Blood Mage, Variant (5e Class)
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- Warning! This class uses spellcasting which costs health instead of spell slots, and as such does not follow the rules of conventional spellcasting.
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Blood Mage
"Take this, and this, and this, and a little more of this..." -Quote from a blood mage who cast too many spells.
Blood Mage
Blood Mages are a very particular breed of spellcasters and how they come into their magic is particularly unknown. Some speculate that the hidden potential within all people is locked away, hidden to all but the particular few who suffer a great trauma or push their bodies beyond all limits to knock on the door of death and live to tell the tale. Such an event can tend to make a person particularly cocky, cold and unfeeling, or even optimistic. Regardless, a blood mage usually recognizes that manipulating the essence of life can be a dangerous endeavor and treats the delicate balance as a dance between life and death, traipsing the line to benefit themselves and others.
Creating a Blood Mage
Why did you decide to become an adventurer? How did you stumble upon blood magic? Was it because of your self-confidence, was it taught to you, or was it forced upon you from a catastrophic event?
- Quick Build
You can make a blood mage quickly by following these suggestions. First, Constitution should be your highest ability score, followed by Charisma then Dexterity. Second, choose the Charlatan background.
Class Features
As a Blood Mage you gain the following class features.
- Hit Points
Hit Dice: 1d8 per Blood Mage level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + Constitution modifier per Blood Mage level after 1st
- Proficiencies
Armor: None
Weapons: Simple weapons and light crossbows
Tools: Healer's Kit
Saving Throws: Constitution, Charisma
Skills: Choose two from Acrobatics, Arcana, Deception, Insight, Investigation, Medicine, Perception, and Stealth.
- Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) a light crossbow and 20 bolts or (b) any simple weapon
- an athame
- (a) a dungeoneer's pack or (b) an explorer's pack
- one potion of healing
| Level | Proficiency Bonus |
Features | Spells Known | Cantrips Known | Max Spell Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | +2 | Blood Magic, Blood Pool | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 2nd | +2 | Blood Pact | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 3rd | +2 | Vim and Vigor | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| 4th | +2 | Ability Score Improvement | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| 5th | +3 | Heart of Gold | 5 | 3 | 3 |
| 6th | +3 | Blood Pact Feature | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| 7th | +3 | — | 7 | 3 | 4 |
| 8th | +3 | Ability Score Improvement | 8 | 3 | 4 |
| 9th | +4 | — | 9 | 3 | 5 |
| 10th | +4 | Blood Pact Feature | 10 | 4 | 5 |
| 11th | +4 | — | 11 | 4 | 6 |
| 12th | +4 | Ability Score Improvement | 11 | 4 | 6 |
| 13th | +5 | — | 12 | 4 | 7 |
| 14th | +5 | Blood Pact Feature | 12 | 4 | 7 |
| 15th | +5 | Steel Thy Heart | 13 | 4 | 8 |
| 16th | +5 | Ability Score Improvement | 13 | 4 | 8 |
| 17th | +6 | — | 14 | 4 | 9 |
| 18th | +6 | Blood Pact Feature | 14 | 4 | 9 |
| 19th | +6 | Ability Score Improvement | 15 | 4 | 9 |
| 20th | +6 | Blood and Thunder | 15 | 4 | 9 |
Spellcasting
You are a mage who uses your own life essence to fuel your spells.
- Cantrips
At 1st level, you know two cantrips of your choice from the Blood Mage Spell List. You learn additional blood mage cantrips of your choice at higher levels, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of the Blood Mage table.
- Blood Magic
To cast a blood mage spell, you must harm yourself to let out an amount of blood to conjure the spell's effects. This damage is equal to the amount of Hit Points described in Spellcasting Ability. Alternatively you may use spell slots gained from another class's features, if available. Damaging yourself for spellcasting will not invoke a Concentration Check for any current spell effects. You cannot cast a spell this way if the amount of Hit Points spent through casting would reduce your total to 0 or lower and if you would attempt so, you fall unconscious and the spell fails to take effect. Additionally, you are unable to cast spells that heal hit points through Blood Magic.
- Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher
You know three 1st-level spells of your choice from the Blood Mage Spell List, as shown at the bottom of the class.
The Spells Known column of the Blood Mage table shows when you learn more blood mage spells of your choice from the Blood Mage Spell List. Each of these spells must be equal or lower than the Max Spell Level on the Blood Mage Table. For instance, when you reach 3rd level in this class, you can learn one new spell of 1st or 2nd 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 equal or lower than the Max Spell Level on the Blood Mage Table.
- Spellcasting Ability
Charisma is your spellcasting ability for your Blood Mage spells, since the power of your magic relies on your ability to project your will into the world. You use your Charisma whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Charisma modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a Blood Mage spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.
Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier
Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier
Spell HP Cost = half your total level rounded down + (5 * spell slot level). Cantrips do not incur this cost.
- Spellcasting Focus
Due to the nature of a Blood Mage's spellcasting, you can only use an athame for your spellcasting focus. An athame is a ritual knife and can be of any shape or style. If your focus is lost, a new one can be purchased for 15 gp.
Blood Pool
At 1st level, through morbid study of your blood production and how far you can push your own body you have gained access to an amount of extra hit points you can only spend towards spellcasting. This pool is equal to (4 + your Constitution modifier(minimum 1)) x your blood mage level. You regain all of your Blood Pool's hit points when you finish a long rest.
Blood Pact
At 2nd level, you may choose a Blood Pact, which grants you features at 2nd level and again at 6th, 10th, 14th and 18th levels.
Vim and Vigor
By 3rd level, the constant cuts and scrapes across your skin to serve as your font for magic is starting to dull your sense of pain. You gain Advantage on all Constitution saves when being targeted by spells.
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. You cannot increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
Heart of Gold
Starting at 5th level, your knowledge of blood and the nature of vitality has granted you the ability to siphon your own life essence into your allies to provide a beneficial pool of energy within themselves. As an action, you may touch a willing creature and give it temporary hit points equal to your blood mage level + your Constitution Modifier (minimum 1) and then you lose hit points equal to that amount. You cannot use this ability if you only have 1 Hit Point or if granting Temporary Hit Points would drop your current Hit Point total to 0 or below. You may use this feature a number of times equal to your Constitution modifier (minimum 1) and regain all uses of this feature once you finish a long rest.
Steel Thy Heart
From 15th level onward you gain resistance to necrotic damage due to the life energy pushing through your body. Additionally, once whenever you are reduced to 0 hit points and become unconscious you automatically stabilize with 1 hit point. You regain use of this feature after you finish a long rest.
Blood and Thunder
By 20th level, you have attained mastery over blood magic. Reduce the HP cost from 1st, 2nd, and 3rd level spells to 1 Hit Point as your blood has become so potent it can summon such wondrous effects from even a single pinprick.
Blood Pact: Vampiric
A blood mage who can sap strength from others.
Life Energy
By 2nd level, you know how to spend extra hit points to increase your damage. When you cast a spell, you may spend an amount of hit points equal to your Constitution modifier (minimum 1) to increase the damage a spell deals by 2 damage for each hit point used.
Spell Sap
By 6th level, you know how to siphon life from whatever any spell that hits a creature. When you cast a spell on a creature, you heal hit points equal to the spell slot level used on the spell, up to a maximum of once per spell.
Drain Kill
By 10th level, you can now drain the life essence out of a creature when it dies. When you kill a creature, you heal hit points (minimum 2) equal to double its CR.
Enhanced Healing
By 14th level, when you are magical healed, Spell Sap included, you are healed for 50% more hit points rounded up.
Blood Siphon
By 18th level, you have learned how to directly pull life out of a creature, but not without risk. As an action, you can make a ranged spell attack against the creature within 60ft of you at any level. If it hits, you deal damage to the creature equal the hit point cost of the spell to the without losing any hit points. If you miss, you lose the hit point cost of the spell without doing anything.
Blood Pact: Steadfast
A blood mage who specializes in trying not to harm themselves.
Robust Constitution
By 2nd level, your robust constitution is starting to show, your hit point maximum increases by 4, and it increases by 2 every time you gain a level in this class.
Less Pain
By 6th level, you have gained an unnatural resilience to damage. When you finish a long rest, you may choose a damage type. You are considered resistant to that damage type until you finish another long rest.
Minor Regeneration
By 10th level, you have learned how to channel some of your blood magic into healing. If you are below half your maximum health, you may use a bonus action to use a hit die to heal yourself for the hit die + your Constitution modifier (minimum 1).
Harmless
By 14th level, you have learned how to make your spells hurt a little less. Whenever you cast a spell, it costs less hit points equal to your Constitution modifier (minimum 1).
Hearty Body
By 18th level, you have become extremely well built, your hit point maximum increases by 50 hit points.
Blood Mage Spell List
You are encouraged to re-skin spells to have the blood magic theme.
- Cantrips
acid splash, blade ward, booming blade, chill touch, control flames, create bonfire, dancing lights, fire bolt, friends, green flamed blade, infestation, light, mage hand, mending, message, minor illusion, poison spray, prestidigitation, produce flame, ray of frost, shocking grasp, spare the dying, sword burst, thaumaturgy, thorn whip, toll the dead,
- 1st Level
absorb elements, armor of agthys, arms of hadar, bane, burning hands, cause fear, chaos bolt, charm person, color spray, command, compelled duel, detect magic, detect poison and disease, disguise self, dissonant whispers, entangle, expedious retreat, faerie fire, fog cloud, grease, hellish rebuke, hex, inflict wounds, longstrider, mage armor, magic missile, protection from evil and good, purify food and drink, ray of sickness, shield, thunderwave, witch bolt''
- 2nd Level
aganazzar’s scorcher, alter self, arcane lock, augury, barkskin, beast sense, blindness/deafness, blur, calm emotions, cloud of daggers, continual flame, cordon of arrows, crown of madness, darkness, darkvision (spell), detect thoughts, dragon’s breath, earthbind, enthral, flame blade, gentle repose, heat metal, hold person, invisibility, knock, levitate, locate object, magic mouth, {{magic weapon, maximilion’s earthen grasp, melf’s acid arrow, mirror image, misty step, pass without trace, phantasmal force, protection from poison, pyrotechnics, ray of enfeeblement, scorching ray, see invisibility, shadow blade, shatter, silence, snilloc’s snowball sworm, spike growth, suggestion, web, zone of truth
- 3rd Level
blink, counterspell, daylight, dispel magic, fear, fly, glyph of warding, hold person, lightning arrow, lightning bolt, magic circle, nondetection, protection from energy, remove curse, sending, sleet storm, slow, speak with dead, stinking cloud, tongues, water breathing, water walk
- 4th Level
arcane eye, banishment, black tentacles, blight, compulsion, confusion, dimension door, fabricate, freedom of movement, giant insect, greater invisibility, hallucinatory terrain, ice storm, locate creature, polymorph, resilient sphere, stoneskin, wall of fire
- 5th Level
antilife shell, animate objects, cone of cold, contagion, creation, dominate person, contact other plane, dispel evil and good, geas, hold monster, insect plague, legend lore, mislead, modify memory, planar binding, scrying, seeming, telekinesis, teleportation circle, wall of force
- 6th Level
chain lightning, disintegrate, eyebite, find the path, flesh to stone, forcecage, guards and wards, magic jar, mass suggestion, move earth, sunbeam, true seeing
- 7th Level
etherealness, finger of death, fire storm, magnificent mansion, mirage arcane, plane shift, prismatic spray, symbol, teleport
- 8th Level
antimagic field, antipathy/sympathy, demiplane, dominate monster, earthquake, feeblemind, glibness, maze, mind blank
- 9th Level
astral projection, foresight, gate, imprisonment, weird
Multiclassing
Prerequisites. To qualify for multiclassing into the blood mage class, you must meet these prerequisites: Constitution 13 and Charisma 13.
Proficiencies. When you multiclass into the blood mage class, you gain the following proficiencies: simple weapons.
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