I am currently in the midst of creating a campaign setting that takes place in an ancient time period in the dawn of civilization.
You can find my initial brainstorm here.
First a few additions to make. If you just want to answer my questions they can be found below and the header for them is bolded.
1. The world will be made up of both small city states and nomadic tribes. The towns are ruled over by only the highest of sorcerer's and populated by lesser sorcerers learning their craft and several craftsman whose professions require sedentary lifestyle (copper-smiths and wheat farmers primarily) in addition to servants. The nomadic tribes will live in the plains between these city states and will be ruled over by lesser sorcerers.
2. The ruler of a tribe need not be of that tribe, if a tribe finds itself without a sorcerer to rule it it will be assigned one.
3. Clerics do not exist in this civilization, while religion and spirit worship exist there is no truly organized clergy to birth clerics. Similarly inquisitors and paladins do not exist.
4. The society is made up of almost entirely humans. Halflings are known to them and occaisionally enslaved but not active members in the society. Orcs are known and some half orcs exist in the more excentric clans but mostly the confrontations end in bloodshed, there is no common tongue between humans and orcs. Humans have met dwarves who taught them the secrets of copper-smithing and taught them the secrets or rune writing, which they had learned from the elves. Elves and humans have never made contact in this world. Although the elves have heard of humans through their mutual acquaintance of the dwarves. The human tongue is almost completely unknown to the elves, and only those who spend time with dwarves are likely to know any.
5. Druids and witches exist but are scorned by the society as demon worshippers and feared throughout the society. This coupled with the fact that the two sects do not engage in evangelism has stopped them from being a threat to the society.
My questions
1. Which would you say are the three most powerful of the sorcerer bloodlines, all else being equal. Of them who is the most powerful.
2. I am trying to make components an especially important part of this playthrough, as in my interpretation the material components are the source of the wizards actual magical energies and the thing that sets them apart. I'm considering changing the material components so that they are divided by which domain they align with and thus simplifying it to a manageable level. Do you think this will work? Are there any better ways to go about this.
3. As I expect player created spells to be fairly common in this universe what guidelines would you give me to avoid making them get overpowered.
4. I'm probably going to make this a sandbox campaign as opposed to any set in stone storyline, any advice for how to prepare for this?
5. Any other suggestions or ideas.
Thank you for your time.
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1. This is a really hard question to answer - there are certainly stronger and weaker bloodlines, but they're too close to easily rank. It's easier to pick top bloodlines for specific purposes. For example, the Fey bloodline is great for controllers, while the Orc bloodline is fantastic for battle sorcerers. Consider skimming this guide on bloodlines to get a sense for their relative power. But keep in mind that there's a lot more that contributes to a sorcerer's overall power than their choice of bloodline. Arcane is pretty widely considered top-notch, though.
2. Domain as in spell school, as in powdered snakeskin being useful for transmutations? Or descriptor, as in powdered ruby is useful for fire spells? Or general effect, as in arrowroot is used for spells that enhance or create ranged weapons? That should be do-able. The more general your "domains" are and the less overlap there is between them the easier it will be to keep track of. So for example having all components match exactly one school would be quite easy. However it's not necessarily the most flavourful.
3. Model them closely off existing spells and be prepared to adjust the spell if it proves disruptive in play - ensure your players understand that such adjustments may be made. Consider changing the flavour of an existing spell rather than making a new one. For example, if the player wants to be able to summon semi-solid shadows to protect a character, use the shield or mage armour spell but describe the effect as composed of shadows.
4. Try to do as much preparation as you can in advance, and be prepared to improvise through any gaps. You have less ability to flesh out just a few sessions ahead of the players than you would in a more linear campaign - though if you can get the players to give you a heads-up on where they're headed that gives you more opportunity to prep appropriately. Having a map pre-prepared with attached encounters is particularly useful - that way, when the party goes to a particular location you can pull out the right encounter. It may be useful to have zones of the map with different CR ranges of encounters such that the party can gravitate towards level-appropriate zones (rather than trying to level each encounter with the PCs or let them run into a lot of very easy or very hard fights at random). It's also a good idea to have a firm idea of what your world's major NPCs, locations, and events are so you can foreshadow them appropriately. Make sure your party has a motivation to explore, and give them the opportunity to find more modes of transportation as the campaign progresses, such as mounts, vehicles, or magical portals.
5. Try posting these concerns separately, you're more likely to get people weighing in.
Weirdo's advice is good, but I'd like to add that the Arcane Bloodline in general is regarded as the best, but that has less to do with raw power and more to do with giving the Sorcerer the extra flexibility that he craves. The fact that its bloodline spells and abilities are very generic and can fit on any build makes it easy to just slap onto a Sorcerer concept and call it a day.
1. Which would you say are the three most powerful of the sorcerer bloodlines, all else being equal. Of them who is the most powerful.
Arcane, Impossible (because of magic item crafting), and probably Fey. If you're talking high level (15th+) then Abyssal edges its way on the list.
2. I am trying to make components an especially important part of this playthrough, as in my interpretation the material components are the source of the wizards actual magical energies and the thing that sets them apart. I'm considering changing the material components so that they are divided by which domain they align with and thus simplifying it to a manageable level. Do you think this will work? Are there any better ways to go about this.
Since everything is controlled by Sorcerers, and they get Eschew Materials as a bonus feat, I feel like you're focusing on the wrong thing here.
And Material Components are not the source of a wizard's power because there are lots and lots of spells without Material Components.
3. As I expect player created spells to be fairly common in this universe what guidelines would you give me to avoid making them get overpowered.
I honestly would not allow this at all. I would only let them "create" existing spells (Oh, you invented "Scorching Ray!"), or reskin existing spells ("Oh, you learned Acid Ball [which is exactly like Fireball but with Acid damage]). Otherwise, they're going to wreck the game with it.
4. I'm probably going to make this a sandbox campaign as opposed to any set in stone storyline, any advice for how to prepare for this?
I don't really know how to answer this--I only run sandbox games, so, I don't know how to contrast what you'd do to plan a set story. Frankly, I wouldn't even know how to begin running a game with a specific, set storyline.
5. Any other suggestions or ideas.
Figure out what place Bloodragers have in this setting, since they use Sorcerer bloodlines, too.
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2. I am trying to make components an especially important part of this playthrough, as in my interpretation the material components are the source of the wizards actual magical energies and the thing that sets them apart. I'm considering changing the material components so that they are divided by which domain they align with and thus simplifying it to a manageable level. Do you think this will work? Are there any better ways to go about this.Since everything is controlled by Sorcerers, and they get Eschew Materials as a bonus feat, I feel like you're focusing on the wrong thing here.
And Material Components are not the source of a wizard's power because there are lots and lots of spells without Material Components.
This is in the other thread OP linked - wizards are a relatively new development in the world and potential challengers of the sorcerers' power. OP is also planning on making material components more significant for wizards, including a requirement that they be tracked - hence being interested in components that work for multiple similar spells.
Clerics do not exist in this civilization, while religion and spirit worship exist there is no truly organized clergy to birth clerics. Similarly inquisitors and paladins do not exist.
**I assume this means that traditional deity-based divine magic does not exist. This would include clerics, paladins, inquisitors, and warpriests. Is that all of them? Since you mention druids in the next part, I assume this means that nature-based divine magic does exist. So, druids, rangers, and hunters are in. Will you be giving cure spells to the arcane classes?
1. Which would you say are the three most powerful of the sorcerer bloodlines, all else being equal. Of them who is the most powerful.
**As a GM who is creating a gaming world full of unique elements, this is not the question you should be asking. The question to ask yourself is "Which bloodlines are the most fitting for my campaign world?"
2. I am trying to make components an especially important part of this playthrough, as in my interpretation the material components are the source of the wizards actual magical energies and the thing that sets them apart. I'm considering changing the material components so that they are divided by which domain they align with and thus simplifying it to a manageable level. Do you think this will work? Are there any better ways to go about this.
**Interesting. The wizard is limited not by spells known, but rather by what material components he has? So if I can't get enough bat guano, then fireballs are out. I know you want a simplified system, perhaps organized by domain or school of magic, but that could very well force someone into not casting much outside of that school. Doing it by specific spell would be... burdensome. I guess I would keep the standard spells per day, grant them access to all wizard spells (or maybe just the ones for which they can handle a Spellcraft DC), and limit them by what material components they have. The booking thereafter will get burdensome.
3. As I expect player created spells to be fairly common in this universe what guidelines would you give me to avoid making them get overpowered.
**Why do you expect them to create a lot of spells? The only guideline is to compare it to existing spells. Then its up you to choose an appropriate spell level, maybe decide if it needs expensive components. There is no way to answer this in a helpful way without analyzing the specific spell. A simpler approach would be to not encourage custom spells.
4. I'm probably going to make this a sandbox campaign as opposed to any set in stone storyline, any advice for how to prepare for this?
**Make decisions that color the world as a whole (like you have already started to do). Next decide where the adventure will take. You don't need the whole world until later. Come up with names of some specific places in that region. Devise details for those areas that will make them unique, but leave enough breathing room so you can improvise when you need to. Come up with some unique NPCs that have a name, location, motivations, and some general details. They don't need character sheets unless the party is going to fight them.
5. Any other suggestions or ideas.
**When doing your writing, decide when to elaborate and when to keep it simple. A lot of the stuff you write will never come to life, so focus on where the PCs will be going. The details should aid improvisation, not hinder it. Also, since this is a new world you can make them feel like their actions make a difference.
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It's possible OP was asking about powerful bloodlines in order to establish a pecking order between different kinds of sorcerers, with the idea that the sorcerers with bloodline that has a reputation for greater power would get more respect. That would be a neat variation on the historical politics involved with noble families.
Yeah that's basically what I'm going for. All else being equal which sorcerer bloodlines would rise to prominence.