with.
Kevin,
Good points all! Too bad so sad for illusionists I think. The Sorcerer will have the capability to cast True Seeing at 12th - he gets this at 15th. The mortal combat maneuver is to add flavor, but I get your gist. Again, I am considering that the majority of first level bloodlines get some sort of ray or spell effect that can serve offensive purposes, but I suppose it could take the form of some lower-tier phantasm affect with a will save.
There's a difference between True Seeing as a supernatural ability and True Seeing as a spell. As a spell, an illusionist with the right feats or gnomish illusionist substitution level can can make it an arm-wrestling contest as to whether the illusion is seen through. With a supernatural ability, however, it becomes a matter of rules-lawyering with RAW vs. RAI and various other things. Why not just put True Seeing on the spell list instead, rather than Disintegrate or something else which sounds more like Munchkin blood than Rakshasa blood? And as a special power at that level, give them something that makes their illusions harder to disbelieve, as with the gnomes in Races of Stone and Faerun?
And the mortal combat flavored thingus would work better for a monk of the Flying Tiger Claw prestige class, IMHO.
Excellent insight. I think also that Suggestion might be a good choice for one of his bonus spells. The only other flavor that I think needs played up a bit more would be his shapechanging/polymorph capabilities. To create a more conservative version (something that would be publishable, not just my home build), possibly replacing what you perceive as a "mortal kombat" ability with a Charm Person ability might stay truer to the Rakshasa build. However, check out the other bloodlines. My first draft started with a "Phantasmal Force" ray except that I couldn't reconcile the fact that a phantasm gets a will save and that I wanted a ray that would be a ranged touch attack. So I applied simple creativity, just naming it "Tiger Claw Ray" -- to you a monkish thing -- to me playing off of his tiger-like physical nature. It is simply a naming convention.
Anyway...everyone's input is awesome.