The goal is to have a Blood Mage that excels at dealing damage at range with spells. So far I've narrowed down the options to SC Blood Mage, Helwalker Sage and Assassin Spellblade (please let me know if I've overlooked other MC options) but I have no idea which one would be the best.
I'm playing in turn based mode at veteran difficulty with the community patch mod, no attribute caps mod, as well as a mod that makes Smoke Veil a free action. Also I have Tekehu as a Watershaper in the party so steady healing for Blood Sacrifice is a given too.
So here are my thoughts on each:
-- SC Blood Mage:
+3 PL, access to lvl 8 & 9 spells (no idea how good they are since I've never used them)
No downsides but I can't tell if the upsides are worth it compared to the MC alternatives.
-- Helwalker Sage:
+15 MIG, +10 INT, +2 Pen, +Accuracy
Massive stat buffs and intrinsic synergy with Blood Sacrifice at the cost of taking a whole lot more damage. Since it's a ranged caster anyways, that downside is pretty negligible but how do the gained stats compare to a flat +3 PL? Also since Mortification is only used on Enduring Dance it has pretty much unlimited per-fight resources as well.
-- Assassin Spellblade:
Massive Crit Damage, Pen and Accuracy from stealth, +10% hit to crit
Adept Evasion is better in turn based, free movement with Escape and since modded Smoke Veil is a free action I get more uses of invisibility per fight. It's the only option that's limited on per-fight resources.
Please let me know your thoughts on each as well as any other options I've missed.
