Blood Arcanist Bloodline Options


Pathfinder First Edition General Discussion


Referencing the Arcanist class in the 1st Edition Pathfinder Advanced Class Guide, the "Bloodline Development" exploit specifically states that "the arcanist must select an ordinary bloodline, not one altered by an archetype" (pg 10).

However, that restriction to bloodline choice is NOT included in the description for the "Blood Arcanist" archetype (pg 77). It states "a Blood Arcanist selects one bloodline from those available through the sorcerer bloodline class feature."

Is the exclusion of that restriction an oversight or intentional? Can a Blood Arcanist choose a Crossblood or Wildblood bloodline?"


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Since you are asking it here, rather in the rules section (more so that I am answering it here), I will offer a reason as to why a Blood Arcanist SHOULD be able to select a bloodline altered by an archetype, specifically the Wildblooded archetype:

Bloodline, Blood Arcanist wrote:
... The blood arcanist does not gain the class skill, bonus feats, or bonus spells from her bloodline.

None, and I stress the word, of the Wildblooded Bloodlines touch on or deal with the class skills, bonus feats, or bonus spells at all.

Crossblooded is a straight out 'No', for the very reasons why Wildblooded should be okay. That archetype manipulates the very things a Blood Arcanist does not get with their archtype.

As to why the restriction is the way it is, it is certainly intentional. Arcanists are a hybrid class of the sorcerer and wizard. Dabbling with bloodlines was seen as an interesting thing for an arcanist to do and spend their pool resource on to empower. If you wanted to really focus on bloodlines at the cost of your exploits, and become a sorcerer with a hybrid type of casting, the Blood Arcanist archetype does that for you.

Just a heads up, the Sage or Empyreal wildblooded bloodlines will create issues as they change the key ability score for a sorcerer. As an Arcanist, your key ability score is (and always will be) Intelligence.


DeathlessOne wrote:

Since you are asking it here, rather in the rules section (more so that I am answering it here), I will offer a reason as to why a Blood Arcanist SHOULD be able to select a bloodline altered by an archetype, specifically the Wildblooded archetype:

Bloodline, Blood Arcanist wrote:
... The blood arcanist does not gain the class skill, bonus feats, or bonus spells from her bloodline.

None, and I stress the word, of the Wildblooded Bloodlines touch on or deal with the class skills, bonus feats, or bonus spells at all.

Crossblooded is a straight out 'No', for the very reasons why Wildblooded should be okay. That archetype manipulates the very things a Blood Arcanist does not get with their archtype.

As to why the restriction is the way it is, it is certainly intentional. Arcanists are a hybrid class of the sorcerer and wizard. Dabbling with bloodlines was seen as an interesting thing for an arcanist to do and spend their pool resource on to empower. If you wanted to really focus on bloodlines at the cost of your exploits, and become a sorcerer with a hybrid type of casting, the Blood Arcanist archetype does that for you.

Just a heads up, the Sage or Empyreal wildblooded bloodlines will create issues as they change the key ability score for a sorcerer. As an Arcanist, your key ability score is (and always will be) Intelligence.

Thank you for your response…

"A Blood Arcanist doesn't gain the class skīlls, feats or bonus spells from ANY bloodline regardless of whether it be ordinary, mutated, or hybrid. That's not the deciding factor. A Blood Arcanist, as opposed to a regular Arcanist choosing the Bloodline Development" exploit, gets access to the Bloodline Arcana, which is the point of it and where my focus lies. With a Bloodline bloodline, I gain access to two Arcana.

There's a certain combination I'm aiming for and the book doesn't specifically say that it cannot be done, unlike it does in the text for the "Bloodline Development" exploit. It's as much about what it doesn't say as what it does, and it doesn't say that a Blood Arcanist "must select an ordinary bloodline with this ability, not one altered by an archetype" like it does with the Exploit. It's hard to argue that Paizo overlooked adding the same restriction when they added it in 67 pages earlier to something else. Not trying to split hairs, just trying to make sure my point is clear as to why I think it's legal so that proper arguments can be made as to why it isn't.

What I'm aīming for is a Blood Arcanist with a crossblood bloodline of Draconic and Elemental. Pair that with the Gnome Pyromaniac trait, along with the Potent Magic exploit, and it's a pretty powerful combination without having to multiclass with a Sorcerer to get a second Arcana."


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Wizkidd wrote:
What I'm aīming for is a Blood Arcanist with a crossblood bloodline of Draconic and Elemental. Pair that with the Gnome Pyromaniac trait, along with the Potent Magic exploit, and it's a pretty powerful combination without having to multiclass with a Sorcerer to get a second Arcana."

You simply cannot do it. You do not possess the required class skills and/or bloodline spells (progression) that would be modified/altered by the Crossblooded archetype, making you ineligible to take it. Unless you have some sort of example or argument that makes it clear you can take an archetype without meeting all the requirements for it.

If you want proper, rules tight arguments, you are better off asking this in the Rules forum. I'm just telling you in short format that it isn't going to work outside of a GM willing to houserule the issue. To be concise on the matter, you are attempting to do something that simply is not seen in any other part of the rule system, to allow a completely separate class to take an archetype from another class AND for that separate class to ignore the requirements for that archetype.

For the exploit to tell you that you cannot select a modified bloodline simply means that they intend you to take an unmodified bloodline with the exploit. The Blood Arcanist archetype is merely removing that restriction, which allows you to select a modified bloodline (ie, wildblooded). It still indirectly limits what you can select by not giving you the class features that some bloodline archetypes modify.

The Exchange

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Wizkidd wrote:
What I'm aīming for is a Blood Arcanist with a crossblood bloodline of Draconic and Elemental.

It can't be done without a single-level dip into sorcerer because Crossblooded is a sorcerer archetype, not a bloodline.


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Although you are asking it in the general discussion section your question is about the rules.

As I pointed out in the other thread wildbood have mutated bloodlines, not bloodlines. The only way mutated bloodlines are available is through the wildblooded archetype which only a sorcerer can take. If you go to the AON and look under bloodlines none of the mutated bloodlines appear on the list, they are listed in a different list under wildblooded. The AON is considered and official source. So, unless your GM is making a house rule an arcainist cannot take a mutated bloodline.

Crossblooded is a sorcerer archetype, not an arcanist archetype. That means arcanists cannot have more than a single bloodline. They could take the feat Eldritch Heritage to gain the bloodline powers of a second bloodline, but that would not gain them the arcana, feats or spells.

I don’t think that even a sorcerer can take both those archetypes at the same time. They both alter the class feature of bloodline. The rules state you cannot take two archetypes that alter the same class feature. So, unless there has been some update those two archetypes are not compatible.

The rules for arcainist do not specifically say you cannot do this because it does not need to. An arcanist cannot take a sorcerer archetype. Those class features are granted by archetypes not the base class. What you are looking to do cannot be done. If your GM wants to allow you to do so, he can create a house rule. Other than that, it will not work.


I still don't quite understand what restrictions you're referring to, could you clarify? In case it isn't clear, I'm referring to the Blood Arcanist (BArc) Archetype, not a standard Arcanist choosing the BL Development exploit.

There are no required or prerequisite skīlls or spells that a BArc needs in order to select a BL, regardless of whether it's ordinary, hybrid (cross), or mutated (wild blood, not the BRager BLs). Like the Sorcerer, it just tells you to "select a bloodline from those available to through the Sorcerer bloodline class feature." It doesn't list any restrictions.

You suggest that its unnatural or unlawful for a BArc to select a Cross BL since it's an archetype for the Sorcerer. Thematically I agree, but the book doesn't state this. You also mention (and is agreed elsewhere across the web) that selecting a wild blood BL is alright, but it too is a Sorcerer archetype. So what exactly is limiting the BArc to just ordinary or Wild BL choices?

The only thing a Cross type does with BL granted class skīlls, bonus spells, and bonus feat option lists is combine them, but it's irrelevant to the BArc since they don't gain access to them anyway, just like with ordinary or Wild BLs. Like ordinary and Wild, Cross still only offers 5 BL powers. You just get to choose which ones you take. The only significant difference between ordinary, Wild, and Cross is that with Cross you gain both BL Arcana. If this is the restrictive factor, where does it say that?

You stated, 'The Blood Arcanist archetype is merely removing that restriction, which allows you to select a modified bloodline.' So why, then, is Crossblood restricted? If you can select a modified bloodline (Wild), to be sure you can select an unmodified one (Cross). Crossblood doesn’t alter any class features, powers, or Arcana. Wildblood does. Crossblood keeps all the original powers and Arcana unmodified, it just allows you to choose which 5 powers you want from two bloodlines as well as granting you access to both bloodlines' Arcana.


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There is no such thing as crossblood bloodline. Crossblooded is an archetype that kind of lets you build your own bloodline, but it's still not its own actual bloodline.

There could be an argument for wildblooded bloodlines


I'm aware it's not a bloodline in and of itself, I was just using the term as a reference to BL choices that result from it. I'm of the mindset that I wouldn't necessarily want the BArc to be allowed to partake in BL choices stemming from an archetype of the Sorcerer, as it would sort of cheapen the Sorcerer in that regard. I just wanted to be certain beyond reasonable doubt because it isn't necessarily clear in the book.

You state it doesn't specifically say you cannot "because it does not need to." Yet it did exactly that when outlining the restrictions for the BL Development exploit for the standard Arcanist. Why list it there and not with the BArc a few pages later? Perhaps simply, "selection follows the same restrictions outlined in the BL Development exploit." Makes me wonder if it was intentionally omitted because the BArc is meant to be a more superior choice over the BL Dev Exploit rather than just allowing access to the Arcana and powers.

While I'm certainly partial to this being legal, I can see both the thematic and power creep concerns regarding the inclusion of selecting two BLs as a BArc through the Sorcerer Crossblood feature. I just wanted a bit more than "it's up to GM discretion." My GM allows it simply because the book doesn't specify you can't, but I don't want to build and invest in a character another GM might not agree with.

What is the AON, so that I might check it out?

Thank you for your time and patience, by the way. Always learning."


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AON is the Archive of Nethys . It is a website with all the official Pathfinder information. It can be found at https://www.aonprd.com/

AON has some links in the description that are helpful in determining how things work. The description of the blood arcainist has a link to the sorcerer bloodlines listing all the valid choices. This list has none of the mutated bloodlines. The list of mutated bloodlines is under wildblooded.

The term bloodline describes a specific class feature that operates in the manner described by the sorcerer description. Archetypes are something that only the class they are designed for can take even if another class shares the class feature the archetype modifies. Since Arcanists are not sorcerers they cannot take the crossblooded or wildblooded archetypes.

Since the Arcainist does not have a crossblooded or wildblooded archetype the options in those archetypes are not available to them.


Thanks everyone for the assistance and the link, it's been incredibly helpful!

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