Questions regarding ACFs and Substitution Levels

[Gemini476]

I was tinkering around with a build before when I found a thing that I'm not entirely certain how it works:

A Battle Sorceror has a d8 hit die. Can it be combined with a substitution level (in this case, the Dragonblood Sorceror), if that substitution level lists it's HD as the standard for the class (d4 in this case)?
The rules for ACFs say that two of them can't change the same feature, but in this case the Dragonblood Sorceror is directly saying that it's HD is a d4 (rather than leaving it unsaid and defaulting to a d4).
I'm assuming that it won't work, but I'm not sure.

In a somewhat related build question, would a Dragon (who counts as Dragonblooded for prerequisites, by the most moderate reading of the rules) who becomes a Dracolich (and hence Undead) lose his feats that require him to be a Dragon or Dragonblooded?
Would he lose his levels/class features in Dragonblood Sorceror?

I'm not entirely clear as to the rules regarding Racial Substitution Levels, as you can clearly see.

If you wonder about the build, I was tinkering about with some low level Kobolds for a game I was thinking of running. Becoming a Dracolich doesn't seem to fit well with a familiar, from what I can tell. The XP loss hurts at low levels.

[AMFV]

I was tinkering around with a build before when I found a thing that I'm not entirely certain how it works:

A Battle Sorceror has a d8 hit die. Can it be combined with a substitution level (in this case, the Dragonblood Sorceror), if that substitution level lists it's HD as the standard for the class (d4 in this case)?
The rules for ACFs say that two of them can't change the same feature, but in this case the Dragonblood Sorceror is directly saying that it's HD is a d4 (rather than leaving it unsaid and defaulting to a d4).
I'm assuming that it won't work, but I'm not sure.


The Battle Sorc is a variant class, since ACFs replace class features then no dice, since the variant class gets applied first. Also I would stay away from Battle Sorcerer, just boost Con, trust me those spells will be missed.



In a somewhat related build question, would a Dragon (who counts as Dragonblooded for prerequisites, by the most moderate reading of the rules) who becomes a Dracolich (and hence Undead) lose his feats that require him to be a Dragon or Dragonblooded?
Would he lose his levels/class features in Dragonblood Sorceror?

I'm not entirely clear as to the rules regarding Racial Substitution Levels, as you can clearly see.

If you wonder about the build, I was tinkering about with some low level Kobolds for a game I was thinking of running. Becoming a Dracolich doesn't seem to fit well with a familiar, from what I can tell. The XP loss hurts at low levels.

It doesn't appear that the Dracolich can continue to use those feats. But the class substitution level is a lot more muddy. I don't believe there is a direct ruling on that.

[Gemini476]

The Battle Sorc is a variant class, since ACFs replace class features then no dice, since the variant class gets applied first. Also I would stay away from Battle Sorcerer, just boost Con, trust me those spells will be missed.
It's incredibly cheesy, but a Spellhoarding True Dragon with levels in Stalwart Battle Sorcerer gets d8+2 HD for pretty much no downside. That's because SBSorc cuts your Sorceror spells rather than your Wizard casting, which is what a Spellhoarding dragon casts with.
Somewhat high E6 cheese, basically. HP is pretty important at low levels, and for a Dracolich with Con - boosting HP/HD above d4 is ridiculously important. Hence Stalwart Battle with Desecrate for d8+4 per HD.

What are the main sources for Variant Classes/Alternate Class Features/Substitution Levels, by the way? I know that they were introduced in Unearthed Arcana, but a lot has been released since then.
Not to mention that Unearthed Arcana allows multiclassing Ranger/Urban Ranger, which seems weird.

[eggynack]

I'd just use this ACF list (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=7908). It's pretty complete.

[AMFV]

It's incredibly cheesy, but a Spellhoarding True Dragon with levels in Stalwart Battle Sorcerer gets d8+2 HD for pretty much no downside. That's because SBSorc cuts your Sorceror spells rather than your Wizard casting, which is what a Spellhoarding dragon casts with.
Somewhat high E6 cheese, basically. HP is pretty important at low levels, and for a Dracolich with Con - boosting HP/HD above d4 is ridiculously important. Hence Stalwart Battle with Desecrate for d8+4 per HD.


How are you getting True Dragon?

[Gemini476]

How are you getting True Dragon?
Cheesy interpretation of Dragonwrought. I know that it isn't something that's universally accepted, but that's how I run it.