Blood Caster (5e Class)

Blood Caster

You were once a Wizard, tamer of the arcane magic that flows through the world, equipped with your Spellbook and your arcane focus or a component pouch. However you felt... limited. Your Spellbook was so limiting and it was so infuriating for you that you chose the only thing there was to do: You abandoned your Spellbook. Now, freed of your limitation, you also freed yourself of your magical source but you found something new, you found the energy that flows through every being that can be bent for your magical purpose... and you learned to use it. You suffered a few losses regarding spells and power but your limitations are gone. Now you are out to see what your newfound powers can do.

What is a Blood Caster?

A Blood Caster is an Ex-Wizard that uses their own life source instead of the power of a Spellbook to cast their spells. They have a mostly hidden external source that always follow them, hidden from the normal eye. Along their journey they can decide to either strengthen the ways they influence the world with their spells or increase the possibilities of their external source for spells. Whatever way one chooses bending blood to cast spells is something mostly considered unnatural and oftenly brought in connection to necromancy. Therefore it is not appreciated in many settlements and societies. However those that search for the dark secrets of death and power will likely be interested in a Blood Caster.

Creating a Blood Caster

First of all when creating a Blood Caster you have to keep in mind that you once were a Wizard. You either still feel bonds to other Wizards since you once practiced the same ways as them or you broke all bonds, potentially even having developed hatred towards them. Next up most Blood Casters either boast strongly about the way they found to cast magic or they keep it a secret as well as possible, not showing to anyone what they are. Lastly you mostly work for your own benefit, not being interested in the well being of others that much. However you may still find people that you hold dear, though it usually takes you a bit longer to get used to them.

Quick Build

You can make a Blood Caster quickly by following these suggestions. First, Intelligence should be your highest ability score, followed by Constitution. Second, choose the Sage background.

Class Features

As a Blood Caster you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

Hit Dice: 1d10 per Blood Caster level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + Constitution modifier per Blood Caster level after 1st

Proficiencies

Armor: Light armor
Weapons: Simple melee weapons, Martial melee weapons
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Intelligence, Constitution
Skills: Choose two from Arcana, History, Investigation, Perception and Religion.

Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

• (a) 2 Daggers or (b) a Martial Melee Weapon
• Leather Armor
• (a) a Gaming Set or (b) a Component Pouch
• (a) Entertainer's Pack or (b) Dungeoneer's Pack

Table: The Blood Caster

Level	Proficiency Bonus	Features	Cantrips Known	Spells Known	Max Spell Level
1st	+2	Spellcasting, Blood Fountain	3	3	1
2nd	+2	Blood Restoration	3	4	1
3rd	+2	The Torment of Decisions	3	5	2
4th	+2	Ability Score Improvement	3	6	2
5th	+3	—	4	7	3
6th	+3	Path Feature	4	8	3
7th	+3	—	4	9	4
8th	+3	Ability Score Improvement	4	10	4
9th	+4	—	4	11	5
10th	+4	Arcane Sensitivity	4	12	5
11th	+4	—	5	13	6
12th	+4	Ability Score Improvement	5	13	6
13th	+5	—	5	14	7
14th	+5	Path Feature	5	14	7
15th	+5	—	5	15	8
16th	+5	Ability Score Improvement	5	15	8
17th	+6	—	5	16	9
18th	+6	A Body of Blood and a Mind of Iron	5	16	9
19th	+6	Ability Score Improvement	5	16	9
20th	+6	Absolute Focus	5	16	9

The features at first level are heavily influenced to completly taken from the Blood Mage, Variant class. Credits belong to the creator of that class.

Spellcasting

You are a Caster who uses their own life essence to fuel their spells.

Cantrips

At 1st level, you know three cantrips of your choice from the Wizard Spell List. You learn additional Wizard cantrips of your choice at higher levels, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of the Blood Caster table.

Blood Caster

To cast one of these Wizard spells, you must lose a certain amount of hit points descripted below in spellcasting ability or you may use a spell slot gained through another class. When you damage yourself this way, you do not make a concentration check, and you go to 1 hit point when you cast a spell that has a higher hit point cost than your hit points and the spell fails. You are unable to cast spells that heal your hit points through Blood Magic. As you cast your spells through Blood Magic, you do not need material components for any of your spells.

Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher

You know four 1st-level spells of your choice from the Wizard Spell List.

The Spells Known column of the Blood Caster table shows when you learn more Wizard spells of your choice from the Wizard Spell List. Each of these spells must be equal or lower than the Max Spell Level on the Blood Caster 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 Wizard spells you know and replace it with another spell from the Wizard Spell List, which also must be of a level equal or lower than the Max Spell Level on the Blood Caster Table.

Spellcasting Ability

Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for your Wizard spells, since you once were a regular Wizard and still follow their ways to learn spells through dedicated study and memorization. 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 Wizard spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.

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

Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier

Spell HP Cost = 5 * spell slot level

Spells at 6th level or above are particularly taxing; Once a character casts a spell of 6th, 7th, 8th, or 9th level, the character cannot cast a spell of that level again until after completing a short or long rest.

Spellcasting Focus

While you were once a wizard, bound by your spellbook, abandoning the spellbook has also allowed you to abandon your arcane focus. You do not need an arcane focus.

Blood Fountain

At 1st level you have mastered a way to store blood in a source known only to you, called a Blood Fountain, that you can use to cast spells with. This Blood Fountain contains blood that you can use instead of your hit points for casting spells. It contains blood equal to 5 * your Blood Caster level + your Constitution modifier(minimum 1). Whenever you draw from your Blood Fountain for the first time during Combat it becomes visible as a sphere of blood. Its central point is 3 foot above your head and it has a diameter of 2 feet. It is hovering there. When you draw blood from your Blood Fountain, the diameter shrinks accordingly. So if you have only half of the total blood in it remaining the diameter shrinks to 1 foot. The diameter of a full Blood Fountain is always 2 feet, regardlesss of the amount of blood stored in it. The Blood Fountain vanishes 1 minute after the last time you pulled blood from it. You regain all blood in your Blood Fountain when you finish a long rest.

Beginning at 9th Level: The Blood Fountain increases in size, not visually but storage wise, so that it now holds blood equal to 7 * (your Blood Caster level + your Constitution modifier)(minimum 1).

Beginning at 17th Level: The Blood Fountain increases in size, not visually but storage wise, so that it now holds blood equal to 10 * (your blood caster level + your Constitution modifier + your Intelligence modifier)(minimum 1)

Blood Restoration

At 2nd level whenever you roll hit dice during a short rest you can use these hit dice to restore the blood in your Blood Fountain if your hit points are full. If you roll a hit die and it would fill your hit points beyond your hit point maximum the unused hit points go into the Blood Fountain as blood. You can also draw from the hit dice of allies around you. If they are willing they can roll their hit dice to restore blood in your Blood Fountain. You will receive half of their total roll but they expend hit dice normally. This only works when your hit points are full as well.

The Torment of Decisions

At 3rd level you can feel yourself being pulled in two different directions. Do you want to follow the Path of the Vampire to indulge your hunger for blood or follow the Path of the Magician to strengthen your spells? You receive a feature upon choosing one of the two Paths at level 3 and again at level 6 and 14. Once you choose your Path you cannot change it again.

Ability Score Increase

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.

Arcane Sensitivity

Your use of blood magic has irreversibly changed your body, and made your eyes sensitive to even the faintest magical energy. At 10th level you are permanently under the effects of the detect magic spell without need for concentration.

Beginning at 20th Level: Your use of blood magic has opened your eyes to the realm of magic. You now have Truesight out to a range of 120 ft.

A Body of Blood and a Mind of Iron

Throughout your travels you have discovered what the body is made of and how it continues to function. In your strive for pure perfection you have found a way to strengthen your own body with the blood from your Blood Fountain. At 18th level you do not age anymore and do not require food or water as everything your body needs is covered by your Blood Fountain. Your body stops aging and freezes at your current age and you cannot die of old age. As you have figured out what your mind needs too and found that resource in the blood of your Blood Fountain you do not require to sleep any longer.

Absolute Focus

At 20th level you have gained perfection in your way of casting spells. You can now concentrate on two spells at once. You make concentration saves for both spells when you take damage or are otherwise forced to make a concentration save. You roll the concentration save for each spell individually.

Path of the Vampire

You chose to follow the Path of the Vampire, making you hunger for blood forever. Your goal is only the self-preservation and you constantly search for ways to refill and expand your Blood Fountain. You found blood... a lot of it in a reliable source: Others.

Collect it

At 3rd level when you choose this Path you can collect the blood of any creature that died within 10 minutes in a 30 feet radius around you as an action. It will make you pull the blood of those creatures into your Blood Fountain, making you regain blood equal to half the Challenge Ratings of those creatures (minimum of 1).

Use it

At 6th level when you are attacked by a melee attack you can use your reaction to create an armor from your Blood Fountain for 1 minute. Your AC increases to 14 + your Dexterity modifier and any damage you take is instead dealt to your Blood Fountain. When your Blood Fountain is empty you cannot use this feature and, if you used this feature and your Blood Fountain then turns empty, the armor vanishes, returning you to your old Armor Class, ending the feature early. Any excess damage is dealt to your hit points.

Take it from them

At 14th level you understand the flow of blood in the bodies of your enemies. As an action you can prepare yourself to cast a spell of 4th level or lower drawing from the hit points of one creature you can see. This feature requires concentration. As another action, on your next turn, you can cast a spell of 4th level or lower attempting to take the required hit points from the creature you focused on. The creature has to make a Constitution saving throw with a DC equal to your Spell Save DC. On a fail you successfully cast the spell with that creatures hit points. On a success you are instead forced to cast the spell with your own hit points. The concentration then ends. If you lost concentration of this feature before you were able to attempt to cast the spell this feature fails. You have to finish a long rest before you can use this feature again.

Path of the Magician

You chose to follow the Path of the Magician, concentrating on your spells and their effects for stronger and more versatile spells. You dive deep into the arcane energy flowing through the world and learning more about it as you gain levels in this class.

Shared pain is double the pain!

At 3rd level when you choose this Path as a bonus action you can make the next spell you cast be casted onto another creature of your choice within range. This however increases the cost of this spell by 1/2 its original cost (rounded down). You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier and you regain all uses of this feature when you finish a long rest.

For example if you cast a 1st level spell after using a bonus action to active this feature the spell costs 7 blood instead of 5.

Knowledge is power

At 6th level you managed to regain some of the properties of your spell book that you had lost when you abandoned it. You can learn a spell from a scroll by spending 50 gp and 2 hours per spell level. You then have the spell always available and can cast it like your other spells. The spell scroll is consumed by your Blood Fountain during the process. This process does not work if the spell is not from the Wizard Spell List.

For the greater magic

At 14th level you can use your action to prepare to power up your next spell. This feature requires concentration. This feature holds until the end of your next turn and the next spell you cast within that time is casted using the next higher spell slot of which it was casted. This feature fails if you loose concentration before being able to cast the spell and has no effect when you cast a 9th level spell.

Multiclassing

Prerequisites. To qualify for multiclassing into the Blood Caster class, you must meet these prerequisites: 13 Intelligence, 13 Constitution

Proficiencies. When you multiclass into the Blood Caster class, you gain the following proficiencies: Arcana, Light Armor

---

Back to Main Page → 5e Homebrew → Classes