Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 RCNovak Aug 02, 2015 21:02:03	I've seen a lot of posts on the boards lately about translating the Blood Mage from previous iterations of D&D into 5e. As a former Blood Mage player from 3.5, I'd love to see it come back... but I don't think it necessarily has to be handled as a particular character archetype. Doing so means only a few select classes will have access to it, and also lock those intended classes out of their original variants. Instead, I'm proposing some homebrewed rules for the art of "Bloodcasting"... optional spellcasting rules that any character with available spell slots can make use of in any given game.   It's designed to be lightweight and direct, so you can lay it on top of nearly any class template and have it work seamlessly between them. As such, it plays a little fast and loose with the rules to fit a wide variety of situations. Any feedback and suggestions are welcome; this an open discussion to make Blood Magic accessible in any game, regardless of class.   5e Optional Spellcasting Rule: "Bloodcasting" Blood gives life to, and sustains the life of, most mortal species (be them sentient or not) present in the world today. As such, there is a great deal of inherent magical power hidden within it. In ages past, ancient spellcasters drew upon this latent energy to empower the spells they willed into the world and spread the knowledge of it's use throughout the land. Using blood in this manner is often referred to as "Blood Magic", and the particular art form of igniting blood as the catalyst for magical effects is known as "Bloodcasting".   To be eligible to use Blood Magic, a character must have access to Spells, Spell Slots and have "Spellcasting" or "Pact Magic" as an inherent Class Feature (the character from here on out will be referred to as "the Spellcaster"). To Bloodcast, The spellcaster must use a Bonus Action to injure themselves with an appropriate tool or weapon capable of dealing Slashing or Piercing Damage. Once blood is drawn from a wound in this way, the spellcaster takes Necrotic Damage equal to +1d4 Per Level of Spell Cast + The Caster's Constitution Modifier; though the damage is unpreventable and unaffected by any resistance, immunities, or Temporary Hit Points the Spellcaster may possess. The spellcaster can also not recover any lost hit points until the start of their next turn. A Spellcaster can also drain blood from himself and store it for later use, typically in sealed vials or flasks. This blood can be used to fuel bloodcasting; but the inherent magic power in the blood dissipates 24 hours after the ritual wounding. Afterward, it confers no benefit and cannot be used for Bloodcasting.   Bloodcasting a Spell provides the following three benefits: 1. Bloodcasting negates the need for any Material Component for a Spell, unless that component specifically requires a GP Cost. 2. Bloodcasting increases the Spell's Save DC, Attack Bonus and effective Spell Level by +1, but without expending a higher level spell slot. 3.  If the spell cast requires an Attack Roll, you gain Advantage for it. If the Spell requires a Saving Throw, targets affected suffer from Disadvantage.   A spellcaster may also use the Blood of others to empower their Bloodcast spells. If within 5 ft. of a *willing allied creature, the spellcaster may use their Bonus Action to draw blood from said creature using the same damage formula as notated above (using the damaged creature's statistics and making them the wounded target). **The blood of a recently-slain creature can also be substituted for fresh blood, and even bottled for later use; but it's ability to power Bloodcasting wanes 24 hours after the creature's initial time of death. Beyond that, the blood becomes inert and is deemed useless for Bloodcasting.   The use of ***Blood Magic and Bloodcasting, though not inherently evil, is considered a dark and taboo art by most civilized cultures and is feared and reviled by many. As such, anyone bearing witness to you Bloodcasting may have their Attitude (DMG, PG. 244) radically shifted in regards to you and your actions. Friendly NPCs may become distrustful and Indifferent toward you, and normally Indifferent NPCs may become outright agressive and Hostile. At the DM's discretion, the first time a Spellcaster successfully performs a Bloodcast spell, they may also gain the following character Flaw:   Flaw "Although I know it hurts people, I am drawn to Blood Magic. I can feel the power boiling beneath my skin..." At the DM's discretion, characters who continually cut open their bodies to perform bloodcasting might develop disfiguring marks from the ritual wounds they inflict upon themselves. Such individuals gain the Horrible Scar lingering injury (DMG, PG. 272) in the form of deep, jagged cuts down their arms, on their palms, or across their chests. Scars like this are a common indicator of bloodcasting, and NPCs in the world who catch glimpse of your wounds may fearfully recognize them. As such, you gain disadvantage on Charisma (Persuasion) checks but advantage on Charisma (Intimidation) checks. Magical Healing of 6th level of higher, such as Heal or Regeneration can remove the scars... but continuing to Bloodcast afterward may quickly replace the markings. ---   *I decided to specify "Willing Allied Creature" to prevent PCs from using their Bonus Action to deal extra damage to enemies and use their blood for Bloodcasting. At the DM's discretion, you may opt to allow the PC to use another PC's blood unwillingly... but that may invite nefarious behavior at the table. Discretion is advised.   **Using gathered blood (especially from the recently dead) is a cool mechanic and makes for interesting social and story situations, but without the drawback of taking damage from Bloodcasting, PCs may attempt to abuse it by stocking up on vials of blood. If you feel this may be a problem at your table, you can rule that only blood ritually drawn from a living person is viable for use in Bloodcasting.   ***I wanted Blood Magic to kind of operate similarly to how Defiling was treated in Dark Sun, or how Blood Magic is handled in the Dragon Age universe. It is a quicker, dirtier, and more potent form of spellcasting... but it does affect the way the world sees, and treats, the character performing it. If you allow Blood Magic in your game, make sure the player realizes the repercussions of his or her actions by working in NPCs who are actively against the art of Bloodcasting, or villains who abuse it on innocents or cohorts. All power comes at a price, after all.
#2 Macv12 Aug 02, 2015 21:51:37	Just a couple things:   You require the Spellcasting class feature, which warlocks don't have. Deliberate?   Codifying NPC reactions and requiring a (fairly nebulous) character flaw are a bit much, I would just note that blood casting is not generally liked, and leave it at that. It shouldn't go much further than the description of the School of Necromancy does.   Seems interesting so far. I expected one of the primary uses of blood magic to be circumventing spell slot costs?
(Reply to #2) RCNovak	Macv12 wrote:
#4 Elfcrusher Aug 03, 2015 0:25:17	In theory I like the idea of being able to replace material components, but I worry that this risks imbalance unless the cost is detailed for every spell.  Or at least for the exceptions.  And that feels clunky.  Are there spells that intentionally have very rare/expensive material components (Simulacrum, I'm looking at you) that become too easy/accessible with this?
(Reply to #4) RCNovak	Elfcrusher wrote:
#6 Elfcrusher Aug 03, 2015 12:38:48	RCNovak wrote:
#7 daspian Aug 03, 2015 20:25:28	i'm a little confused on the following:   The spellcaster must use a Bonus Action to injure themselves with an appropriate tool or weapon capable of dealing Slashing or Piercing Damage. Once blood is drawn from a wound in this way, the spellcaster takes Necrotic Damage equal to +1d4 Per Level of Spell Cast + The Caster's Constitution Modifier; though the damage is unpreventable and unaffected by any resistance, immunities, or Temporary Hit Points the Spellcaster may possess.   why scale it with Con Mod? doesn't make much sense for someone to take MORE damage for being resilient/ healthy and having high con, in fact the reverse should be true   formula should be something like this in my opinion:   spellcaster takes Necrotic Damage equal to their Hit Dice amount per spell level cast (this way it scales per class as each class has different HD amounts)
(Reply to #7) RCNovak	daspian wrote:
#9 daspian Aug 03, 2015 21:03:09	ya i get where you're coming from, i just think that by penalizing having a great con mod, it'll actually make people not want to invest in con at all simply for the larger punishment from it, i think it should be the opposite, by pretty much saying that if players haver a higher con they can bloodcast more... but by having a higher con they will have less invested in their other stats so it's more complex of a tradeoff and something they have to think about.
(Reply to #9) RCNovak	daspian wrote:
#11 RCNovak Aug 05, 2015 15:32:19	Bumping for great justice (and also advice from any other hombrewers or math masterminds to fix the numbers).
#12 OB1 Aug 06, 2015 16:17:09	Very cool.  My thoughts...   Make it a Feat, there are clear advantages to this that should be mitigated by having to give something else up I would go with 1 Hit Die + 1/2 Con Mod for the damage it inflicts. Only allow blood from a killing blow to be stored for later use, keep the 24 hour rule, but also make it a +2 bonus across the board   I have a very angry Gnome Wild Sorcerer who this would work great for if I can convince my DM to allow it.  Might add that if I draw blood from myself I have to roll for a potential Magic Surge.
#13 LasteEnygma Aug 08, 2015 0:26:10	Hey all I've been reading on these forums for years and finally decided to make a username haha, you're my first post! Thought I'd try and help chip in with my own thoughts, take em or leave em, I'm just excited to see your idea come to fruition at your table.   I agree above, make it a feat. At my table it would look something like this:   Blood Casting: Prerequisite of 1st level spell slots.   You may take a Bonus Action to inflict a wound on yourself. For 1 minute, you may spend a HD when casting a spell, taking necrotic damage equal to the HD spent to increase a spell's level by 1. Material components are replaced with this method unless there is a cost. After 1 minute or if the bleeding has been stopped, you gain a level of exhaustion. You can also store a vial of blood, which can be used as the material components of Rituals, with the exception of component costs.   I roughly modeled it off of what was already posted and the Berserkers ability to enter a Frenzy, which gives him quite a boost in performance whenever he wants it, but at a cost that he has to live with. And increasing spell slots is no easy thing in terms of 5e as far as I've seen.   Hope you find what works for you!
#14 RCNovak Aug 08, 2015 0:43:29	Added a section to the description about possibly developing scars due to the ritual cutting at the suggestion of a friend. I really liked the concept, so I tossed it in as an optional ruling. Also, other possible damage formulas I am playing around with for the self-inflicted wound, assuming sorcerer and 14 Con, casting Fireball at 32 HP... Original Rules: 3x4+2: 14 Maximum Damage Sustained [2 Bloodcasts until Auto-KO] HD Ruling: 3x6: 18 Maximum Damage Sustained [1 Bloodcasts until Auto-KO] Spell Level Multiplier Ruling: Spell Level X 2 + Constitution Modifier: 8 Maximum Damage Sustained [3 Bloodcasts until Auto-KO] Character Level Ruling: Character Level + Constitution Modifier: 7 Maximum Damage Sustained [4 Bloodcasts until Auto-KO] The math is what I really need the most help on, so any ideas there are most appreciated.
#15 RCNovak Aug 08, 2015 0:39:13	LasteEnygma wrote:
#16 LasteEnygma Aug 08, 2015 1:17:15	Hey man it's your baby: Rock it! I have a player in my group who is a bit of a wannabe powergamer, so I tend to try and find balance as best as my former Rugby player brain can haha. Love the idea and I can see where your coming from on the whole "Arcane Defiling" feel. I am all about the lore too, it's quite captivating. I gotta say I respect the hell outta your table if you go the no feat way. I think everyone at my table would try and find a warrior equivalent to match the flexibility that the Bloodcasting option offers.