School of Blood
An oft-forbidden path of the wizard, blood mages harness the power inherent in life-force, most commonly in the form of blood. Blood mages usually use their own blood to power their spells but the potential to use the life-force of others is a powerful temptation for many. This potential temptation is the source of the fear of this power and its subsequent tendency to be banned in all, but those lands controlled by evil wizards, who are often themselves blood mages.
Blood Magic
When you choose this option at 2nd level, you gain the ability to augment your arcane spells with blood magic. You can store life energy for later use, represented by a pool of Blood Points. The maximum blood points you can have at any one time is equal to your maximum hit points divided by 2, rounding down. When you finish a long rest, your pool of blood points begins at 0. As a bonus action you can add blood points to your pool by sacrificing hit points. Each hit point spent this way increases the pool by one blood point. You can spend Blood Points to create spell slots for your arcane spells, provided the slot is of a level you can normally cast. The Blood Magic Spell Slots table shows the cost of creating a slot of a given level. When a slot is created in this way, it must be used to cast a spell immediately. The creation of the slot is part of the type of action used to cast the spell.
Spell Levels |
Blood Points |
1st |
5 |
2nd |
10 |
3rd |
15 |
4th |
20 |
5th |
25 |
6th |
30 |
7th |
35 |
8th |
40 |
9th |
45 |
Athame
Blood Mages often incorporate a ritual dagger called an “athame” into their practice. When you adopt this tradition at 2nd level, you gain the ability to use an athame as an arcane focus. Any dagger can become an athame, by undergoing a ritual that lasts 1 hour and imbues it with the life-force of the blood mage performing the ritual. A basic athame only functions for the one that performed the ritual, but its allegiance can be turned by another blood mage performing the same ritual. When the ritual is performed this way, it takes half as long.
Sanguine Augmentation
Beginning at 6th level, you have learned to use the power of blood to alter and empower your spells. You gain two of these options, called Sanguine Augmentations, at 6th level, and learn one more at 10th and 14th level. You can only apply one Sanguine Augmentation to a spell unless otherwise specified.
Blood Boost
When casting a spell, you can spend 10 blood points to treat it as one slot level higher for the purposes of casting at higher levels, without using a slot of that level. You cannot increase a spell to a level higher than you are able to cast.
Bloodletter’s Concentration
While maintaining concentration on a spell, if you cast another spell requiring concentration, you can spend 10 blood points to continue the concentration on the first spell until the end of your next turn.
Blood-Seeking Spell
You gain a +1 bonus to a spell attack per every 10 blood points spent on this Augmentation.
Bloody Ritual
When casting a spell as a ritual, you can spend 10 blood points instead of spending additional time to cast it as a ritual. Additionally, you can add rituals to your spellbook using blood instead of the quality inks most wizards use. When you begin inscribing a spell in your spellbook, you may spend 10 blood points to reduce the cost by half.
Bloody Spell
When you deal damage with a spell, you can spend blood points to add bonus damage to the spell. The bonus damage equals the number of blood points spent in this way. If the spell has multiple targets, you apply this bonus damage only to one target of your choice.
Enduring Spell
When you cast a spell that has a duration of 1 minute or longer, you can spend 5 blood points to double its duration, up to a maximum duration of 1 hour.
Hemorrhaging Spell
When you hit with a spell attack, you can spend 5 blood points per target of the spell to cause those targets to take an additional 5 necrotic damage at the start of their next turn.
Irresistible Spell
When casting a spell that requires the target to make a saving throw versus your spell save DC, you can increase your DC for that casting of the spell by 1 for every 10 blood points spent on this Augmentation.
Phase Spell
Your blood magic disrupts planar boundaries, which you can manipulate to phase through total cover. You can target a creature that has total cover from you with a ranged spell attack, as long as you know the location of that creature. You must spend 1 blood point for every foot of solid material between you and the target, minimum 1 blood point.
Blood Siphon
Starting at 10th level, your continued use of Blood Magic has unlocked the ability to use the vitality of others in your spells. When you deal damage to a creature with a spell or a weapon attack, you may have that creature make a Constitution saving throw versus your spell save DC. On a failed save, you regain blood points equal to half the damage dealt by the triggering attack, not exceeding your blood point maximum. You can use this feature a number of times per short rest equal to your Intelligence modifier.
Improved Blood Siphon
Starting at 14th level, your ability to draw on the vitality of others has improved. When you regain blood points from your Blood Siphon feature, any points that would exceed your maximum are still added to your pool. You may not gain any more blood points by any method until you are below your normal maximum.