First and foremost, I am going for more of a concept, a certain flavor... not looking for ultimate power, although, it is a Bloatmage.
So, the concept I have in mind involves Obedience to Shax, and an obsession with blood. I was thinking Tiefling with the alternative racial feature that allows one to bleed 5sp worth of "precious blood" per day. Not really sure who is buying Tiefling blood, or what it is used for, but that is what spawned the idea.
Obviously, I am quite interested in the Blood Money spell... but that means I can't be a Vampire. Drinking blood seemed to fit the flavor... sad I have to choose between Vampire and this spell, since the spell fits the Tiefling bleeding 5sp thing perfectly. I could make it a whole pile of gross, and go with the Worm that Walks template instead of Vampire. The thought of this massive, swollen sack of bloody worms is probably something I can work with. The worms are cool and all, but it's still not the same as drinking it, though.
So, blood, magic in the blood, precious blood... figured Sorcerer is a natural fit, because reasons. But here is where another small problem arises... obviously one would want to trade the Bloodline Powers at 1,3,9 away for Blood Havoc/Insensity/Piercing... right? Bloodline Mutations seem to fit the theme.
Well that means staying in Sorcerer for two more levels than what is required to get into Bloatmage. Not too big of a deal, but it means it's a 19 level build. It's just the other Shax zealot I built pulled off getting all 10 levels of Holy Vindicator in 15 levels... ended up grabbing a 6th level of Rampager Antipaladin just so the build would finish at 16HD... Shax's 2nd Exalted Obedience turns bleed into fast healing, and the Holy Vindicator's Stigmata is a bleed effect.
Anyways, this Bloatmage build is turning out to be several HD separated, when I originally had them set to be partners in crime... possibly even siblings. Still could, and honestly, I don't have to explain such differences for NPC's. Lol. And if this Bloatmage is going to end up with a noticeable amount of extra HD, I might as well make it noticeably worth it, right?
So, is Sorcerer the right choice for Bloatmage? Crossblooded, maybe? Sorcerer has the Blood Money spell, opens up Bloodline Mutations, and literally has magic in its blood. Crossblooded would fit the theme when you consider that the Bloatmage can drink Sorcerer blood to pick up Bloodline Powers. I like to think of it as drinking Sorcerer blood to pick up the Bloodline Powers that you either sacrificed for the Bloodline Mutations. Like you gave up your Bloodline Powers for these Mutations, so now you steal the powers of other Sorcerers by drinking their blood.
Is Fireball cool again? Or is Battering Blast still the spell to beat? I have seen a lot of talk about Magic Trick Fireball/Cluster Bombs/Concentrated Fire.
Bloodline, or Bloodlines? Good old Draconic/Orc?
Is Sorcerer the right class for this? Maybe the one level dip in Sorcerer, then School Savant Arcanist (Evocation/Admixture?)... does Bloodline Development allow you to trade out Bloodline Powers for Mutations?
Remember you can trade bloodline feats for bloodline mutations too. 1, 3, 7; perfect.
If you read cluster bomb as bypassing all limits on the fireball damage it makes for an easily optimised spell. Still, intensified battering blast goes quadratic and 4 force blasts @ 10d6 each is probably better than 10 stacking 3d6 minifireballs due to the existence of fire resistance/immunity as well as the total.
Battering Blast works. Doesn't have to be perfect... and keeping track of four blasts is easier than ten minifireballs.
And I didn't actually know you could trade out a Bloodline Feat for a Mutation, so that does cut down on the overall levels to pull it off.
Which Bloodline(s)? I don't think Force is a choice for Draconic...
Orc has a general damage bonus, astral gives free quicken, arcane does metamagic without a casting time increase, daemon adds to caster level as you stack kills, wildblooded (retribution) can reduce the cost of metamagic, wildblooded (sage or empyreal) can change your casting stat.
Orc's probably the best for blasting but there should be enough there to give you options to fit your mental image.