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Sorcerer is my favorite class, and I gotta say a huge part of the reason why is the bloodlines.
The sheer variety of different abilities and options, all with their own mostly-unique heritages and mechanics to go with them leave me starstruck in a way few other classes can match.
That being said, while I find myself charmed and drawn in by the flavor of most bloodlines, some do stand head and shoulders above others in my assessment.
My top 5 Bloodlines would have to be
1) Aberrant - One of the three big authors who primarily shaped the way I interact with fantasy, science fiction, and horror literature is Howard Phillips Lovecraft. Since I was young, I have held an intense fascination with misshapen otherness and things that should not be. The Aberrant Bloodline embodies these ideas perfectly so there's no way it's not going to the top of the list.
2) Vestige - Since I was an incredibly small child, I have always been obsessed with the distant past. Hidden away in the Blood of the Ancients Player Companion lies the perfect bloodline to bring that past to life. Also, even if one ignores the ancient past thing, having your own mindscape is just badass.
3) Draconic - Okay, I promise not all of these Bloodlines will just be "oh I really liked this thing since I was a kid so that's why this is one of my favorites" but out of the three that are, this one is actually the most so. When I was a kid, I was obsessed with dragons. I had dragon books, dragon paintings, dragon shirts, dragon stuffed animals - everything and I do mean everything was about dragons. Now, I've cooled it with the dragons by a lot but I still love them and they hold a special place in my heart.
4) Boreal - I know this is gonna be a controversial pick, cos from my admittedly limited understanding, common consensus is the Boreal Bloodline is hot garbage, and while I agree it isn't the most powerful, it is the most cohesive cold/winter-themed Bloodline in Pathfinder, and it's also got some genuinely really cool abilities (pun intended). There are a lot of things that feel magical about winter and about the extreme north and south of our world, and it seems downright tragic to me that I was born just in time to watch this magic fade.
5) Impossible - This one is a bit harder to pin down on why exactly I like it and what's so cool about it. I was immediately grabbed by the Relativity bloodline power, but even outside of that, the Impossible Bloodline is just full of weird and quirky shit that does fit together in a cohesive manner but at the same time is strangely hard to describe. The name, I suppose, is fitting.
Now that I've explained what my favorite Bloodlines are and why, what are your favorite Bloodlines? Why do you like them so much?
Phoenix and Unicorn, preferably together with the Crossblooded archetype. This is how I go about making a Sorcerer that passively heals the party as they sling spells. Mix it up with a bit of Words of Power and I call that a win (helps offset the spells known issue with Crossblooded).
The Solar bloodline has a lot of good abilities. If you are in an undead heavy campaign this bloodline is incredibly good. Searing light as a 1st level spell can dish out some serious damage vs undead. Sunbeam is also incredibly powerful vs undead. Fire Resistance is always useful especially when it is you gain a decent amount at low levels. Many of its spells are not normally on the sorcerer's spell list so make them somewhat unique.
Arcane, because Metamagic Adept still turns into Arcane Apotheosis, even with VMC. Lol.
Destined, because Luck bonus.
Draconic for my Dragon Disciples... mostly Kobolds VMC Sorcerer on divine spellcasting classes using the Scaled Disciple feat... completely unnecessary, but I like the flavor.
Harrow, again VMC, for my Fortune-Teller Bard/Harrower.
Impossible crossblooded with Nanite turned out wonderfully on my Android Lich.
Serpentine, because bite attack.
Phoenix and Unicorn, preferably together with the Crossblooded archetype. This is how I go about making a Sorcerer that passively heals the party as they sling spells. Mix it up with a bit of Words of Power and I call that a win (helps offset the spells known issue with Crossblooded).
I think I watched a YouTube video that talked about the Crossblooded archetype using those two Bloodlines as an example - did you by chance make that video or is it just a common combination?
I think I watched a YouTube video that talked about the Crossblooded archetype using those two Bloodlines as an example - did you by chance make that video or is it just a common combination?
No. I haven't made any videos. I am curious as to how old that video is, though. I have no idea of how common the combination is. I've made a few posts about a build that uses Arcanist, Wizard, and Sorcerer (all at once) with those bloodlines on these forums but it never seemed to garner much attention. After seeing it in play, it is by far my favorite 'pure caster type' build I've ever used.
I think I watched a YouTube video that talked about the Crossblooded archetype using those two Bloodlines as an example - did you by chance make that video or is it just a common combination?No. I haven't made any videos. I am curious as to how old that video is, though. I have no idea of how common the combination is. I've made a few posts about a build that uses Arcanist, Wizard, and Sorcerer (all at once) with those bloodlines on these forums but it never seemed to garner much attention. After seeing it in play, it is by far my favorite 'pure caster type' build I've ever used.
Here's the link. The video was created 2 years ago.
Interesting. I hadn't ever seen that particular video before (sound is waaaaaay too quiet, had to crank my speakers to max to hear anything). Seems to be mostly an introduction to the Crossblooded archetype in general.
I was toying around with the idea of a Crossblooded Sorcerer using those bloodlines about the same time as the video was posted but didn't post my particular build until December of the same year, after I had refined the idea a bit. Good ideas seem to be almost universal, eh?
But, back on topic... For stand alone bloodlines (ie, no crossblooded), I liked Verdant when I fist started playing. That built in 'ring of sustenance' effect is amazing. Sure, its overshadowed later on with wealth, but you never actually have to use up a ring slot for it.
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Kobold bloodline. Start as Human, 18 Cha, and start with spell focus/greater spell focus in some school you'll want to use a lot. Finally use a trait to pick up Stealth as a Class skill. Now any time from L1 on that you cast spells from that school from Stealth, under Invisibility or Improved Invisibility, if you beat your enemy's Initiative or any other time they're denied Dex bonus, the DC of your spell is DC 18 and up.
Another fun thing about the kobold bloodline; you can have multiple spell traps active at one time. With an 18 Cha at L1, if you have enough time to set them up ahead of time, you can open up a fight with 7 traps littering the battlefield, each dealing 1d8+1 points of energy damage and that energy type is determined when creating the trap.
By 9th level you have 4th level spells. The Arcane Ambush gives you a Swift action to hand out anywhere from +1 to +4 to all attack and damage to yourself and up to two allies, and those numbers will go up from there. Granted the bonuses only last 1 round but if you have to nova this is a decent boost. Downsides are that your foe or foes need to either be flanked by your allies or denied their Dex bonuses and you have to expend a spell slot to use the ability. I still think this has merit.
Of course, I've only ever built NPCs with this bloodline. Still, they ended up being very effective at their jobs; remain invisible as long as possible, using buff spells on a big boss, then melt out of the invisibility to be blaster casters, preferably staggering their attacks so that after the first one attacks the next round a second NPC appears, gaining the bloodline arcana while the first one finds some Cover and spends a round entering Stealth, only to reappear in round 3 and so on.
I should add that you'd need Racial Heritage in order to take the Kobold Bloodline as a human tho
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Aquatic
Celestial
Draconic
Elemental
Fey
Phoenix
Psychic
Unicorn
Starsoul
Verdant
I really do like the Kobold Bloodline, as well. Especially for Kobolds. Lol. Kobolds have the Spellcaster Sneak alternative racial feature, which can be combined with the Unseen but not Undone magic trait to 1/day cast a Bloodline Spell with both Silent Spell and Still Spell. It's neat, and can be relatively effective when crossblooded with a Bloodline that has particularly fun spells associated with it.
I also like to give Faerie Dragons the Ensorcelled Creature template, and give them the Kobold Bloodline... little dragons be little dragons, close enough, right? Anyways, Faerie Dragons already cast as 3rd-level Sorcerers, so the template makes sense... and the Kobold Bloodline goes very well with their 3/day Greater Invisibility SLA.
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My PFS sorcerer is a nagaji with the serpentine bloodline. The choice was originally just for flavor--super-snaky snake! He's 10th level but very ill-suited to melee combat, so has only ever manifested his 1st-level fangs ability a handful of times (and has never actually bitten anyone, just threatened to). On the other hand, speaking with reptiles and expanding the creature types on which he can use his mind-affecting spells have both proved very useful over his career.
My favorite thing to do with Bloodlines is not make them Bloodlines. Instead, look at them like comic book super hero origin stories. Maybe your Aberrant blooded PC bore witness to some alien arrival from the Far Realms and was warped by Void energy or something. Maybe your Draconic sorcerer underwent an elaborate rite and had their heart replaced with a dragon's and now they have these powers. There's mad alchemists with super sorcerer serums, vermin (spiders) that could bite the PC and pass along powers, vats of alchemical waste a PC could fall into and so on.
I'm saying I like the flavor of bloodlines as much as I like the powers themselves.
My original response was all about how I couldn't care less about the "power" of each of the Bloodlines, and how I use them solely for flavor... not having a favorite Bloodline in general, but having a favorite for a particular build/character. However, that reply was lost to the whims of technology I will never understand.
I do use Bloodlines as kind of background/origin stories, too. Very, very seldom do I ever pick a Bloodline for mechanical reasons.
My favorite thing to do with Bloodlines is not make them Bloodlines. Instead, look at them like comic book super hero origin stories. Maybe your Aberrant blooded PC bore witness to some alien arrival from the Far Realms and was warped by Void energy or something. Maybe your Draconic sorcerer underwent an elaborate rite and had their heart replaced with a dragon's and now they have these powers. There's mad alchemists with super sorcerer serums, vermin (spiders) that could bite the PC and pass along powers, vats of alchemical waste a PC could fall into and so on.
I'm saying I like the flavor of bloodlines as much as I like the powers themselves.
My original response was all about how I couldn't care less about the "power" of each of the Bloodlines, and how I use them solely for flavor... not having a favorite Bloodline in general, but having a favorite for a particular build/character. However, that reply was lost to the whims of technology I will never understand.
I do use Bloodlines as kind of background/origin stories, too. Very, very seldom do I ever pick a Bloodline for mechanical reasons.
Same, I don't really care about how powerful a Bloodline is, I always pick Bloodlines for flavor.
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Phoenix and Unicorn, preferably together with the Crossblooded archetype. This is how I go about making a Sorcerer that passively heals the party as they sling spells. Mix it up with a bit of Words of Power and I call that a win (helps offset the spells known issue with Crossblooded).
Interesting my preference is crossblooded phoenix and arcane.
How about an enemy NPC for the heroes, crossblooded Psychic/Sage sorcerer. Several years ago a green, bloodborne alchemical substance infected the villain through an open wound and since then his head has grown freakishly large and green. Give him a lot of minions, like, he's the Leader of these minions...
I am just not getting this. I don't get the reference. Please explain it to me like I'm stupid... type slowly, because I can't read fast. Lol.
I mean, mechanically, I see a Crossblooded-Wildblooded Sorcerer, with the Elongated Cranium and Leadership feats... but why not just be a Psychic? We already have Intelligence-based spontaneous 9/9 spellcasters, so why all the extra steps just to be a Sorcerer? Because this thread is about Sorcerers? Lol.
But seriously, is there something about the Psychic/Sage combination that I am just completely missing? It's cool that the combo changes your spellcasting from arcane to psychic, AND your spellcasting stat from Charisma to Intelligence... that is a significant difference from your typical Sorcerer... is the Psychic spell list really just that bad?
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Mark is talking about the Hulk villain the Leader.
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I generally for blasting Sorcerers Like Elemental and Draconic or using the Cross-blooded archetype for the combination of the two.
The abyssal bloodline Summoner build is quite fun when you're playing a Neutral Character and the enemy needs Holy Weapons to hurt your summons.
I've also done more Social Games using Fey & Infernal as the cross-blooded Archetype for Mind Manipulator. Low levels are pretty meh, but once you start getting access to more charm and/or compulsion spells make for a pretty good "maker of friends"
(Although that was a very SLOOOOOOW little combat adventure so it likely wouldn't survive a non-social game)
My "favorite" bloodlines will mostly depend on the character concept. That said, there are a few stand-outs:
For blasting sorcerers (or blood arcanists), the Orc bloodline is the "optimal" choice, as the arcana applies to any spell that does damage: acid, bludgeoning, cold, electricity, fire, force, piercing, slashing, etc. The crossblooded archetype might be worthwhile to switch out the 1st-level bloodline power Touch of Rage for something more suited to the character. The Orc bloodline also has Strength of the Beast to add scaling inherent bonuses to Str, for those that want to be more combat-effective when not casting spells; works pretty well when crossblooded with Draconic and taking 4 levels of the dragon disciple PrC.
IMO, gnome sorcerers with the Fey bloodline are often underrated for their utility with compulsion and illusion spells.
For a "mind-manipulator" sorcerer, crossblooded with the Serpentine and Undead bloodlines allows the character to affect "animals, magical beasts, and monstrous humanoids," as well as "corporeal undead that were once humanoids" as if they were humanoids with their mind-affecting spells; this vastly expands the utility of their Enchantment school spells. Serpent's Fang, Death's Gift, Snakeskin, and Incorporeal Form are also decent choices for bloodline powers.
Wildblooded Celestial/Empyreal or Arcane/Sage are extremely useful to change the sorcerer casting to be based on either Wis or Int. Especially for races that have a Cha penalty or for a multiclassed character. Arcane/Sage is often more useful, as sorcerers tend to be skill-starved.
I generally for blasting Sorcerers Like Elemental and Draconic or using the Cross-blooded archetype for the combination of the two.
The abyssal bloodline Summoner build is quite fun when you're playing a Neutral Character and the enemy needs Holy Weapons to hurt your summons.
I've also done more Social Games using Fey & Infernal as the cross-blooded Archetype for Mind Manipulator. Low levels are pretty meh, but once you start getting access to more charm and/or compulsion spells make for a pretty good "maker of friends"
(Although that was a very SLOOOOOOW little combat adventure so it likely wouldn't survive a non-social game)
I actually had an idea for a build based on this:
Crossblooded White Dragon/Water Elemental Bloodline Sorcerer With the 1st and 9th Level powers of the Elemental Bloodline, the 3rd, 15th, and 20th Level powers of the Draconic Bloodline, and Eldritch Heritage for the 1st, 9th, and 15th level powers of the Boreal Bloodline. Pure ice blaster. Everything ice all ice all the time.
Abyssal: the flavor comes from the Arcana as much from the powers. You get Knowledge: Planes and creatures you summon through the Summoning subschool automatically get DR/Good = to 1/2 your Sorcerer level (min 1). In essence you're summoning creatures infused with the pure hatred and evil of the abyss protecting them from harm.
Think about that for a minute; when you cast a summoning spell, the Arcana doesn't mechanically change anything about the spell itself or the process in which you cast it. If you were any other arcane spellcaster your spell is no different, save for the fact that you Eschew Materials per the class ability.
No, your very nature funnels Abyssal energy INTO the creature summoned such that it requires an overwhelming aura of Good to fully ignore all of their defenses. That comes from you, meaning on some level it's inside of you, infecting you.
Claws? Lots of creatures and beings in this fantasy world have claws. Energy Resistances or a Strength increase? Even "Demonic Might" could be handwaved by a PC with a high Cha and lots of ranks in Bluff. Summoning creatures imbued with so much darkness that it physically protects them though, and KNOWING that it comes from you... that's flavor.
But now, what do you do with that? Well, classic bloodline, your character was born of a line tainted by demonic power, yadda yadda... but dive deeper.
This power could be in you for a number of reasons. Maybe you made a deal with a demon and the power is a gift or a curse. Perhaps you died, went to the Abyss, and then were brought back to the Prime but kept a sliver of that darkness with you. You could've been part of a demon cult, or infected by a ritual of Lamashtu or Nocticula. There are many ways to explain this vile power besides "maybe she was born with it."
Still, and here's what gets me about all the more "negative" bloodlines sorcerers have... how do you ROLEPLAY it? Like, really imagine you're this character; every time you summon a creature or use a bloodline power, you FEEL the...
I have a similar character concept I'll never get to play, only not with the Abyss - the character is a Crossblooded Aberrant/Maestro Sorcerer, and the reason I chose that build is because the character gets their power from the Hiss from the video game Control.
If you don't know what it is, it isn't pure evil like the Abyss is, but it's a hostile, invasive extradimensional resonance-based lifeform with an incredible amount of power. It's unknown how intelligent it is, and its seeming sole objective is to spread, often corrupting and overriding everything that stands in its way in service of that goal.
While my character, unlike almost all Hiss drones, retains an incredible degree of autonomy, it's still warped their psyche alot and in-universe they have to worry a lot about their powers permanently corrupting someone/releasing the Hiss even though as a player I have the meta knowledge that all their spells are temporary.
