I'm currently running a 7th-level feychild gnome sorcerer with the fey bloodline through Age of Ashes.
Now that our group is transitioning more fully into the Remaster after the release of Player Core 2, I have an opportunity for retraining.
I'm wondering how such a character can more fully realize and incorporate the powers of their bloodline, particularly the new PC2 content. For those of you with access to the book, what advice might you have for the character, as well as future build path options?
Here is the character in question, though I would like to hear your thoughts on how you might run your own Remastered fey sorcerer, before you advise on alterations for this one.
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I have three initial thoughts on how the Remaster affects the Fey bloodline:
First, Fey Sorcerers get Hallucination now instead of Cloak of Colors, which is a straight upgrade: Hallucination isn't really good (incapacitation!), but it's useful for out-of-combat shenanigans, and it has useful Heightened effects (so incapacitation isn't as bad). Cloak of Colors was complete garbage though, as it dazzles even allies adjacent to the target and it only afflicts an enemy with blinded/stunned AFTER that enemy hit you (AND it has incapacitation somehow).
So, you can do some more Fey stuff with that, which I really like as I'm a big fan of out-of-combat shenanigans & roleplay.
Second, I've also been a fan of multiclassing into Bard or Psychic with primal Sorcerers for a long time, snatching good occult spells & some class powers. And the Remastered Fey bloodline now gives either concealed (as Premaster Fey) or a +2 status bonus to Performance checks for 1 round. The latter makes the Bard-multiclass even more attractive, especially if you take Versatile Performance. To be honest, a +2 to Performance on Sorcerers (or any other non-Bard) is complete trash; I don't think there should be any class features that are useless on the class itself and only get useful once you snatch them up with another class, but that's where it stands.
So with Versatile Performance this translates into a direct +2 to Intimidation for Demoralize (great in combat), which also happens to be a great combination with your 1-action focus spell Faerie Dust (-2 to Will saves). Since it's a 5-foot burst AoE you're likely to affect at least 1 enemy, and then your Demoralize is sure to hit, probably even crit. Item bonuses to Performance are also easier to get & roleplay than item bonuses to Intimidation (ugly Demon Masks!); for example, if you're a dancer, you can get a Dancing Scarf, which can even give you your concealment back with your 3rd action, as Fey Sorcerers are also incentivized to build around concealment.
So I think things like Terrified Retreat are much more useful now on a Fey Sorcerer+Bard. Opening a "mob encounter" with Faerie Dust & then Demoralize whoever failed their save to get them out of combat with just 2 actions is awesome. And if 2 enemies failed their save, just Demoralize them both! Makes you really want to play a "dark fey".
Last, Blood Rising... I'm still unsure of how exactly this one works. But as it's currently written, I think it's very powerful:
Trigger A creature targets you with a spell of the same tradition as your bloodline.
This doesn't say "a spell with the same trait as your tradition", but "spell of the same tradition". For example, if a Wizard were to cast Electric Arc on you, then the spell would have the "Arcane" trait, not the "Primal" trait; however, Electric Arc is still a spell of the primal tradition. So it should be triggering Blood Rising. Not sure if that is the intention, but I think that's how it works.
Also, the trigger is on "targeting" you, not "hitting" you, so Blood Rising's bloodmagic effects come into play before the targeting has been resolved. Blood Rising explicitly states this for AC & save bonuses, but I think this was just put in for clarification, as these bonuses would obviously apply when already triggered during the "targeting" phase of a spell. I just make this point because the Fey bloodline grants neither AC nor save bonuses, but concealment, which isn't explicitly mentioned, but should apply to the triggering spell just like AC & save bonuses do. Which means the aforementioned example Wizard would have to roll a flat check to overcome your concealment when casting Electric Arc on you.
Since Sorcerers have strong Will saves & the divine spell-list has few strong offensive options, this is probably best on arcane & primal Sorcerers, getting bonuses to all spells that are on the arcane/primal spell-list respectively.
For comparison, others usually have to invest some high-level ancestry feats for a "get concealment"-reaction, e.g. a Sylph's Airy Step. So I think getting this reaction at level 2 (or 1 as Human) is really strong on Fey Sorcerers. Though your character in particular could have taken Unexpected Shift as a Gnome, which is broader applicable.
Fey Sorcerers might also benefit from Blood Rising when using Fey Disappearance on themselves, though I'm not sure if self-only spells count as targeting you. If it does, great, another 1-action focus spell to trigger your bloodmagic! Not that it's particular useful with the Fey bloodmagic though, but once you learn other bloodmagic effects, like Propelling Sorcery, you have a 1-action spell to turn invisible and then reaction-Step (even into difficult terrain), meaning you can do this on your last action!
These are my initial thoughts on how a Fey Sorcerer benefits from the Remaster.
That's already way more than I was expecting. Thank you!
Cloak of Colors is a fine spell. It is just that Fey gets concealment from its Blood Magic so it doesn't really want the effect on offer. Similarly annoying that Draconic which is forced to take the Fly spell and gets Dragon Wings as well.
Hallucination is interesting, but I don't really like it till one level higher when it multitargets.
How would I play a fey sorcerer? I'd lean into the illusions and deception more.
So I'd take one of Elf Otherworldly Acumen, or Human Adaptive Adept or Gnome Natural Illusionist, or Tiefling Rakshasa Magic then Sorcerer Ancestral Mage /or a familiar to reuse them to pick up Illusionary Disguise or Illusory Creature.
How would I play a fey sorcerer? I'd lean into the illusions and deception more.
So I'd take one of Elf Otherworldly Acumen, or Human Adaptive Adept or Gnome Natural Illusionist, or Tiefling Rakshasa Magic then Sorcerer Ancestral Mage /or a familiar to reuse them to pick up Illusionary Disguise or Illusory Creature.
You sound like Nethys - always pursuing magical means over mundane ones. xD
At lower levels you can use the Deception skill, weard a Masquerade Scarf like Ravingdork's Fey Sorcerer does, or make creative use of your Figment cantrip. And once you reach level 10, you have Fey Glamour to veil everyone & everything according to your whimsy. That's already plenty of deceptive/illusionary stuff. The Ancestral Mage and/or ancestry feat chains wouldn't go online before level 9 either. You can always cast Illusionary Creature before that by Tricking a Magic Item-- "Oh yes, little wand, I really am a mighty Wizard, now make me a Molebear."
Versatile Performance might be decent, as the bloodmagic have the option for +2 in performance checks.
Looking at the spell list, you could use a few more reaction and one action spells, like Lose the Path that is thematic for Fey, Interposing Earth is +2 AC from the cover and Jump is just a spell that I like a lot.
Not a fan of lose the path. I used it extensively in PFS and it never really stopped anyone from rushing me or my allies.
It was really only useful to prevent people from running away so easily.
Not a fan of lose the path. I used it extensively in PFS and it never really stopped anyone from rushing me or my allies.
It was really only useful to prevent people from running away so easily.
It is not a strong effect. It mostly will waste one enemy action. If that isn't enough for you then don't take it. At low levels it is not worth a spell slot. But it can be very important.