Which bloodline would fit thematically a Rakshasa sorcerer?

[Malistrae]

I was just thinking about this. Rakshasas are strongly associated with sorcerers in both 3.X and Pathfinder (the original one was a sorc in PF, after all). However, this raises the question of which bloodline would actually fit a true rakshasa. There is a Rakshasa bloodline, but it is very redundant and thus pointless for a Rakshasa. While every bloodline could be theoretically justified, I want to avoid too much stretching and muddling.

Personally, I would argue that the Destined bloodline is the best fit, because it strongly aligns with the Rakshasa's theme of eternal reincarnation, but I am open to different viewpoints.

[avr]

The classic rakshasa is tiger-headed, but there are others which are more snake-like. Serpentine would make sense to me. Or Infernal; they're LE, it's not an enormous stretch.

[Spore]

They're deceptive, manipulative, evil shapeshifters that can read minds, often superiors to minions.

1) Arcane: Plain and simple. I like to see Arcane as the bloodline without fluff. Add in a minion (Familiar) and some mainstay sorcerer spells and you have yourself a truly good sorcerer.

2) Dreamspun: Attack them when they're most vulnerable. Sleep and dreams off access to a whole new front. Manipulate the king in his sleep (aftrer all, they autofail saves if they're not conscious don't they?) modify memory, shadow walk from A to B.

3) Protean: Face it, your Rakshasa is an odd one out. But after all, they don't have the Law subtype, so I guess it goes. Resistance against polymorph effects is quite redundant, but confusion, polymorph spells, and some very odd chaos spells will likely fit an obvious Rakshasa in a leading position more than an underling trying to stay hidden. Still, one of my weaker suggestions.

4) Shadow: A bloodline centered around darkness, subtility and illusions? Count me in. It lacks the tools of the Dreamspun bloodline but it adds flavor and it isn't as helpless against certain enemies: Weaker vs. devils, stronger vs. undead, elves and other things without a real sleep cycle.

5) Accursed: There's a time and space for subtility and there is a time and space for open threats. You cannot have a reign of terror without a bit of terror. Make people fear you, literally curse your enemies. Make them insane, decrease the biggest strategists to babbling imbeciles.

[Florian]

The way Rakshasa Fluff has been reworked (Proud outsiders with the Prima Material as their actual "Outer Plane"), I´d say that "inherited" bloodline is not all too thematically fitting. Most closely fitting to the "selfmate" theme would be Arkane, Destined and Psychic.

[Slithery D]

. Sleep and dreams off access to a whole new front. Manipulate the king in his sleep (aftrer all, they autofail saves if they're not conscious don't they?) modify memory, shadow walk from A to B.

Quick derail - at least in Pathfinder you do not autofail saves if you're asleep or unconscious. You can survive a poison or take half damage from a fireball (just like an immobile object), and spells are no different. If you are unconscious you are treated as "willing" for affects (like Teleport) where that's relevant, though. And "willing" is different from choosing to fail a save; you can't force a creature to take a save on Teleport for example. Finally, asleep is not unconscious, unconscious is a state you only reach by being below 0 HP or having nonlethal damage in excess of your HP.

Lots of people don't understand this.

[Malistrae]

Thank you for the help. I am designing a triumvirate (they are in a dysfunctional alliance to further their status, with some sexual elements mixed in) of darshaka-caste Rakshasa sorcerers to be the main villains of an upcoming PF campaign. I like many of the suggestions that were presented. I already planned for one having devil contacts, so Infernal might be a good fit for him. There is one who is even more deceptive and mastermind-y than the other two, so I might give him Shadow or Dreamspun. The third guy is the aggressive "brute" (since he is still a sorcerer, with rather high mental attributes) of the group, so Accursed might be just perfect for him due to its focus on mentally destroying your enemies.

[Yanisa]

My vote goes to the Rakshasa Bloodline.

[Spore]

The third guy is the aggressive "brute" (since he is still a sorcerer, with rather high mental attributes) of the group, so Accursed might be just perfect for him due to its focus on mentally destroying your enemies.

I have slept on the matter and I think an Dual Cursed Oracle or a Witch is a much more potent debuffer. It is a slightly different fluff but I feel both backgrounds fit the theme:

Either the Oracle has stolen dark rituals to perform divine magic without the permission of the gods and thus bears two curses but is able to influence on fate itself or the Rakshasa has bonded with powers beyond understanding in order to let his enemies suffer. Shadow and Infernal are very good choices.

[Malistrae]

My vote goes to the Rakshasa Bloodline.

Which I stated to be redundant for a Rakshasa sorcerer, since many of the bloodline stuff you get is an inferior copy of what Rakshasas naturally have. Unless, you are being sarcastic.

I have slept on the matter and I think an Dual Cursed Oracle or a Witch is a much more potent debuffer. It is a slightly different fluff but I feel both backgrounds fit the theme:

Either the Oracle has stolen dark rituals to perform divine magic without the permission of the gods and thus bears two curses but is able to influence on fate itself or the Rakshasa has bonded with powers beyond understanding in order to let his enemies suffer. Shadow and Infernal are very good choices.

Hmmm... Escape from Old Korsova does mention that there are some Rakshasa religionists, but they usually dedicate themselves to a concept or ideology. However, if I remember correctly, Oracles get their power from a collection of deities that are associated with their beliefs. This sounds very contrary to the dhruva jivita, which would certainly not approve of a Rakshasa gaining his power by something as fickle as a collection of deities. Although, your suggestion for Dual-Cursed sounds pretty interesting, in a pseudo-Ur-priest way. While the Witch also has that outside agency thing going on, it could be flavored as more of a business deal than a strict servitude, especially I could flavor the mysterious patron as being viewed as paradeshi by the Rakshasa Witch.

What sort of patron/mystery would be appropiate here? This Rakshasa is basically an expert of goshta psychology; particularly of fear, anxiety and mental illness. I would probably flavor him as some sort of sadist (though still pretty regimented like any LE), whose primary entertainment and battle tactic is breaking the resolve of prey species through magical and mundane means. This is because he believes that the purest expression of power is to inflict mental torment on one's inferiors. Thus, most of his individual schemes also concern themselves with causing as much mental distress as possible (either to a single important person or a relevant group), then using it to increase his own powerbase.

For example, the beginning of the campaign deals with this Rakshasa's attempt to take control of the trade routes that run through Eto. The Rakshasa himself impersonated the chief scribe of one of the wealthiest local merchants, and is covertly arranging the bankruptcy of the guy's rivals, then seizing the assets either for his "master" or a few other merchants that are connected to him either through bribes, blackmail, intimidation or just plain magical control. His primary method is driving the merchants crazy, either through magic or regular manipulation. The PCs will be hirelings of a local magistrate, who is growing concerned with the recent string of madness that seems to have affected many merchants, including the magistrate's own patrons and cronies (the magistrate himself is a totally corrupt bureaucrat). The long-term goal of the Rakshasa is to build a covert trade cartel over Eto through his merchant minions. His "master" is actually just a figurehead and a total wreck, as he is regularly used by the Rakshasa for entertainment (meaning horrible mental torment). However, this is unknown to everyone else (except for the merchant's family, who have been either eaten or imprisoned and used as sex slaves by the Rakshasa), thus this guy will be set up as the villain to the PCs with some subtle clues hinting at the truth.

[Spore]

What sort of patron/mystery would be appropiate here? This Rakshasa is basically an expert of goshta psychology; particularly of fear, anxiety and mental illness. I would probably flavor him as some sort of sadist (though still pretty regimented like any LE), whose primary entertainment and battle tactic is breaking the resolve of prey species through magical and mundane means. This is because he believes that the purest expression of power is to inflict mental torment on one's inferiors. Thus, most of his individual schemes also concern themselves with causing as much mental distress as possible (either to a single important person or a relevant group), then using it to increase his own powerbase.

While I have almost no idea about Golarion cosmology and geography I like a (darker) Lore Oracle or an Dark Tapestry Oracle. Particularly the Brain Drain - while hilariously weak if used on the wrong targets - can provide VITAL information. Similarly the Lore Oracle taps into knowledge older than the universe itself (spont. +20 on Knowledge checks made me have a 56 on Knowledge Religion one time. That's an average knowledge check of a deity). After all, being a successful merchant is having an (information) advantage compared to the competition. Pry any information you need from the merchants higher up. If they are lucky they don't survive the mental extraction. The associated gods could be the Lovecraftian horrors that don't care who (ab)uses their powers and their inevitable goal to take over anything could even provide the villain with the motivation to actually make a deal with your PCs.