| Post/Author/DateTime | Post |
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| #1ElfcrusherJul 30, 2015 10:36:05 | I didn't want to hijack the Blood Mage thread completely, so I thought I'd start a new one.
In general I'm not a "more options makes a better game" sort of guy (a stance which occasionally induces frothing-at-the-mouth anger in others of this community) but of all the class or sub-class ideas I've heard, the Blood Sorcerer goes into my top tier of most compelling ones.
I think it should be a Sorcerer subclass, not a Wizard, for two reasons: 1) It seems like the kind of thing that could only be innate, not learned (however Dragon Age treats it) 2) The only good mechanic I can think of is to convert blood (health) into casting resources, for which Sorcery Points are even more appropriate than spell slots alone.
Latest Version Magic is in your blood...literally. It seethes through your veins and courses through heart, seemingly with a life of its own. Sometimes you think you hear your own blood whispering to you, and you wonder who serves whom in this relationship.
Level 1: - Gain the cantrip Chill Touch, if you don't have it already - When you successfully attack with Chill Touch, you may opt to expend one Sorcerer Hit Die (if available) for each die of damage, healing yourself for 1d6 (no Constitution bonus) per die. If the target is immune to necrotic damage you cannot heal, wasting the Hit Dice, and if the target has resistance to necrotic damage your healing is likewise halved. Your Hit Dice recover normally.
Level 6: - You may opt to reduce your Constitution by one or more points, gaining a Sorcery Point for each 1 point reduction in Constitution. You can not cumulatively reduce it by more points than half your level, rounded down. You naturally recover two points of Constitution per Long Rest, and you may additionally opt to spend Sorcery Points to recover Constitution at a 1:1 ratio.
Level 14: - Faster Con recovery?
Level 18: - Some sort of mass blood drain/heal ability? |
| #2YunruJul 30, 2015 11:48:43 | It's too complicated, and spending Hit Dice is already a big enough payment, and a risky one- you're spending healing you might potentially need. Rather seperate the two- hit dice for Sorcery Points, and HP for damage. Constitution as a casting stat at 1st level would be themematic. That would fill out up to three of the subclass features, probably two. |
| #3ElfcrusherJul 30, 2015 13:01:17 | I wouldn't change the casting stat, largely because doing so is unprecedented. There are a few subclasses that add stat dependency, but none that change the primary stat. (Or am I missing a counterexample?) Yes, letting Blood Sorces go SAD with CON would let them be more powerful, but so would letting Arcane Trickters use Dex as their casting stat.
And Hit Dice only is far too cheap. Doubling your sorcery points at the cost of some downtime healing? As you said, you're spending something "you might potentially need" for something with a huge benefit right now. At first I thought about making it a 2:1 ratio (1 sorcery point for each 2 Hit Dice) but that just feels...clunky. And it's still a 50% increase in SP.
I could potentially see using just the max HP reduction...i.e., for each X HP you get 1 SP or 1 spell level slot, but Hit Dice thematically feel like a cool resource to spend. Not sure what the solution is here. Maybe 1 HD for 1 SP but with an artificial limit on how often you can use it, but that just feels like a...well, artificial limit. Perhaps a number of times equal to your CON mod per short rest. That would be a use for CON without changing the casting stat, and it's a mechanic with precedent, although it doesn't scale smoothly with level.
Oh, and I think an HP cost has to be reduction in max HP, not just reduction in HP, or it effectively allows anybody in the party to turn any sort of healing (potions, Lay on Hands, First Aid feat, dipping into Fighter for Second Wind, Goodberries) a neverending source of fuel for the sorcerer.
Finally, trading a resource for damage is redundant: you can get more damage by either casting at a higher level or using metamagic; two mechanics to achieve the same thing is inelegant. |
| #4Kron-KarnJul 30, 2015 12:58:47 | What you have come up with is well thought out and would work but I think it's to complicated. One of the best things about 5e is its elegant simplicity. I am so glad I never have to keep track of negative lvs due to some undead monster ever again and reading threw your build it makes me flash back to that. |
| #5ElfcrusherJul 30, 2015 13:02:30 |
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| (Reply to #3)Yunru |
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| #7ElfcrusherJul 30, 2015 18:27:04 |
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| #8YunruJul 30, 2015 18:32:03 | SP can't be used to boost damage. At best they can be used to maximize damage, but not boost. You're also far too worried about the cost. Sure anyone with healing can restore you HP, and in doing so deny that option when the party BSF is on their last HP. |
| #9Kron-KarnJul 30, 2015 22:30:32 | If you start spending con and it is also your Spell casting ability then you godda keep track of your att bonus changing, your dcs going down etc. I think just strait hd for sorcery points is best. You recover them like everyone else. I agree the sub class would need a few more ribons to flesh it out but con as your Spell casting ability and Blood Magic are a good skeleton |
| #10daspianJul 31, 2015 21:18:50 | i have a blood mage that's been playtested and is quite balanced, been reviewed around, i'm quite fond of it.
the only thing i am currently now starting to look at is the 14th-level feature, as i feel it does not add much to the "core" of what the build is essentially going for, however i am now starting to come up with ideas to replace it. everything else is quite balanced, been playtested, and reviewed on reddit/enworld/here.
feel free to use it.
and i agree with OP, the blood mage for 5e should definitely be a sorc origin, not a wizard. the Sorc Point system is just too good/easy to use as a mechanic for the blood mage to incorporate. |
| #11ORC_RagnarAug 01, 2015 0:07:00 | I have removed content from this thread because trolling/baiting is a violation of the Code of Conduct.
You can review the Code here: http://www.wizards.com/Company/About.aspx?x=wz_company_about_codeofconduct
Please keep your posts polite, on-topic, and refrain from making personal attacks.You are welcome to disagree with one another but please do so respectfully and constructively.
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| #12Kron-KarnAug 01, 2015 10:10:20 | Level 1: |
| #13ElfcrusherAug 02, 2015 9:54:38 | Oh, man, Ragnar even deleted the post where I apologized to Yunru for being unnecessarily snarky. In case you missed it, Yunru, I admitted my comment wasn't very mature, and that my attempt at humor came across as more mean-spirited than I intended.
Also a bunch of my rationale for the latest iteration (I edited the first post with latest version) also got deleted. That'll learn me, huh? |