[thejeff]

Though it's hard to get the needed boosters without pretender/empowering/lucky indies.
And you still need to get to N4 for GoR .

In fact, the only non artifact boosters you can make natively are Starshine Skullcap and Skull of Fire. A few others with rare path combinations on a Starets. That surprised me, for such a diverse nation.
Of course, you'll empower in blood, which opens up those boosters. And a simple pair of Earth boots gets you Coins and Rings which open up most of what you need.

Blood is definitely the way to go for SCs. You've got the research to grab some of the uniques even with some sidetracks for other paths along the way.