What started out as a racial bloodline for my game ended up being a pretty general 'mysticism' bloodline which one could easily find a place for in a number of settings. Tell me what you think.
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You were born with a deep connection to and understanding of the “dream world”- some force or place representing the collective unconscious of all creatures, which most only visit fleetingly. At times you seem to know things which you logically shouldn’t; or perhaps the images from your dreams dance around you for all to see.
Class Skill: Sense Motive
Bonus Spells: Hypnotism (3rd), Detect Thoughts (5th), Deep slumber (7th), Hallucinatory Terrain (9th), Dream (11th), Permanent Image (13th), Vision (15th), Moment of Prescience (17th), Astral Projection (19th)
Bonus Feats: Blind-Fight, Craft Wondrous Item, Extend Spell, Improved Iron Will, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Skill Focus (Sense Motive), Spell Focus (Divination or Illusion)
Bloodline Arcana: When casting certain spells you may touch briefly with the dream-world, either searching it to improve your divinations or bringing the dream-stuff back with you to improve your illusions. By tripling the casting time of an illusion or divination spell (with a minimum of 3 full rounds), you may add +2 to the caster level of a divination or +2 to the save DC of an illusion. When casting a spell in this way you enter a trance-like state and are considered completely helpless.
Bloodline Powers: As dream sorcerers grow in power they become more and more disconnected from the waking world, but as they do they grow closer to a much broader and more profound reality: one which closely mirrors the first. It is not vacancy which clouds a dream sorcerers eyes, but hyper-consciousness.
Dream Touch (Su): At first level, you may cause an explosion of startling and profound visions to burst into a target’s mind with a touch. If used on a foe, this causes the target of a touch attack to be staggered for 2 rounds. If used on a friend or on yourself, this grants an insight bonus equal to half your sorcerer level (minimum 1) to a single d20 roll of your choice, as long as that roll is made within the next 2 rounds. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your charisma modifier.
Dream Visions (Sp): At 3rd level your dreams are filled with mystical portents and visions, granting you the benefits of an augury spell once per day (as long as you gain 8 hours of rest the night before). These insights apply to a situation that you will find yourself in at some point during the following day, though you don’t recognize their meaning until the moment this comes to be. At this time (chosen by you, the player) you gain the augury’s insight as if you had instantly cast it on the spot. Remember that, once activated, an augury never accounts for events taking place more than half an hour in the future.
At 11th level, this insight acts as a divination spell. In either case, this ability requires no material components.
Dreaming Awake (Ex): At 9th level, you are not considered helpless when asleep. You cannot take move, standard, or swift actions while resting, but are otherwise treated exactly as if awake. You can listen, speak (vacantly), and even move about (slowly, using 5-foot steps). You suffer no penalty to perception or other reactive skill checks when asleep and can “wake up” instantly any time you want (this renders you functionally immune to sleep effects). Remember that any serious interruption to your night’s rest still adds 1 hour to the total time you must rest before refreshing spells.
At 13th level, you may use your bloodline arcana without increasing the casting time (or becoming helpless) once per day. At 17th, you may do this twice per day. At 20th level, this ability is replaced by Ever Dreaming.
Doom Foreseen (Su): At 9th level, once per day, you may roll a spellcraft check to use in place of your armor class or saving throw. You may make this decision even after the results of an attack (such as damage) have already been determined. Success indicates that your dreams have given you a cryptic warning against this threat and that you took measures to prevent it: for instance, you dreams may have urged you to wear a metal amulet which ends up stopping a poisoned arrow.
At 19th level, you may use this ability twice per day.
Ever Dreaming (Ex): At 20th level you are always in a trance-like state of hyperconsciousness, in perpetual contact with the world of dreams. You never need to rest and can refresh your spells (or other abilities which require you to rest 8 hours first) any time you like, though no more than once in any 24 hour period, and refreshing spells still requires 15 minutes of concentration. You may use your bloodline arcana on any divination or illusion spell that you cast, without increasing the casting time or becoming helpless. You can use your Dreaming Touch at will, and applying its benefits to yourself is a swift (rather than standard) action.
I like it. About the only problem I see is being able to memorize spells in 15 minutes instead of 60; 15 minutes is for when a prepared caster wants to memorize a spell in a slot they left open when they were otherwise preparing spells. Still, that's more of a nitpick; since you do limit it to once per 24 hour period, it's not exactly overpowered.
Actually, bards and sorcerers only need to concentrate for 15 minutes to refresh their spells anyway (I would not know this if I hadn't just looked it up when writing the bloodline).
And thank you. :)
Really? Neat. Is that a change from 3.5? I could have sworn everyone needed an hour in 3.5.
Apparently not, though I had to look that up too (it's been awhile since I've run a standard 3.5 game and I couldn't remember either).
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicOverview/arcaneSpells.htm#dailyReadyingofSpe lls
I must say, I like.
Truthfully, I wasn't a big fan of the bloodline idea for a few reasons. One was that I felt they didn't really give the sorcerer anything (mostly it was claw attacks, some immunites, and abilities which come off as lesser spells) and another was that the sorcerers become stranger with levels. I feel things like grotwh spourts should be a restul of age, not level.
Having said that, bloodlines like this (and the martial one) are ones that I really do have a soft spot for, not only because they're imaginative, but because they also strip away my two biggest problems with bloodlines. I wouldn't mind seeing more like this.
Edit: Since it's not somthing many games will see, it'll likely be for fluff reasons more than anything, but have you considered Dreamscape related abilitles? It's a type of place described in Heroes of Horror.
Granting somthing like a +1 bonus to spell DC's whilst dreaming, or the ability to ignore some of the normal problems with spells in a Dream would make a Dream Sorcerer more powerful in the Dreamscape, but it wouldn't exactly be an overpowering ability since very few games would even use them, but at the same time would fit the feel of such a sorcerer.
Edit: Since it's not somthing many games will see, it'll likely be for fluff reasons more than anything, but have you considered Dreamscape related abilitles? It's a type of place described in Heroes of Horror.Granting somthing like a +1 bonus to spell DC's whilst dreaming, or the ability to ignore some of the normal problems with spells in a Dream would make a Dream Sorcerer more powerful in the Dreamscape, but it wouldn't exactly be an overpowering ability since very few games would even use them, but at the same time would fit the feel of such a sorcerer.
If I was running a setting with a "dreamworld" (as per Call of Cthulhu or, yea, HoH) I would do this completely differently. Ptolus has its own implied metaphysics for dreams, but it has more to do with a flow of ideas and inspiration into the world.
I was tempted to have it interface with my elfdream mechanics, but ended up deciding to let the two mechanics stand apart.
Hydro, I like this VERY much. This is more than I was actually looking for. Full of flavor. It will really see some use in my Eberron campaign. Great for Kalashtar & the Dreaming Dark. This would be really nasty with the Quori.
Very cool. I like the mix of divination, enchantment and illusion spells.
Reminds me of the exchange, "A dream?" "A dream to some. A nightmare, to others!"
Merlin. In the movie Excalibur. Early '80s.
Hydro, I like this VERY much. This is more than I was actually looking for. Full of flavor. It will really see some use in my Eberron campaign. Great for Kalashtar & the Dreaming Dark. This would be really nasty with the Quori.
Glad you like it! You'll have to let me know how things go if it sees play. :)
(Let's see if this goes to the right thread this time)
I like this, overall I think it is a very interesting bloodline. With a few minor changes I could easily see me using this in my game.
I do have one criticism, I do not like the bloodline arcana. I feel that it is too expensive of a cost for the benefit gained. Tripling the casting time for these spells makes the ability only usable outside of combat situations, which defeats the purpose of having the cost to use the ability.
Outside of an encounter situation, the restriction is irrelevant because it doesn't matter how many rounds go by. In any situation where the restriction would be an issue (such as combat) it seems too restrictive, I would never want to use 3 full rounds to cast any Illusion or Divination. The benefit gained by these spells is just not worth spending 3 full rounds doing nothing except hoping an enemy does not get close enough to coup de grace.
Off the top of my head, I cannot think of anything to replace/modify the ability with, I will have to think on it. As I already said though, I otherwise like this bloodline quite a lot. Great work!
I have to say it:
"So you had a wet dream and now you have a son? Told you not to masturbate."