Bloodlines
Bloodlines greatly determine the play style of the Bloodrager.
Bloodragers get 5 Bloodline bonus feats (6, 9, 12, 15, 18), and typically have 7 feat choices. Bonus spells are typically awarded for a spell level at the same level at which the Bloodrager gains access to their next level of spells (except 4th-level spells, of course), which is annoying because the Bloodrager likely wants to use those spells much earlier. The rules don’t specify what happens if you learn your bonus spells early then learn them again, but your GM may allow you to replace the bonus spell with a new spell known.
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RPGBOT uses the color coding scheme which has become common among Pathfinder build handbooks. Also note that many colored items are also links to the Paizo SRD.
- : Bad, useless options, or options which are extremely situational. Nearly never useful.
- : OK options, or useful options that only apply in rare circumstances. Useful sometimes.
- : Good options. Useful often.
- : Fantastic options, often essential to the function of your character. Useful very frequently.
Aberrant
The Aberrant bloodline is a Defender bloodline, plain and simple. It provides reach and access to Combat Reflexes, which are the first two things you need to be a Defender. If you pick up Stand Still or Improved Trip, you’re good to go.
: Very few worthwhile options.
- : Essential for any Defender.
- : Bonus to the Bloodrager’s only good save.
- : Situational.
- : The Bloodrager isn’t much of a grappler.
- : Initiative bonuses are always nice, but martial classes don’t need to go first as much as spellcasters or Rogues.
- : Only useful if you want Improved Grapple for some reason.
- : Bonus to the Bloodragers worst save.
: Several good options which contribute to the Aberrant bloodlines capabilities as a Defender.
- : An essential buff for any front-line character, especially a Defender.
- : Excellent utility, but by this level your party really needs to have more options for countering invisibility.
- : Excellent defensive buff, but the duration is very short.
- : One of the best area control effects in the game, though your DC will be garbage.
(Su): You have to confirm a critical hit to activate this, and the target still gets a saving throw.
(Su): Reach is fantastic for Defenders, and this reach extension can combine with a polearm to give you really fantastic area control.
(Su): Sickened and Nauseated are very annoying effects, but they’re fairly uncommon.
(Su): Sneak Attacks are pretty rare, but 50% immunity to critical hits could sabe your life from a lucky roll by an enemy.
(Su): Disease and Poison are very common at high level, and immunity to them can save you a lot of trouble.
(Su): 60 foot blindsense is incredible. Most things with blindsense don’t get more than 10 or 20 feet. Access to these abilities while not bloodraging means that you will always detect enemies trying to surprise you.
Abyssal`
The Abyssal Bloodline is a very simple Striker bloodline. Abyssal grants extra Strength while Bloodraging, lets you become Large without a spell, and grants a splash of energy resistance. If all you need is more damage, Abyssal is a good choice.
: Most of the options are situational, and Power Attack is included even though any Bloodrager with a brain will take it at first level.
- : Cleave can remain a good option until at least level 5, and often remains viable until at least level 10. Because you can use it as a Standard action, it’s great for rounds in which you need to move into position to attack, but may not want to charge.
- : Bonus to the Bloodrager’s only good save.
- : Situational.
- : Very situational.
- : The Bloodrager has very little reason to use Intimidate, but this will make them very good at it.
- : Basically required, but you should have this long before level 6.
- : With medium armor, more hitpoints never hurt.
: Nothing really spectacular.
- : Depends on your awful spell DCs. A this level, your DC is probably something like 13, and even enemies with poor Fortitude saves will have at least a +2 bonus.
- : Nice buff, but by this level you should really have a belt to boost your Strength.
- : Rage puts you into your Bloodrage, which can be a nice way to get some free Rage rounds.
- : Fantastic buff, but too expensive to use on a regular basis.
(Su): Two claws are as good as Two-Weapon Fighting at least until level 6. If you use a manufactured weapon, you can still use your off hand to make a single claw attack (at a -5 penalty because it’s a secondary attack). The damage and effectiveness scales a bit as you level, which can keep your claws a viable option as you level. Rules as written, you can use a weapon two-handed, then spend a free action to take one hand off your weapon and make a claw attack, then return your hand to your weapon so that you can use it two-handed for attacks of opportunity. This is a somewhat liberal reading of the rules, so check with your GM to make sure that will allow it.
(Su): Enlarging yourself is a fantastic option for front-line martial characters like the Bloodrager, and this allows you to replicate Enlarge Person at a moments notice without relying on Greater Bloodrage.
(Su): The amount is small, but you get resistance to three of the most common energy types.
(Su): With Demonic Bulk, you are getting +4 more strength than the average Bloodrager, but with the size and Dexterity penalties you’re taking a total -4 penalty to AC over of the normal Bloodrager (-6 total). The bonus from Abyssal Bloodrage also scales as you level, which can give you truly absurd Strength at high levels.
(Su): At this level 2d6+con isn’t a huge amount of damage, but it’s free damage with no save and if you can force enemies to stay in melee with you it’s guaranteed damage. Unfortunately, it doesn’t apply to enemies just passing through it, so it’s not a great area control ability.
(Su): At this level poison is very common, and immunity to electricity covers the last common energy type to which you are not resistant.
Arcane
The Arcane bloodline has two important mechanics: Arcane Bloodrage and disrupting spellcasters. Arcane Bloodrage allows you to apply free buffs whenever you start a Bloodrage, and many of the buffs are absolutely fantastic, and go beyond the Bloodrager spell list. Even if you’re not facing a lot of spellcasters, the Arcane bloodline may be worthwhile purely for Arcane Bloodrage.
: Several fantastic options, including Disruptive, which is usually exclusive to Fighters.
- : Essential for any Defender.
- : Pretend to be a Fighter and go mess up some spellcasters.
- : Initiative bonuses are always nice, but martial classes don’t need to go first as much as spellcasters or Rogues.
- : Bonus to the Bloodragers worst save.
- : Basically required, but you should have this long before level 6.
- : Very situational.
- : Typically causing a spellcaster to fail to cast defensively is enough to get the job done, but I will never complain about getting a free attack.
: Some good utility options, and a couple of totally unnecessary offensive options.
- : Really only useful for shooting ghosts. By this level you should be much more effective with a weapon.
- : Excellent buff.
- : Your DC is garbage, and by the level you learn it, you already do maximum damage.
- : Excellent for getting around, escaping grapples, and general mobility.
(Su): Excellent at any level, but somewhat situational.
(Sp): All four choices are excellent. Blur is particularly good because it complements the Bloodrager’s poor AC. This works with Greater Bloodrage, which means you can buff yourself twice when you start a new Bloodrage.
(Sp): Haste is one of the most important buffs in the game, and Displacement will make you hugely difficult to kill. Either one is a fantastic choice, but it’s more likely that someone in your party will caste Haste because it affects multiple targets.
(Ex): This won’t come up often, and you should probably have Combat Reflexes already.
(Sp): Depending on your build you might be able to make use of Beast Shape or Form of the Dragon, but you can always make use of Transformation. If you already have enhancements bonuses to your abilities and a bonus to your natural armor, you may still want to stick to the options provided by Greater Arcane Bloodrage.
(Ex): At 20th level most spellcasters will be lower level than you, but this is still situational..
Celestial
If you’re in an all-good campaign, the Celestial Bloodline has some good options. However, it doesn’t provide a clear role for the Bloodrager. If you want a generally good option, Celestial will do, but it doesn’t particularly contribute to the Bloodrager’s role as a Defender or Striker.
: A few good options, but nothing spectacular.
- : More AC is helpful because the Bloodrager only gets medium armor.
- : Initiative bonuses are always nice, but martial classes don’t need to go first as much as spellcasters or Rogues.
- : Bonus to the Bloodragers worst save.
- : The Bloodrager doesn’t get anything which indicates that you would want or need Mobility.
- : The Bloodrager is not a mounted combat class, and the Bloodrider Archetype doesn’t fix that.
- : See Mounted Combat.
- : Never hurts to have, but it does make it hard to change weapons.
: Several fantastic buffs.
- : A great buff at any level, provided you don’t have a Bard in the party.
- : Fantastic and essential.
- : This is great for buffing yourself.
- : Allows a saving throw, and at this level the Bloodrager’s DC will be worthless.
(Su): Evil outsiders are common enemies in a lot of good-aligned campaigns, and this will save you a lot of trouble with DR. The bonus damage is nice, too, but it’s not significant.
(Ex): Resistance to two energy types, and it scales a little bit as you level.
(Su): One reroll per Bloodrage is excellent, and if you can rage cycle, this could be a reroll every round.
(Su): Free flight! Don’t try to rage cycle while flying, or you will fall out of the sky.
(Su): Effectively double the bonuses from Protection From Evil.
(Su): A whole bunch of excellent immunities and resistances.
Destined
The Destined bloodline makes it very hard to kill the Bloodrager. If you can put together enough damage output to draw attention to yourself, this can be a good Tank option.
: Very few worthwhile options.
- : Diehard is a really good way to skip straight “dying” to “dead”.
- : Worthless in most campaigns.
- : Initiative bonuses are always nice, but martial classes don’t need to go first as much as spellcasters or Rogues.
- : The Bloodrager has very little reason to use Intimidate, but this will make them very good at it.
- Leadership:
- : Bonus to one the Bloodrager’s bad saves.
- : Never hurts to have, but it does make it hard to change weapons.
: Some good buffs.
- : Good, but the duration is short.
- : Good, but the duration is short.
- : Good, but protection from Energy tends to be more popular.
- : Good, but situational.
(Su): Helpful, but this isn’t going to fix any specific problems with your character.
(Su): Luck bonuses are very rare, and the Fate’s Favored trait boosts both bonuses by 1. The scaling is fantastic.
(Su): Rerolls are great, and once you can rage cycle this becomes even better.
(Su): Between the Bloodrager’s good Fortitude save and the luck bonus from Fated Bloodrager, your Fortitude saves should be good enough that you can count on this to work.
(Su): I hope you’re using a Falchion.
(Su): Somewhat situational, but all of the listed conditions are hugely debilitating.
Draconic
Despite a poor list of Bonus Feats, the Draconic Bloodline is very solid. It includes a nice mix of buffs, offensive options, and mobility. At high level you gain the ability to polymorph with Form of the Dragon II, which you shouldn’t need to do much additional preparation for because Bloodragers already need such high physical ability scores.
: Very few worthwhile options.
- : Situational, and the Bloodrager has magical options for handling invisibility.
- : Cleave can remain a good option until at least level 5, and often remains viable until at least level 10. Because you can use it as a Standard action, it’s great for rounds in which you need to move into position to attack, but may not want to charge.
- : Bonus to the Bloodrager’s only good save.
- : Initiative bonuses are always nice, but martial classes don’t need to go first as much as spellcasters or Rogues.
- : Basically required, but you should have this long before level 6.
- : Worthless.
- : With medium armor, more hitpoints never hurt.
: Several excellent buffs, including Fly.
- : Good, but the duration is short.
- : Fantastic and essential.
- : Fantastic.
- : Relies on the Bloodrager’s garbage spell DCs.
(Su): Two claws are as good as Two-Weapon Fighting at least until level 6. If you use a manufactured weapon, you can still use your off hand to make a single claw attack (at a -5 penalty because it’s a secondary attack). The damage and effectiveness scales a bit as you level, which can keep your claws a viable option as you level. Rules as written, you can use a weapon two-handed, then spend a free action to take one hand off your weapon and make a claw attack, then return your hand to your weapon so that you can use it two-handed for attacks of opportunity. This is a somewhat liberal reading of the rules, so check with your GM to make sure that will allow it.
(Ex): Very little energy resistance, but the natural armor bonus is nice and the scaling is decent.
(Su): Finally a reasonable AOE effect for the Bloodrager with a decent DC. The damage will keep up with spells, so you can count on this for your whole career.
(Su): Free flight! Don’t try to rage cycle while flying, or you will fall out of the sky.
(Su): Most Bloodragers will be good polymorphers almost entirely by accident, purely by virtue of their high physical ability scores.
(Su): The immunities are cool, but the Blindsense is absolutely fantastic.
Elemental
A few of the options provided by the Elemental Bloodline are fantastic, and it includes the best bonus feat list of any Bloodrager Bloodline, but overall the Bloodline just isn’t great.
: No bad options.
- : Cleave can remain a good option until at least level 5, and often remains viable until at least level 10. Because you can use it as a Standard action, it’s great for rounds in which you need to move into position to attack, but may not want to charge.
- : More AC is helpful because the Bloodrager only gets medium armor.
- : Bonus to the Bloodrager’s only good save.
- : Initiative bonuses are always nice, but martial classes don’t need to go first as much as spellcasters or Rogues.
- : Bonus to one the Bloodrager’s bad saves.
- : Basically required, but you should have this long before level 6.
- : Never hurts to have, but it does make it hard to change weapons.
: A couple of good options, but nothing that really contributes to the Bloodrager.
- : Relies on the Bloodrager’s garbage spell DCs.
- : Excellent ranged damage, and the energy type matches your chosen element.
- : Good, but protection from Energy tends to be more popular.
- : Garbage, even with the Bloodrager’s good physical ability scores.
(Su): Not a lot of damage, but it can be nice to have when your enemies are weak to your energy type.
(Ex): Not a lot of resistance, and no scaling, but nice to have.
(Su): All of the options are great.
(Su): This is a really cool, but Elemental Strikes is still only 1d6 damage per attack for one round.
(Su): Elemental Body could be a great option if you use it right, but limiting it to one rage per day makes it hard to justify putting any effort into using it.
(Su): Some nice immunities, but they’re fairly situational.
Fey
The Fey bloodline hits the ever-present problem that combat in Pathfinder tends to be very static, but doesn’t actually do anything to fix it. Blurring Movement, for example, gives you an excellent defensive buff when you’re mobile, but other options like Quickling Bloodrage largely require you to stand still to make a Full Attack.
: Several excellent options.
- : Essential for any Defender.
- : More AC is helpful because the Bloodrager only gets medium armor.
- : Initiative bonuses are always nice, but martial classes don’t need to go first as much as spellcasters or Rogues.
- : Bonus to one the Bloodrager’s bad saves.
- : The Bloodrager doesn’t get anything which indicates that you would want or need Mobility.
- : Fantastic for any martial character.
- : The Bloodrager has very little reason to use Intimidate, but this will make them very good at it.
: Haste is the only worthwhile option.
- : Depends on the Bloodrager’s garbage spell DCs.
- : Depends on the Bloodrager’s garbage spell DCs.
- : One of the best buffs in the game, but you get Quickling Bloodrage a level earlier.
- : Depends on the Bloodrager’s garbage spell DCs.
(Su): You have to confirm a critical hit to activate this, and the target still gets a saving throw, and then they’re affected by Confusion, which is garbage. Three sequential rolls have to go your way for this to have any affect at all.
(Su): Situational.
(Su): Blur is fantastic, but if you’re moving that much then you’re not full attacking.
(Sp): Haste is one of the best buffs in the game.
(Su): Situational.
(Su): Very versatile. This effectively lets you ignore all DR, and gives you 2d6 bonus damage against whatever you’re fighting.
Infernal
Disappointing. The Infernal Bloodline provides very few good options.
: A couple of decent options, but mostly bad.
- : Situational, and the Bloodrager has magical options for handling invisibility.
- : Essential for any Defender.
- : A Bloodrager doesn’t make for a good Face.
- : Situational.
- : Very situational.
- : The Bloodrager has very little reason to use Intimidate, but this will make them very good at it.
- : Bonus to the Bloodragers worst save.
: Nothing special.
- : Useful if you’re fighting good-aligned enemies.
- : Excellent ranged damage.
- : Depends on the Bloodrager’s garbage spell DCs.
- : Mediocre and hard to use.
(Su): Amusing, but the limited uses per day make this a very small amount of damage per day.
(Ex): Not a lot of resistance, but it’s nice to have.
(Su): Enchantment effects are among the scariest in the game, and fear effects also exist. Bonuses to saves against both will help with the Bloodrager’s poor Will saves.
(Su): Free flight! Don’t try to rage cycle while flying, or you will fall out of the sky.
(Su): 1d6 fire damage on your charges. Exciting.
(Su): Excellent resistances, and See In Darkness is much better than Darkvision.
Undead
The Undead Bloodline is a nice Tank option, and is good for fear stacking. With a few feats and some help from allies, you can keep enemies in a perpetual state of panic.
: Only a couple good options.
- : Diehard is a really good way to skip straight “dying” to “dead”.
- : More AC is helpful because the Bloodrager only gets medium armor.
- : Worthless in most campaigns.
- : The Bloodrager has very little reason to use Intimidate, but this will make them very good at it. The Undead bloodline provide plenty of other options to inflict fear which don’t depend on Intimidate.
- : Bonus to the Bloodragers worst save.
- : The Bloodrager doesn’t get anything which indicates that you would want or need Mobility.
- : With medium armor, more hitpoints never hurt.
: False Life and Vampiric touch are absolutely fantastic buffs for a front-line melee character like the Bloodrager.
- : Just hit things with a weapon.
- : Temporary hit points are fantastic, and the hours/level duration means that you can use this after every fight to keep a really nice bubble of temporary hitpoints.
- : Decent damage, and you get to heal yourself with it. Fantastic.
- : Negative levels will really ruin someone’s day, but by this level other spellcasters have much better options.
(Su): Frightful Strikes will eclipse this ability, but making the target Shaken with no save is a great option.
(Su): Situational, but nice to have.
(Su): Resistance to cold is nice, but you only get 10 points. Nonlethal damage is extremely uncommon.
(Su): By this level you have three iterative attacks, so you can make one enemy frightened every round. There is no save against this ability, which makes it particularly effective. I’m not sure what the duration on the fear effect is. Technically, rules as written, they are frightened forever. I imagine that this will be covered by eratta at some point.
(Su): This is a fantastic defensive ability because of Ghost Strike.
(Ex): A nice undead-related list of immunities and resistances.
