Quote Originally Posted by Deepbluediver View Post
I definitely realize they are very different; I was just asking if it had ever been considered. Plus, I figured some spell-like abilities might be a nice way to make up for those three empty levels that discourage so many players.
The thing with the three empty levels though, is that with Welknair's version of it, you still get to advance in BAB and your saves(or at least that's how it looks to me), and you also still get that level's bloodline benefit. Also keep in mind that Bloodlines are more of a long-term investment. I personally believe that the benefits of bloodlines exceed three levels by 20th, but again, bloodlines are more of a long-term investment rather than a short/instantaneous investment, like feats and such.
Personally, I never really liked the half-dragon/half-ooze/half-cat-girl templates that seem to pop up anywhere you look. It's probably just a quirk of mine, but in a game where you can shoot fireballs out your elbows I still feel drawn to the RL version of cross-breed creatures; i.e. prone to health problems and most likely sterile, NOT "the best of both parents".
Just because a creature can shapeshift into a human (or other creature) doesn't mean you actually BECOME that creature.
To be fair, half-anything only gets to be somewhat like their parent. Also, as has been explained for dragons, at least, is that some creatures(like dragons) have DNA that's compatible with most anything, and their offspring are somewhat virile along the same measure.
I know it's sort of odd, then, that I really like the idea of bloodlines as a replacement. Instead of thinking of it purely biological sense, I prefer it to be more like a mystic ritual performed by arch-mages and demi-dieties using ancient (and forbidden) magic to graft the essence of another creature into your family tree. Then this bloodline manifests itself more or less strongly through the ensuing generations.
That's pretty much a fluff measure, so you can have that be the case if you want in your games.
Rather than "grandpa slept with a dragon", it becomes "rumors have swirled around your family for decades, but no one ever really made much of it. Just because you had to trim your fingernails every week or they would grow thick and sharp, into almost-like claws, doesn't make you that much different. And it was only a few years ago that you realized not everyone could see as well on a moonless night as they could in daytime. And you've been having these odd dreams, where you can breathe fire, just like a dragon! What sillyness! Still, maybe it wouldn't hurt to talk with your great-aunt Alesaice, who despite having a perpetual green tinge to her skin is healthy and spry at the age of 102."
But Grandpa DID sleep with a dragon. That's how the bloodline cropped up. Again, this sounds just like a personal fluff issue, so you can change the fluff how you want. This doesn't necessarily mean that everyone else has to agree with you. Fluff is just something that can be changed from person to person.


That seems like a version of Welknair's Mudblood-bloodline on steroids. But I feel that (and again, I realize this is personal) mixing to many bloodlines should have an escalating chance of madness, from all the conflicting natures pressing on your mind. That's just my own personal fluff.
Well, Welknair did make the Blood King. Still, personally, I just feel that bloodlines would influence a personality. Sure, there's a bit of draconic/heroic/whatever nature in them, but that doesn't necessarily mean they have a full-blown dragon and hero and something else inside them duking it out for control.