Of all the changes Pathfinder introduced to the 3.5 rules set, sorcerer bloodlines are my most favorite. Doing so not only made one of the most boring classes much more interesting, but took a minor note in their background fluff and put it squarely in the spotlight. Now, the question of what in the sorcerer’s history grants him his power is at the front and center of who the character is. But of course, the imagination rails against being confined to merely the ten choices in the Pathfinder Core Rulebook. Surely there are more exotic things that can grant a sorcerer magical power? And indeed there are, and they’re to be found in the first volume of Reality Deviant Publication’s Class Options series, aptly titled Sorcerer Bloodlines.

The book is a short one, but in spite of that nicely bookmarks everything within it. Except for the cover, there’s no other art to be found here save for one illustration near the end. Brown borders go along the top and bottom of each page, along with very thin black ones on the sides. There’s no printer-friendly version, but I doubt anyone would need one for a PDF that’s only nine pages in length.

The most interesting thing about this book is that, right off the bat, it throws your expectations on their head. Pathfinder introduced the concept that, though most sorcerer bloodlines are the result of some actual creature being the sorcerer’s ancestor, there can be more “conceptual” bloodlines, such as Arcane or Destined. This book runs with that idea, as all of the bloodlines presented here are conceptual in nature. There are ten in total, with seven of them being based on the seven deadly sins in a very cool homage to the first Pathfinder adventure path. What’s more, nine new feats are to be found at the end of the book, each one enhancing or altering a bloodline power (my favorite being Dual Inheritance, which lets you take a minor power from a second bloodline at the cost of one of the stronger ones from your base bloodline).

Of course, I did notice some minor problems with what’s in the book, both in terms of design and mechanics. For example, one of the bloodlines gives you “fire vulnerabile 5,” which seems to be a reference to a 4E mechanic, while its bonus feats entry was not only not emboldened, but erroneously italicized as well. None of these are deal-breakers, of course, but the imperfections are there.

That said, this book gives a great new series of options that not only expands on what gives your sorcerer his power, it makes it about more than a question of a monstrous ancestor, bringing great new fluff and crunch into your game…exactly as sorcerer bloodlines should.