Blood Mage Class

Blood Mage

Dagger in hand a half-elf in bloodstained robes grins madly, as he draws upon his own life force, as he weaves it into a powerful incantation.

A golden dragonborn armed with a greatsword swings wildly at his foes, drawing from their power with every hit he lands.

Blood Mages are powerful spellcasters who draw upon the power of life essence. Blood Mages learn their craft through countless hours of studying and training. Unlike many other spellcasters, blood mages must be as strong of body as they are of mind.

Outcasts of Society

Blood Mages are generally looked down upon as primitive or inherently evil, often finding themselves bundled up alongside necromancers and other unsavoury spellcasters. Amongst other of the magical community, they are seen as lesser, having to use blood to cast magic rather than having any magical power of their own.

In spite of popular opinion blood mages are diverse as they come, while one may follow a dark path, using their power to inflict suffering and for personal gain, another may practice blood magic in the pursuit of knowledge and use their power to help the common folk.

Untapped Potential

Due to blood magic's nature and the light it is viewed in, blood mages are incredibly uncommon and the magic they use is largely undiscovered or otherwise unrecorded.

That said, what has been observed of blood magic shows it to have great potential and near-unrivalled power at an unfortunately equally great cost.

Seekers of Knowledge

Blood Mages like wizards are scholars at heart. They tend to collect and record as much knowledge as possible, often striving to amass as much power as possible, and all to frequently, by any means possible.

Creating a Blood Mage

When creating a blood mage think about why it is that you became one. Where you an aspiring scholar that turned to blood magic after hearing of its power? A hermit who discovered and pursued the ancient powers of blood? Or a wizard that turned to the dark powers of blood magic to further your power?

Whatever your story, blood mages tend to be scholarly and are not afraid to turn to dark or dangerous magic to further their knowledge and power.

Quick Build

You can make a blood mage quickly by following these suggestions. First make constitution your highest stat, followed by intelligence if you want a spell orientated blood mage, or strength if you want a melee blood mage. Second, choose the scholar or hermit background.

Class Features

As a Blood Mage, you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

Hit Dice: 1d10 per blood mage level

Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + your constitution modifier

Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 + your constitution

modifier per blood mage level after 1st

Proficiencies

Armor: None

Weapons: Simple weapons

Tools: None

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Saving Throws: Constitution, Intelligence

Skills: Choose two from Arcana, Athletics, History, lnsight,

lnvestigation, Medicine, and Survival

Equipment

• (a) a light crossbow and 20 bolts or (b) a dagger
• (a) a component pouch, (b) an arcane focus, or (c) ritural implements
• (a) a scholar’s pack or (b) an explorer's pack
• any simple weapon

Spellcasting

As a blood mage, you channel and weave the power of your blood to create and control spells. Blood Mages use the wizard spell list which can be found in chapter 11 of the PHB along with the general rules for spellcasting in chapter 10, an extended list of spells can also be found in the spells section of this document.

Cantrips

As a first level, you know 2 cantrips of your choice from the wizard spell list. You learn additional cantrips of your choice at certain levels, as shown on the cantrips known collum of the Blood Mage Table.

Spells Slots

Unlike other spellcasting classes, Blood Mages only have one of each type of spell slot as shown on the blood mage table. Each spell slot can be used any number of times at the cost of blood points depending on level.

Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher

At first level, you know 2 spells of your choice from the wizard spell list. You choose additional wizard spells at certain levels as shown on the blood mage table.

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.

Ritual Casting

You can cast a blood mage spell as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag and you have the spell in your spellbook. You don't need to have the spell prepared.

Spellcasting Focus

You can use an arcane focus or ritural implements as a spellcasting focus for your blood mage spells.

Blood Dice

As a blood mage, you have a number of blood dice, these dice represent the number of blood points you can gain per round. Your blood dice are d6s and at 1st level, you have one, gaining another each level thereafter.

Unless otherwise stated by an ability you may spend no more blood dice per round than your total number of blood dice, but may split your dice amongst abilities.

Blood Pool

Your blood pool represents the maximum number of blood points you can have at the end of each of your turns. Should you end your turn with more points than your pool can hold all excess points will evaporate in a bloody mist.

Life Drain

As an action, you may target one creature or corpse and make a spell attack with a range of 5 feet. On a success deal one blood dice of damage drawing an equivalent number of blood points from the target.

You may not gain more blood points from a single target than its maximum total hit points and the target cannot be undead, a construct or otherwise not have blood, nor can it have been dead for more than a minute.

The number of blood dice you can spend per use of this action increases by 1 at 11th, and 20th levels.

Sacrifice

At the start of each of your turns, as a free action, you may choose to expend any number of blood dice, up to your max, and losing the number rolled in hitpoints and gaining them plus your intelegence modifier in blood points. You must decide how many blood dice you wish to roll before you roll them and cannot perform further sacrifices until your next turn.

Bloody Path

At second level you may choose a bloody path, which will dictate the way you use and control the power of your blood: Blood Blade or Hemomancer, both detailed at the end of the class description.

Your choice grants you features when you choose it at 2nd level and again at 6th, 10th, and 14th levels.

Spell Cost

Spell Level	Blood Point Cost
1st	3
2nd	5
3rd	10
4th	15
5th	20
6th	30
7th	45
8th	60
9th	80

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Transfusion

At 6th level, you draw from your blood pool to reverse the effects of injury on yourself and your allies, as an action you may spend 6 blood points and a blood dice to restore 1d6 hitpoints to yourself or an ally within 5 feet.

At levels 11 and 17 you gain the ability to restore an additional 1d6 hitpoints at the cost of 6 blood points and a blood dice, per dice healed.

Blood Bond

At 10th level, you have learnt how to form a blood bond between yourself and an ally. As an action, you can form a bond between yourself and a willing target within 5 feet. The bond lasts for an hour or until you choose to end it.

While bonded you can innately sense how much life your bonded companion has, they gain a number of blood dice and a blood pool equal to yours if they had less, to begin with, you share your blood pools and you can force them to expend their blood dice, whenever you would normally be able to use yours. Once the blood bond has ended, neither party can engage in another for a week.

You cannot form a blood bond with a creature you would not normally be able to use your sacrifice ability on.

Blood Sense

At 15th level you have learnt to sense blood itself, as an action, you may activate blood sight for 1 min, while blood sight is active you have advantage on all perception checks against a creature that you could normally draw blood from and can use a bonus action against such a creature to determine it current and maximum hitpoints, the type of creature, and if any how many levels of blood mage it has.

Improved Blood Bond

At 19th level you have mastered blood bonding, your blood bonds may now be used once per long rest and you can force your enemies into them. When you initiate a blood bond with an unwilling target, they must make a constitution save against your spell save dc, on a fail you successfully initiate a blood bond but your target may not expend your blood or blood dice, and you may only force the target to spend blood dice equal to 20 - their constitution save.

If you fail to initiate the bond your use of this feature is refunded.

Your target may reroll the constitution save each round if they escape you may reinitiate the bond as an action on your next turn, but cannot do so otherwise.

Bloody Paths

As a blood mage learns to control the power of his or her blood, one tends to develop certain styles and techniques which they use in conjunction with their magic. Though there is no limit to how a blood mage may present themselves most blood mage's fit into two categories: Blood Blades and Hemomancers.

Blood Blade

The blood blade while still a capable caster, favours physical combat over spell slinging. Blood blades draw blood from their foes while they fight and use it to enhance their own attacks.

Bonus Proficiencies

When you choose the path at second level you gain proficiency in light and medium armour and martial weapons.

Blood Strike

As a blood blade, you have learnt to burn the power of your blood to increase the strength of your strikes. When you make a weapon attack you may 10 blood points to have that attack deal an additional 1d6 necrotic damage.

You may decide to spend the blood points before or after you roll to attack but not before the GM determines whether or not you hit.

At 7th, 11th, 15th, and 20th levels you may expend an additional 10 blood points to deal an extra dice of damage.

Extra Attack

At 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

Blood Drain

At 9th level whenever you hit with a melee weapon attack you gain blood points equal to the damage dealt. This includes extra damage from your blood strike ability or similar.

Blade of Blood

At 13th level you can create weapons out of the blood, as a bonus action, you can expend 5 blood points to form a weapon that you are proficient in, made entirely from blood. This weapon counts as magical for the purposes of overcoming resistances and immunities from non-magical attack damage, and deals +1 necrotic damage for every dice of necrotic damage an attack deals.

Blood Shield

At 17th level, you may create a shield of blood. As an action, you can expend 10 points of blood to create a swirling vortex of blood around your body, any attack that would normally hit you while the blood shield is up instead hits the blood shield.

The blood shield has 1d10+5 hitpoints, and an AC equal to yours, if the blood shield is destroyed any excess damage carries over and hits you.

Sanguine Rings

At 20th level you have mastered the art of the blood blade. You may expend 20 blood points and your action to form a sanguine ring around yourself, alternatively for every 10 blood points you have in excess of your blood pool at the end of your turn you may create one for free.

For every sanguine ring you have active you gain +1 to your AC and 1d4 points of necrotic damage to any enemies within 5ft of you at the end of your turn. Furthermore, you can expend a sanguine ring to do any one of the following:

• Deal 1d10 points of necrotic damage to all enemies within 10 feet as an action.
• Deal 1d4 points of necrotic damage to all enemies within 5 feet as a reaction to being hit or attack of opportunity.
• Block 1d10 points of damage upon being hit as a reaction.

You may have up to three sanguine rings at any given time.

Hemomancer

Hemomantic Alteration

When you pick this bloody path at 2nd level you learn to alter your spells using blood points. You learn 3 alterations a 2nd level and an additional 2 at 5th, 7th, 10th, and 15th levels.

Spell Book

At second level when you pick this path you have learnt to understand and cast more complex spells than your martialy inclined peers. You gain a spell book, or some other way of recording your spells too, and can now record any wizard spell of first level or higher into it.

The cost of Copying a spell into your book is equal to 50 gold and 2 hours, per level of the spell copied.

Furthermore you now know and can cast spells based off of the Hemomancer Spellcasting table rather than the blood mage class table.

Hemomancer Spellcating

Level	Cantrips Known	Spells Known	Max Spell Level
2nd	3	3	1
3rd	3	4	2
4th	4	5	2
5th	4	6	3
6th	4	7	3
7th	4	8	4
8th	4	9	4
9th	4	10	5
10th	5	10	5
11th	5	11	6
12th	5	11	6
13th	5	12	7
14th	5	12	7
15th	5	13	8
16th	5	13	8
17th	5	14	9
18th	5	14	9
19th	5	15	9
20th	5	15	9

Improved Sacrifice

At 5th level you have gotten far better at burning blood for your spells, you now have twice as many blood dice as shown on in the blood dice column of the blood mage table. At 20th level this increases to unlimited blood dice.

Blood Bolt

At 9th level, you gain the ability to sling weaponised life essence at your enemies. Blood Bolts have a range of 30 feet, deal a d6 force or necrotic damage and can be used as a bonus action, while they do not count as a spell Hemomantic Alterations can be applied to them and cost half price.

Favoured Spells

By 13th level you have gained a particular fondness and mastery over a select few spells, pick 3 spells of 3rd level or lower, these spells now cost half as many blood points to cast and all alterations also have half cost (rounded up).

Life Channel

At 17th level you have learnt to push your body above and beyond, you can now spend blood dice as per the sacrifice ability just before and after trying to cast a spell.

Furthermore if the act of expending blood dice reduces you to or below 0 hp, you do not drop unconscious or die until the end of your turn.

Blood Storm

At 20th level you have mastered syphoning your blood into spells and learnt how to use that process to create a powerful storm of blood spells. You can start a blood storm with a radius of 5 feet centred on yourself as an action for 20 blood points, alternatively you may create a blood storm with a radius of 5 feet per 10 points of blood you have in excess of your blood pool. You must expend 10 blood points at the end of every round after the first to keep the blood storm active, otherwise, it shrinks by 5 feet.

Any damage to dealt to enemies within the blood storm deals +1 necrotic damage, regardless of who delt the damage, and any damage taken by any creature that blood life drain can be used on, is given to you in blood points. Furthermore, while you have an active blood storm you can do any of the following;

• As an action (or a free action using excess blood points at the end of your turn) you can spend 20 points + (5 x times increased) in blood points to increase the size of your blood storm by 5 feet.
• As a action, you may cast any 1st level spell, favoured spell or blood bolt on a number of targets equal to your intelligence modifier. These spells can hit even if they would normally be out of range but spells that deal AoE damage only affect the selected target.
• As a bonus action, you may move the blood storm to any position, provided you are still inside it. If the blood storm shrinks and would cause you to be outside of it it also shifts close enough to encompass your body.
• As a reaction to an enemy triggering an attack of opportunity, exiting the blood storm or attacking you, you may cast a first level spell, favoured spell or blood bolt centred on them.

Any damaging spell cast in the blood storm may have its damage type changed to force or necrotic.

Hemomantic Alterations

Bouncing Spell

Blood Cost. 10

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Whenever you hit with a bouncing spell roll 1d4, on a 4 the spell bounces and hits another target within 10 feet, if multiple such targets exist the caster may choose which one it hits. A spell may bounce multiple times but cannot hit the same target more than once.

Brutal Spell

Blood Cost. 10

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When rolling the damage for the spell roll twice as many dice as needed then choose which ones to use.

Charged Spell

Blood Cost. 5

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When you apply this alteration to a spell you increase its damage by 1 point per dice of damage the spell deals.

Componentless Spell

Blood Cost. 5

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When you apply this alteration no longer requires material componants.

Compressed Spell

Blood Cost. 10

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This alteration can be aplied to any area of effect spell that deals half damage on a successful save. when this alteration is applied the spells effected area is reduced by half but no save can be made.

Element Shift: Acid

Blood Cost. 5

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When you apply this alteration to a spell you chan cange one or all or its damage dice to acid damage.

Element Shift: Fire

Blood Cost. 5

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When you apply this alteration to a spell you chan cange one or all or its damage dice to fire damage.

Element Shift: Force

Blood Cost. 5

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When you apply this alteration to a spell you chan cange one or all or its damage dice to force damage.

Element Shift: Frost

Blood Cost. 5

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When you apply this alteration to a spell you chan cange one or all or its damage dice to cold damage.

Element Shift: Lightning

Blood Cost. 5

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When you apply this alteration to a spell you chan cange one or all or its damage dice to lightning damage.

Element Shift: Necrotic

Blood Cost. 5

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When you apply this alteration to a spell you chan cange one or all or its damage dice to necrotic damage.

Element Shift: Poison

Blood Cost. 5

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When you apply this alteration to a spell you chan cange one or all or its damage dice to poison damage.

Element Shift: Psychic

Blood Cost. 5

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When you apply this alteration to a spell you chan cange one or all or its damage dice to psychic damage.

Element Shift: Radiant

Blood Cost. 5

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When you apply this alteration to a spell you chan cange one or all or its damage dice to radiant damage.

Element Shift: Thunder

Blood Cost. 5

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When you apply this alteration to a spell you chan cange one or all or its damage dice to thunder damage.

Held Spell

Blood Cost. 5

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When this alteration is applied to a spell the spell in question can be delayed from going off for up to a minuet. Holding a spell takes your concentration and should that be broken the spell will go off. At any point while holding a spell you may choose to cancel it but do not regain expended blood points.

Longshot

Blood Cost. 5

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A spell attack with a rande of 5 or more feet made with this alteration increase their range by 10 feet.

This alteration may be applied to a single spell a number of times equal to twice your intelegence modifier.

Mass Channle

Blood Cost. 10

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When you apply this alteration to a AoE spell its radius increases by 10 feet. You may apply this effet a number of times equal to twice your intelegence modifier.

Overchannle

Blood Cost. 10

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When you apply this alteration to a spell any overkill damage can be transfered to another enemy within 10 feet.

Silenced Spell

Blood Cost. 5

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When you apply this alteration to a spell any verbal componant is removed.

Specialisation: Acid

Blood Cost. 10

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When you apply this alteration to a spell that deals fire damage all targets hit must suceed on a constitution saving throw (DC 8 + Spell Level), or take 1d4 points of fire damage at the start of each of their turns for 1d4 rounds.

Specialisation: Fire

Blood Cost. 10

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When you apply this alteration to a spell that deals fire damage all targets hit must suceed on a constitution saving throw (DC 8 + Spell Level), or take 1d4 points of fire damage at the start of each of their turns for 1d6 rounds or until they put themselves out.

Specialisation: Frost

Blood Cost. 10

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When you apply this alteration to a spell that deals cold damage all targets hit must suceed on a constitution saving throw (DC 8 + Spell Level), or have their speed halved for 1d6 rounds.

Specialisation: Lightning

Blood Cost. 10

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When you apply this alteration to a spell that deals lightning damage all targets hit must suceed on a constitution saving throw (DC 8 + Spell Level), or be stunned for 1 round of combat.

Specialisation: Necrotic

Blood Cost. 10

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When you apply this alteration to a spell that deals necrotic damage all targets hit must suceed on a constitution saving throw (DC 8 + Spell Level), or take 1d4 points of poison damage at the start of each of their turns for 1d6 rounds.

Specialisation: Poison

Blood Cost. 10

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When you apply this alteration to a spell that deals fire damage all targets hit must suceed on a constitution saving throw (DC 8 + Spell Level), or take 1d4 points of poison damage at the start of each of their turns for 1d4 rounds.

Specialisation: Psychic

Blood Cost. 10

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When you apply this alteration to a spell that deals fire damage all targets hit must suceed on a constitution saving throw (DC 8 + Spell Level), or be stunned until the start of their next turn.

Specialisation: Radiant

Blood Cost. 10

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When you apply this alteration to a spell that deals lightning damage all targets hit must suceed on a constitution saving throw (DC 8 + Spell Level), or be blinded for 1d4 rounds.

Specialisation: Thunder

Blood Cost. 10

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When you apply this alteration to a spell that deals fire damage all targets hit must suceed on a constitution saving throw (DC 8 + Spell Level), or be stunned until the start of their next turn.

Spell Snipe

Blood Cost. 10

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A ranged spell attack made with alteration is made with advantage to hit.

Still Spell

Blood Cost. 5

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When you apply this alteration to a spell any somatic componant is removed.

Twinned Blast

Blood Cost. 10

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When you cast a ranged spell with this alteration applied you may target one additional target with it. At 10th and 15th levels you may apply this alteration to a single spell an additional time.

Multiclassing

Blood Mages do not count as spell casters for the purpose of calculating spell slots, but do for calculating the maximum level of spell they can cast, and count as half casters or full casters if they choose the hemomancer archetype.

They may expend blood points to cast a spell of level they can cast even if they gain the ability to cast that spell from another class.

Blood Mages of the hemomancer archetype add their levels with any levels in wizard when determining what spells they can learn.

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Ability Score Minimum. Intelegence 13

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Proficencies Gained. Simple Weapons.