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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Nyeshet" data-source="post: 3425476" data-attributes="member: 18363">Regarding the first idea, it works best if you use either the paths of corruption from Ravenloft or something akin to the drifts from 3e's geomancer. Or even the odd paths in the third party book Chaos Magic (can't recall the company that released it; has been years since I looked through it). The first time they fail they get something minor that has no real mechanical benefit - or perhaps only a very very minor benefit, like +1 to a certain skill check or once per day being allowed to re-roll a save, forced to take the second roll even if it is worse than the first. And they have a minor alteration to their features that shows they are falling astray. Every week thereafter they can make a single save - at the original DC - to remove the effect. If at any time they either choose to not make the roll (It is voluntary, to reflect their character's dislike of the change / corruption, etc.) or if they gain an additional corruption before succeeding in the roll, then the effect becomes semi-permanent. Higher levels spells can reduce the corruption by one degree. Once it is (semi) permanent there are few options for removal. High level spells are often involved, perhaps with atonement and a quest. If they 'fail' not due to forsaking the chance to remove it but instead due to acquiring more corruption, once they succeed (if they succeed) in removing the newest, higher, layer of corruption they can once again make saves to remove the former layer - but with the DC raised by +2. Each increase in corruption brings both greater benefit and greater change - but the benefits often carry a high price. Perhaps they require fresh blood from some creature other than self to activate. Perhaps they have a chance of failure that brings even worse misfortune than the effect it was meant to protect against. Perhaps it is balanced by an opposite - such as gaining Fire Resistance 5 but taking half again as much damage from cold energy. The changes in body might themselves bring minor but potentially useful benefits - thick scaly skin that grants natural armor, horns that grant a natural gore attack, short fur that helps one blend into a natural environment, granting +5 to Hide checks when in such an environment, for example. All sorts of ideas come to mind, although they cannot really be said to be a 'minor' alteration to the magic system, I admit. Regarding your second idea, that was my point when I suggested that sorcerers have feats like wizards, but must choose either heritage feats or metamagic feats. The idea of a minor or intermediate bloodline also works well, actually - especially an intermediate one. It's not like most bloodlines will (at the intermediate level) overpower the sorcerer. They tend to focus on melee, an area sorcerers tend to do poorly in.</blockquote>

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