Bloodmeister (3.5e Prestige Class)

Bloodmeister

“	This kills you more than it hurts me.	”
—Drath Gelden, Bloodmeister'

Becoming a Bloodmeister

Bloodmeisters are martial combatants with the ability to utilize their own blood, and others, as a formidable weapon. Monks that do not reject magic entirely may see Bloodmastery as simply another extension of their mastery of body. Fighters with a penchant for the mystical, or else unsqueamish sorcerers with a decidedly hands-on approach, may choose to follow such a path.

Entry Requirements

Alignment:	Not Lawful Good
Base Attack Bonus:	+5.
Skills:	None
Feats:	Improved Grapple
Special:	The creature taking this Prestige Class must have blood, and require it to survive. Bloodless creatures such as Constructs cannot be Bloodmeisters.

Table: The Bloodmeister

Hit Die: d12

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Saving Throws			Special
		Fort	Ref	Will
1st	+1	+2	+0	+2	Bloodblades, Bloodfont, Corruption of Blood	+1
2nd	+2	+3	+0	+3	Fortification 25%, Master of the Flesh	+1
3rd	+3	+3	+1	+3		+1
4th	+4	+4	+1	+4	Bloodsmith, Purge Corruption	+2
5th	+5	+4	+1	+4	Blood Shot,	+2
6th	+6/+1	+5	+2	+5		+2
7th	+7/+2	+5	+2	+5	Blood Channel	+3
8th	+8/+3	+6	+2	+6	Purity of Blood 75%, Evolution of Blood	+3
9th	+9/+4	+6	+3	+6	#Hand Grenade	+3
10th	+10/+5	+7	+3	+7	Trail of Blood, Shadow of Blood	+4
Class Skills (2 + Int modifier per level) The bloodmeister’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Profession (Wis), Spot (Wis), Swim (Str).

Table: The Epic Bloodmeister

Level	Special	Flesh Barrier AC Bonus
11th		+4
12th		+4
13th	Bonus Feat	+5
14th		+5
15th		+5
16th	Bonus Feat	+6
17th		+6
18th		+6
19th	Bonus Feat	+7
20th		+7

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the abomination.

Bloodblades (Su): The Bloodmeister gains the ability to create bladed weapons from his own blood. These blades stab through the hand of the Bloodmeister and deal damage to the Bloodmeister upon being materialized. They cannot be dropped, only dematerialized at will or when sleeping. The following weapons are treated as +1 weapons of ordinary make, except that the Bloodmeister is already proficient with them. The Bloodmeister may materialize two weapons at once, but takes the appropriate penalties for two-weapon fighting as well as the damage. Only the following weapons can be created: Dagger: 1 points of damage on being materialized Shortsword: 2 points of damage on being materialized Longsword: 3 points of damage on being materialized Greatsword: 5 points of damage and one point of Con damage on being materialized

Bloodfont (Su): Upon making a successful melee attack with his Bloodblades which deals damage, the Bloodmeister gains a connection to the blood of the creature who he is stabbing through, and that creature becomes a Bloodfont until the end of the turn. The Bloodmeister can use a Bloodfont ability on the target if the target fails a Fortitude Save. The Fortitude save is equal to DC 10 + damage dealt + Bloodmeister level. If the Bloodmeister's target's health is less than 0, no save is required and the Bloodfont power can be automatically used. Bloodsiphon: (1st Level) The Bloodmeister simply drains the blood of the target to supplement his own, dealing 1d8 damage and restoring an equal amount of HP. Bloodforger: (3rd Level) The Bloodmeister siphons blood from the target, dealing 2d8 damage and producing a weapon with an enhancement bonus equal to his Bloodmeister level. Unlike his own Bloodblades, this weapon can be dropped, thrown or given to another character; it remains in existence for 24 hours before instantly dissolving into a pool of blood. If a normal iron weapon of the same type would weigh more than the damage dealt by Bloodforger, it cannot be created by this ability. Bloodbuster: (5th Level) A monstrous ability, banned by every Mages' Guild and Fighter's Guild spoken of in polite society, the Bloodbuster deals 3d10 damage to the target while converting its blood into a number of "bullets", which are then fired from the target in a manner that one retired adventurer described as a "blood blunderbuss." The same amount of damage dealt to the target is then dealt to all creatures in a 10-foot cone behind the target, assuming the Bloodmeister breaks that creature's Armor Class. If the initial target of Bloodbuster is reduced to less than -10 hitpoints by this ability, their body is broken beyond recognition and cannot be affected by the typical Raise Dead or Animate Dead spell.'Bloodsublimation: (7th Level) A perfection of Bloodsiphon, this ability deals 3d8 damage to the target and restoring an equal amount to the Bloodmeister. The Bloodmeister can also make a Knowledge check (d20) to attempt to gain knowledge from the target even if they would normally be unwilling to share this information. If the target was a caster and was killed, the Bloodmeister can select one of the target's prepared spells for the day with a level less than or equal to his caster level and add it to his list of prepared spells for the day. Bloodlanzer: (10th Level) The Bloodmeister siphons the target's blood for 1d6 damage to extend his Bloodblades into a second target 5 feet away; this counts as an additional attack. If the attack is successful, the target becomes a new Bloodfont through which any Bloodfont abilities can be performed, including Bloodlanzer.

Bloodsmith (Ex): By spending additional hit points upon their creation, you may enhance the abilities of your Bloodblades and Bloodforged weapons. At 2nd Level, you may spend 3 hit points to cause your weapon to deal 1d6 fire or cold damage. At 4th Level, you may spend 5 hit points to apply Wounding to your weapon, and at 6th level you may spend 10 hit points to apply Keen to your weapon. Any of these abilities can be performed as free actions upon creating the weapons.

Corruption of Blood (Ex): There are true downsides to the abilities of the Bloodmeister. When making a Bloodsiphon or Bloodsublimation against an enemy that can inflict disease, you have a 50% chance of contracting that disease, and you can inflict it on others in the same way. If an enemy's blood can inflict damage or otherwise hinder opponents, your blood has a 50% chance of gaining that effect; it will affect you every turn, and it will affect your enemies during the turn that you strike them with your Bloodblades, or any weapon created through Bloodforger.

Purge Corruption (Ex): At 4th level, while afflicted by Corruption of Blood, the Bloodmeister may purge the entirety of his corrupting effects - violently. This reduces his hit points and his Constitution to half of what it currently is (rounded down) but cures all the Bloodmeister's diseases and Corruption of Blood effects. Any creature (friend or foe) within five feet of the Bloodmeister must make their standard Fortitude save or take 1d6 points of damage and gain all the effects of Corruption of Blood the Bloodmeister previously had.

Blood Shot (Ex): At 5th level the Bloodmeister can spend up to 5 hit points for each free hand the Bloodmeister possesses to make a ranged attack against any one target; the damage is 1d4 * hit points spent.

#anc:Blood Channel (Su): At 7th Level, the effects of any spell that you are casting with a target of "touch" or "self" may be applied to a character that is currently affected by Bloodfont.

#anc:Evolution of Blood (Ex): At 8th Level the Bloodmage may choose to make one Corruption of Blood effect which he has suffered permanent, and become immune to the harmful effects. It is still applied to all of his Bloodblades and Bloodforged weapons, and will be inflicted when he performs successful attacks with them. If you choose this ability, you may not apply the effects of Purity of Blood.

Purity of Blood (Ex): At 8th Level, you may choose to remove the ability Corruption of Blood entirely and instead become immune to disease. You will then gain a +1 bonus to your Constitution and Charisma. If you choose this ability, you may not apply the effects of Evolution of Blood.

Hand Grenade (Ex): At 9th Level, the Bloodmeister can choose to make an incredibly brutal attack by severing his own arm, converting it into a exquisitely deadly projectile with a range of fifteen feet. The Bloodmeister takes three points of Con damage as well as 1/4 of his hit points in damage. The arm grapples the opponent and the opponent's CMB is halved; if successful, it then plants spikes into the opponent for 1d8 damage. At the end of the Bloodmeister's next turn, the hand explodes violently for 6d10 damage, showering the target and any adjacent units in the Bloodmeister's blood, and applying any Corruption of Blood effects the Bloodmeister has. The Bloodmeister suffers from 2 bleed damage a turn until cured. The Bloodmeister may regain this or any other limb they might have lost, given three liters of another creature's blood and five uninterrupted hours.

Trail of Blood (Ex): A 10th Level Bloodmeister may gain a reputation for exquisite violence that permanently stains his hands and terrifies his foes, and with it a +1 intimidate bonus. Upon using any Bloodmeister ability, you can gain +3 to intimidate checks against any sentient creature that saw it, +6 if the ability killed someone. You become easy to follow, simply because your unique and inventive brand of violence is so readily identified, and both willing followers and would-be assassins will track you down. Your followers and allies gain a +1 morale bonus to any kind of attack, and your enemies suffer -5 to fear effects. Finally, any killing in which you utilize your Bloodmeister abilities will ultimately be tied to you. If you take this ability, you cannot apply the effects of Shadow of Blood.

Shadow of Blood (Ex): A 10th Level Bloodmeister may instead be simply a ruthless, efficient killer, less an artist of death and more an engineer dedicated to *ahem* "removing obstacles." You gain the ability to completely drain the blood of a deceased creature, desiccating them in just five minutes and rendering them unrecognizable while gaining 1d10 points of damage.

Campaign Information

Playing a Bloodmeister

Combat: Bloodmeisters are vicious, innovative damage-dealing machines. They don't do defense, they don't do debuffs; what they do is damage, and they're really, really good at it.

Advancement: One who seeks the power of a Bloodmeister might also seek its complement, the Blood Mage. For those seeking to be a bit less squishy, Eldritch Knight is a natural choice.

Resources: Bloodmeisters work within Assassin's Guilds, in the courts of Machivellian aristocrats and occasionally in the ranks of evil or neutral monastic orders, where their devotion to martial prowess and mastery of body is respected. Organizations may grudgingly tolerate them; notable exceptions are most Thieves' Guilds, who abhor killing for killing's sake.

Bloodmeisters in the World

“

Blood isn't evil - but it's hard to make friends when you're soaked in it all the time.

”

Bloodmeisters are scary people. Whether they've taken up adventuring or simply oddjobbing they don't have a lot of job security, as many employers will seek to be rid of them the moment they aren't necessary. They command a grudging respect, and sometimes even an admiration, but rarely love. There are Bloodmeisters who wield the power of Bloodmastery for noble aims - but they nevertheless bring along few compatriots in their quest for justice.

NPC Reactions: NPCs avoid Bloodmeisters when they can - when they're identifiable, at least. A Bloodmeister can hide his many self-inflicted scars with long gloves, but they still seem to carry that faint forbidding aura. Bards love Bloodmeisters, as there is something deeply poetic about a man who can lay low an evil king with an axe formed of his own hemoglobin.

Bloodmeister Lore

Characters with ranks in knowledge (religion) can research bloodmeisters to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.

knowledge (religion)

DC	Result
11	Bloodmeisters are wickedly creative combatants that use their own blood - and others' - as weapons
16	Bloodmeisters tend to be weak defensively, but their attacks are savage and varied.
21	For all their skill, Bloodmeisters have two glaring weak points; a susceptibility to toxins, and a tendency to overextend themselves.
26	A result of 26 or higher can bring out information about specific bloodmeisters, lore about them, their location, and recent activities.

Bloodmeisters in the Game

In their attempts to reconcile their powers with their identities, Bloodmeisters tend to be assassins, violence addicts, or tortured antiheroes.

Adaptation: A Bloodmeister may be the villain's right hand man, else they may fill the ranks of a tribe of warrior cultists.

Sample Encounter: Braith Blackstone, a half-elf Bloodmeister with a sordid history, rejected her heritage altogether, devoting herself instead to the perfection of violence. She wanders the darkened streets of Wraithport, looking for any fight worth having.

Braith (DnD NPC)

EL whatever: 11

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