To my reading and paraphrasing heavily, bloodlines seem to
- be transient rather than long lived,
- be named after a still living leader,
- be a legal rather than a magical entity (i.e. no wyter though a
stead/longhouse/village might have one) and
- recede in importance in small clans as it is easier for an
individual or small group to get representation on the clan authority
structures (i.e. the inner and outer rings).
Clans (and for that matter tribes and even kingdoms) seem to have a
much longer duration and so it is easier to structure them. However,
designing a set of bloodlines for a clan and working out how they
might change over time appears to be much more difficult.
Any thoughts or disagreements?