I can never remember what things do / do not work w/ bloodlines.
if i overlooked an existing handbook, please smite me...
(EDIT: found it, by PlzBreakMyCampaign
http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19863198/Balanced_Bloodlines_Interpretation_38;_Implementation?num=10&pg=1) but its got all this wotc ich on it..
I dont much care about the specific effects of any given bloodline.
but those specifics are generally laid out here
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/bloodlines.htmThe Gist of it : creatures who have an ancestry that includes mythical beings may be gifted with abilities related to their heritage.
UA presents 3 tier of bloodlines, Minor, Intermediate, and Major.
I dont recall ever seeing anyone use Minor or Intermediate in TO/CO build.
They do not say it explicitly, that I am aware of, but it seems the intent is to offer LA to pc's that do not normally have it.
Pro's n Cons
con : no BAB (typical max BAB @ 20 is ~ 17)
con : no save bonuses.
con : no hit points
con : no skill points
con : no class features
con : counts as a class level.
con : 20% xp penalty for not following the progression requirements.
con : unlike regular LA, you cant buy off a bloodline, cause its not LA..
yikes thats a lot of cons.
neutral : counts as a character lvl for determining max skill ranks. (Bl 3 / Fi 1, max skill rank is 7 same as any lvl 4 pc.)
neutral : dosnt count for multi classing XP penalty.
pro: counts as a lvl in any class that has class based abilities.
pro: feats, ability increases, SLA/SU/EX abilities based on character lvl and heritage.
on the surface this looks like the one sure fire way to make straight fighter as bad as straight commoner.
but, it can be worthwhile in the right build.
did you dip spell casting classes galore?
caster5/Bl3/dip1 x 12, if all 12 dips are + cl classes, then the total CL is 56 w/ lvl 9 spells.
here is an initial list of SRD classes and their abilities that bloodlines improve.
if i put a ? next to an entry, it means i wasnt sure about its legitimacy..
not all of the listed abilities are worth it. if your lvl progression is not 1/1 or 1/2, then its probably a crappy gain..
SRD classes w/ abilities.
[spoiler]Barbarian
[spoiler] - Rage : frequency. 1/day @ 1st lvl, 2 at 4th, +1 per 4 barb lvls thereafter, maybe max of 6.
- Trap Sense : +1 every three barbarian lvls after 3rd lvl.
- Im Uncanny Dodge: class lvls to determine min rogue flank lvl. [spoiler](barb5/rogue4/Bl3 = lvl R19 can flank, where B5/R7 would be 16)[/spoiler]
- Damage Reduction: every three lvls after 7 increase by 1.[/spoiler]
Bard
[spoiler] - Caster Lvl, not spells per day.
- i think the learn a new spell in place of the old might count, but idk how that would work.
- Bardic Knowledge
- Bardic Music, frequency of use. (1 / day / lvl)
- Bardic Music, various effects (im skipping them for now.)[/spoiler]
Cleric
[spoiler] - Caster Lvl, not spells per day.[/spoiler]
Druid
[spoiler] - Caster lvl, not spells per day
- Animal Companion, power increase.
- Animal Companion, alternate animal options
- Wild Empathy
- Wild Shape, Duration[/spoiler]
Fighter
[spoiler] - Nada[/spoiler]
Monk
[spoiler] - AC bonus, 1/5 lvls.
- Flurry of blows, penalty easment?
- Unarmed strike, damage increase?
- Fast Movement, Rate?
- Ki Strike
- Slow Fall
- Wholeness of body
- Abundant Step, caster lvl
- Diamond Soul
- Quivering Palm, DC
- Empty Body, Duration[/spoiler]
Paladin
[spoiler] - Aura of Good
- Smite Evil, extra damage
- Smite Evil, frequency?
- Lay on Hands, Damage Healed.
- Caster Lvl, not spells per day
- Special Mount, duration
- Remove Disease, frequency of use?
- Paladins Mount, abilities[/spoiler]
Ranger
[spoiler] - Favored Enemy, number of? / bonus vs.
- Wild Empathy
- Animal Companion (as druid /2)
- Caster Lvl, not spells per day[/spoiler]
Rogue
[spoiler] - Sneak Attack, Damage?
- Trap Sense
- Imp Uncanny Dodge[/spoiler]
Sorc/Wiz
[spoiler] - Caster Lvl, not spells per day
- Replacing spells, Sorc?
- Familiar, power increase[/spoiler]
Arcane Archer
[spoiler] - Enhance Arrow, Potency?[/spoiler]
Arcane Trickster
[spoiler] - Caster lvl, not spells per day
- Ranged Legerdemain, frequency of use?
- Sneak Attack, damage?[/spoiler]
Archmage
[spoiler] - Caster lvl, not spells per day.
- Arcane Fire, Damage
- Arcane Fire, Range[/spoiler]
Assassin
[spoiler] - Sneak Attack, Damage?
- Death Attack, DC
- Death Attack, paralysis duration
- Caster Lvl, not spells per day.
- Spell swap out?
- Poison save, bonus
- Imp Uncanny Dodge[/spoiler]
Blackgaurd
[spoiler]- Aura of Evil, power
- Caster Lvl, not spells per day
- Smite Good, Damage
- Command Undead, effective lvl
- Sneak Attack, damage?[/spoiler]
Dragon Disciple
[spoiler] - Breath Weapon, damge?
- Breath Weapon, DC
[/spoiler]
Duelist
[spoiler] - Canny Defense, AC bonus limit[/spoiler]
Dwarven Defender
[spoiler] - AC bonus, max 4?
- Defensive Stance, frequency of use?
- Trap Sense
- Imp Uncanny Dodge
[/spoiler]
Eldritch Knight
[spoiler] - Caster lvl + spells per day? "This essentially means that she adds the level of eldritch knight to the level of whatever other arcane spellcasting class the character has, then determines spells per day and caster level accordingly."
[/spoiler]
Hierophant
[spoiler] - Caster Lvl, not spells per day.[/spoiler]
Loremaster
[spoiler] - Caster lvl + spell per day? "this essentially means" ...
- Secret, number of?
- Secret, determine choice of secret
- Lore, as bardic knowledge [/spoiler]
Mystic Theurge
[spoiler] - Caster lvls and Spells per day? " this essentially means"...[/spoiler]
Shadowdancer
[spoiler]- Summon Shadow, shadow HD?
- xp penalty for loss of shadow, easment.
- Shadow Jump, distance?
- Imp Uncanny Dodge[/spoiler]
Thaumaturgist
[spoiler] - Caster lvl and Spells per day?[/spoiler]
Adept
[spoiler]- Caster lvl
- Familiar, power[/spoiler]
[/spoiler]
I dont think that the class/ability list method is the best for this subject, so heres the revised list of SRD class abilities w/ out the class.
[spoiler]
- Rage : frequency. 1/day @ 1st lvl, 2 at 4th, +1 per 4 barb lvls thereafter, maybe max of 6.
- Trap Sense : +1 every three barbarian lvls after 3rd lvl.
- Im Uncanny Dodge: class lvls to determine min rogue flank lvl.
- Damage Reduction: every three lvls after 7 increase by 1.
- Caster Lvl, not spells per day.
- Bardic Knowledge
- Bardic Music, frequency of use. (1 / day / lvl)
- Bardic Music, various effects (im skipping them for now.)
- Animal Companion, power increase.
- Animal Companion, alternate animal options
- Wild Empathy
- Wild Shape, Duration
- AC bonus, 1/5 lvls.
- Flurry of blows, penalty easment?
- Unarmed strike, damage increase?
- Fast Movement, Rate?
- Ki Strike
- Slow Fall
- Wholeness of body
- Abundant Step, caster lvl
- Diamond Soul
- Quivering Palm, DC
- Empty Body, Duration
- Aura of Good
- Smite , extra damage
- Smite , frequency?
- Lay on Hands, Damage Healed.
- Special Mount, duration
- Remove Disease, frequency of use?
- Paladins Mount, abilities
- Favored Enemy, number of? / bonus vs.
- Sneak Attack, Damage?
- Replacing spells
- Familiar, power increase
- Enhance Arrow, Potency?
- Ranged Legerdemain, frequency of use?
- Arcane Fire, Damage
- Arcane Fire, Range
- Death Attack, DC
- Death Attack, paralysis duration
- Poison save, bonus
- Aura of Evil, power
- Command Undead, effective lvl
- Breath Weapon, damge?
- Breath Weapon, DC
- Canny Defense, AC bonus limit
- AC bonus, max 4?
- Defensive Stance, frequency of use?
- Secret, number of?
- Secret, determine choice of secret
- Lore, as bardic knowledge
- Summon Shadow, shadow HD?
- xp penalty for loss of shadow, easment.
- Shadow Jump, distance?
[/spoiler]
Overall, based only on srd classes / abilities, only three of four things seem useful.
Caster Lvl
Uncanny Dodge, lvl needed to be flatfooted by a rogue.. (meh)
Monk abilities (o yay, just what a monk needs, 3 more lvls that dont add bab or hp, or reduce MAD)
Familiar / Animal Companion / mount abilities
Smite damage
Wild Empathy (
)
Im not sure about any of the abilities that are defined as 'every X lvls' such as favored enemy.
Im also not sure about Sneak Attack damage. if your SA is = 1/2 class lvl then yes, if each increment is a class feature then no. ymmv..
another area of greyness, is Caster lvls.
plain old Caster Level is in the description of bloodlines.
It says
do not count toward spells per day, Only count toward Caster Level.
pretty clear cut.
but what if the class ability says Caster Level AND Spells per day are lvl based abilities.
we have known since ancient times that caster lvl and spells per day are not joined together.. for some of use learning this came as a shock, akin to the truth behind the great pumpkin or santa pun pun.
most classes are very clear on how they effect your spell casting.
some classes provide a spell list.
some increase the caster lvl of an existing class.
some increase the caster lvl and spells per day of and existing class.
some may, increase the spells per day of an existing class w/out increasing caster lvl.
the point being, ymmv when it comes to spell casting and bloodlines.
this post has dealt only w/ SRD items.
That leaves out one of the most CO abilities of all... Initiator Lvl..
If you have lvls in Martial Class you have a full Initiator lvl per class lvl.. if not you have 1/2 per.
this can be a beautiful thing, if ToB is allowed..
but ToB should get its own post..
so, thats it for now, till i or someone like me dig into the other source books for more lvl based abilities..
I'll reserve the next post for builds.
after that the floor is open..
EDIT: i flat left srd psionics out.
but if they had been included, i would have mentioned, psi crystals, and soul knives..
