Blood Mage

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Overview & Creation

Draining blood from one of its companions to restore himself, a tiefling channels energies from himself into a ball of fiery energies to decimate its foes. He then concentrates as his wounds magically close, before he creates a blood red clone of himself that casts spells on its own. A human clad in scale mail charges into battle. As an arrow is about to strike him, he turns into a puddle of blood, before reemerging and teleporting to the archer and striking it with a deep cut. Smiling wisely, an elf walks through an inn. He walks up to a person, and with no movement the person starts spilling its darkest secrets. The bartender gets suspicious, but only with a look of its eyes, the elf seems to instantly calm him down, as he gives the elf a beer on the house. Blood mages rely on the pure power of their own blood and their own life to access magical powers and dark secrets. They often live secluded lives, where they are free to research and develop their talent without disturbance.

  Secrets of The Blood

Keeper of forbidden knowledge, blood mages have in one way or another stumbled upon a tome with the knowledge of how to learn these powers, or have been taught by a master. Some even gained knowledge of this power from some malevolent entity. No matter how a blood mage gained its power, they are individuals that sees any means of gaining power as an acceptable way. While blood magic is often viewed with scepticism and is associated with witches and others who use this magic with sacrifices and other terrible methods, some blood mages instead only drain from themselves when performing their magic, and only use the darker side of their powers on the wicked and evil.

  Troubled Lives

Life for a blood mage is often hard, the magic that surges within them causes great pain whenever used. Additionally, if a blood mage is ever found out, they are often driven away or sometimes even attacked at sight. Another side of it is that many creatures might seek to gain the knowledge the blood mage holds, and might be willing to acquire this knowledge by any means necessary. So a blood mage’s life is one often of great isolation, or one always on the move. As adventurer’s, blood mages are often mercenaries, or hunter’s for knowledge and the secrets of the world. On occasion a greater quest might hit a cord with a blood mage who sets out to complete this mission, or they may be lucky enough to find a group of companions that accepts them for who they are, allowing them to live the life of your average adventurer.

 

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Starting Equipment

(A) Light Crossbow and 20 Bolts (B) Any Simple Weapon (A) Components Pouch (B) Arcane Focus (A) Scholar's Pack (B) Dungeoneer's Pack Leather Armor, Any Simple Weapon, and Two Daggers

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Spellcasting

Blood Magic

Your research into the power of blood have given you the power to harness this energy to cast spells. See chapter 10 of the player handbook for general rules of spellcasting and the end of this document for the blood mage spell list.

Cantrips

You know three cantrips from the blood mage spell list, Blood Lance and two others of your choice. You learn additional blood mage cantrips of your choice at higher levels, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of the Blood Mage table.

Spells Known of 1st level and Higher

At 1st level, you know four 1st-level spells of your choice from the blood mage spell list. The Spells Known column of the Blood Mage table shows when you learn more blood mage spells of your choice of 1st level and higher. A spell you choose must be of a level no higher than what’s shown in the table’s Max Spell Level column for your level. When you reach 6th level, for example, you learn a new blood mage spell, which can be 1st, 2nd, or 3rd level. Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the blood mage spells you know and replace it with another spell from the blood mage spell list, which also must be of a level for which you have spell slots.

Spellcasting Ability

Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for your blood mage spells, so you use your Intelligence whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Intelligence modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a blood mage spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one. You also use this for powers and features gain by your blood rituals and through blood mutations.

Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier

Spell attack modifier = your proficiency

Ritual Casting

You can cast any blood mage spell you know as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag. However, to cast a spell as a ritual using blood magic, you must as a part of the ritual sacrifice humanoid creatures with a combined CR value equal to or lower than the level of the spell.

Spellcasting Focus

You can use an arcane focus (found in chapter 5 of the player handbook) as a spellcasting focus for your blood mage spells. Alternatively, you can use a dagger.

Casting a Spell of 1st level and Higher with Blood Magic

As a part of casting a spell using blood magic, you must expend a portion of your own vitality to have it work. The amount of Hit Points you loose is determined by the level of the spell cast, as shown in the table below. You cannot cast a spell if the damage from casting it would reduce you to 0 hit points or lower. Hit Points lost to blood magic always takes of your actual Hit Points, ignoring all forms of temporary Hit Points and wards. Spells of 6th level and higher are particularly taxing to cast. You can only use blood magic to cast one spell of each level of 6th or higher. You can’t cast another spell of the same level using blood magic until you finish a long rest.

Blood Magic Price

Spell level - Hit Point Cost

1st - 4 HP

2nd - 8 HP

3rd - 12 HP

4th - 16 HP

5th - 20 HP

6th - 25 HP

7th - 30 HP

8th - 35 HP

9th - 40 HP

 

Corruption

Whenever you expend hit points to cast a spell using blood magic, you gain an amount of corruption equal to half the amount of Hit Points spent (rounded down). Corruption is a magical sickness that lingers, reducing the effect of incoming healing magic. You can never have more corruption than your maximum hit points. Whenever you regain Hit Points through magic, and have any corruption, an amount of corruption equal to the Hit Points received is instead removed. If this reduces the corruption to 0, any leftover Hit Point restoration works normally. IE. If you have 20 Corruption and is healed for 30 Hit Points, your corruption is reduced to 0, and you regain 10 Hit Points. Additionally, any effect that removes a curse, removes 5d10 points of corruption on you. You also lose all corruption during a long rest, or 2d10 points of corruption during a short rest. Hit Points regained from spells or abilities gained through the blood mage class as well as healing from nonmagical sources ignores corruption, instead healing you directly.

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Subclass Options

Blood Rituals

When it comes the time for a blood mage to make a blood ritual, they choose how they want to focus and improve their power, and performs a ritual accordingly. Although many different blood rituals exist, only two are commonly known: the ritual of the Juggernaut, and the ritual of the Maleficarum.

Juggernaut

The ritual you performed, enhanced your physical prowess, allowing for effective use of weapons and armor in combination with your blood magic. Additionally, it comes with the power to greater use blood magic for defensive purposes, and to even cheat death.

  Bonus Proficiencies

When you choose this ritual at 2nd level, you gain proficiency in medium armor, shields, and martial weapons.

  Crimson Armaments

After having completed the ritual of the Juggernaut at 2nd level, you learn how to empower your weapons and armor using your innate blood magic. You perform a 1 hour ritual with either a weapon or a suit of armor, at the end of this duration, you magically bond it to your blood. You can magically store the armor or weapon within yourself as a bonus action. You can use another bonus action to have it magically reappear in your hand or on you. The weapon or armor ceases being your crimson armament if you die, or if you perform a 1-hour ritual to break your bond with it. The weapon or armor appears at your feet if it is inside you when the bond breaks.

If a weapon, the weapon counts as magical for the purpose of overcoming damage resistances and immunities, additionally, whenever you hit with the weapon, you can spend up to 5 blood points. For every blood point spent in this way, your attack deals an additional 1d6 points of the weapons damage type.

If a piece of armor, the armor counts as magical for the purpose of effects that targets nonmagical armors, additionally, whenever you are hit by a melee attack by a creature within 5 feet of you, you can spend up to 5 blood points. For every blood point spent in this way, the attacker takes 1d8 necrotic damage as tendrils of blood assaults the attacker.

  Extra Attack

Starting at 6th level you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

  Sanguine Reservoir

When you reach 10th level, you learn to manipulate your blood magic in such a way to not leave you vulnerable afterwards. You gain a special ward called the Sanguine Reservoir. Whenever you loose Hit Points as part of casting a blood magic spell, the Sanguine Reservoir gains the same amount of Hit Points as you lost Hit Points. The combined value of your Hit Points and those of the reservoir can never exceed your maximum Hit Points. If it ever does, the reservoir looses an amount of Hit Points until the combined value equals your maximum Hit Points. Whenever you take damage, the Sanguine Reservoir takes the damage instead. If this damage reduces the ward to 0 hit points, you take any remaining damage. Temporary Hit Points are expended before the ward is damaged.

Born Again

Starting at 14th level, when you are reduced to 0 Hit Points and are not killed outright, you can choose to drop to 1 Hit Point instead. You can additionally consume an amount of blood point of your choice, gaining 10 Hit Points per blood point consumed this way. Once you have used this ability, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.

  Body Dive

When you reach 18th level, you can channel the energies within yourself and dive into a creature, before emerging from another creature. Choose a creature with blood that is the same size as you or larger within 30 feet of you. You rapidly speed and jump into the creature. The creature must make a Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC or take 10d10 piercing damage, taking half damage on a successful save. You then choose another creature with blood of the same size as you or larger that you know about on the same plane of existence. You immediately emerge to a spot within 5 feet of the creature, which must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or take 10d10 piercing damage, taking half damage on a successful saving throw. A creature that fails a save against this effect is also stunned until the end of your next turn. Additionally, the damage of this ability ignores all resistances. Once you have used this ability, you cannot use it again until you finish a short or a long rest.

 

Maleficarum

The ritual you performed has more greatly enhanced the magical capabilities of your blood, allowing you even greater feats of magic through your blood magic. You have also learned the secrets to manipulate the wellspring within you to grander effects.

  Expanded Spell List

The Maleficarum rituals gives you access to additional spells. You gain access to these spells at the levels specified below. Once you gain access to your blood ritual spells, they are added to your spell list. These spells don’t count against the number of spells known.

Maleficarum Spells

Blood Mage level - Spells

2nd - Burning Hands, Chromatic Orb

3rd - Aganazzar's Scorcher, Blur (C)

5th - Dispel Magic, Fireball

7th - Elemental Bane (C), Ice Storm

9th - Cone of Cold, Maelstrom (C)

  Empowered Well of Blood

When you choose this ritual at 2nd level, you learn how to gain even more power out of the wellspring within you. When you use a blood point, it now reduces the Hit Point cost of a blood magic spell by 5. Additionally, you can now spend up to three blood points at a time to reduce the Hit Point cost of a blood magic spell.

Essence Stealer

When you reach 6th level, you learn to leech the life force from those you slay. Whenever you reduce a creature to 0 Hit Points with a blood magic spell, you gain 1 blood point. You can still not have more blood points than your maximum amount indicated in the Blood Points column of the Blood Mage table.

  Blood Siphon At 10th level, you learn to restore yourself by draining the life of your enemies, or your friends. As an action, you choose a creature with blood within 10 feet of you, and expend 1 to 5 blood points. You can instead use a bonus action if the target is willing. The creature must succeed on a Constitution saving throw against your blood magic spell save DC. On a failed save, a creature takes 1d10 piercing damage per blood point spent. On a successful save, a creature takes half damage. Either way, you regain an amount of Hit Points equal to half the damage dealt (rounded up). This effect, cannot reduce a creature below 1 Hit Point. If used on a willing target, the target can choose to fail the saving throw. If it does so, the damage ignores all resistances and immunities the target has. Additionally, you regain an amount of Hit Points equal to the damage dealt, instead of half.   Simulacrum of Blood

When you reach 14th level, you gain the ability create a clone of yourself out of your own blood. As an action, you can cast the simulacrum spell with the following changes: The simulacrum can only cast spells of 5th level and lower, it does not have access to blood points nor to your blood mutations. The simulacrum can not regain Hit Points from any outside source. The simulacrum lasts for only 10 minutes You ignore the material components, instead using your own blood You sacrifice an amount of Hit Points of your choice as a part of casting the spell, The Simulacrum has twice this amount as Hit Points

  Eternal Well

Upon reaching 18th level, you have learned how to more quickly restore the wellspring within your blood. Once per day when you finish a short rest, you can recover half your maximum amount of blood points (rounded down). This cannot exceed your maximum amount of blood points.

 

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