Introduction
Sorcerers have very few archetypes because they are more commonly defined by their Bloodline. Both archetypes are compatible.
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- : 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.
Archetypes
Crossblooded
If you really want to combine two bloodlines, Crossblooded is pretty fantastic. You get both or your choice of each ability from your bloodlines, which allows for some really clever combinations. However, the drawbacks really do hurt.
: Two bonus class skills is pretty nice, but you still only get 2+ skills, and you may have dumped intelligence.
: Pick either option for your bonus spell known at each level where you gain bonus spells known.
: Add all of the options to your list of selectable bonus feats. This is especially great because most bloodlines don’t have enough worthwhile choices to get you to 20th level.
: You get both bloodline arcanas, and many of them are very good.
: Select either bloodeline power at the specified level. Many bloodlines have some very good powers mixed in with some really awful ones, and this is a good way to min-max your powers.
: You lose one spell known from each level, which severely limits your already limited versatility. As such, you will need to depend more on your bloodline powers. You also take a permanent -2 penalty to will saves, which is pretty dangerous. You can offset the will save penalty with Iron Will, but the loss of a spells known really hurts. Selecting a favored class bonus which gets you bonus spells known can help address this, but you will always have issues with your highest-level spells.
Replaced Features: Bloodline
Compatible Archetypes: None
Eldritch Scrapper
The Eldritch Scrapper is a really weird archetype. I could see this being effective for polymorph builds, but most Sorcerers won’t be able to make use of Martial Flexibility.
(Ex): Combat Feats generally aren’t useful for Sorcerers, but you can use Martial Flexibility to pick up defensive feats, or you could find several useful feats for polymorphing.
: If you’re going to be in melee, polymorphed or not, the ability to grow natural attacks can be very helpful.
Replaced Features: Bloodline Powers (1st, 9th, 15th)
Compatible Archetypes: None
Mongrel Mage
The Mongrel Mage sacrifices the raw power of a single-bloodline Sorcerer for the fantastic ability to switch bloodlines on a daily basis. This adds some much-needed versatility to the Sorcerer, but adds annoying restrictions on usage of Bloodline Powers and Bloodline Spells.
(Su): Many bloodlines have really fantastic powers, but many are situational. This allows you to switch bloodlines to one which will meet your needs better for the day. Unfortunately, your usage of these abilities is limited by the Mongrel Pool. Your Mongrel Pool should be large enough to cover your needs on most days, but it is frustrating to need to keep track of the Mongrel Pool in addition to the limited number of uses per day provided by Sorcerer Bloodlines.
: Bloodlines provide a lot of very good bonus spells known, and delaying the new spells for several levels is very annoying.
Replaced Features: Bloodline, Bloodline Feats (7th, 13th, 19th), bloodline powers, and bloodline spells
Compatible Archetypes: None