Order of the Old Guard

All Blood Hunters eventually reach the point where their life flickers for the last time, either fighting against the horde of darkness with their dying breath or retire and forget the world of blood and steel. However, there are those whose flames can never be extinguished, only burning stronger with each attempt, shedding light to new shadows. The Old Guard are composed of Blood Hunter who have taken the mantle of mentors, teachers, and advisors of aspiring blood hunters as well as those who side with them, those who are willing to stain their blade against those who threaten the good.

Despite their namesake and their usual status of retired veterans, they have kept their skills sharp and their body in top form. To challenge them would be a grave mistake, less they wish to be included in their body count.

Steel Body

Your body have persevered against countless attacks, molding it to withstand attacks. Your hit point maximum increases by 1 and increases by 1 again whenever you gain a level in this class.

Sanguine Shield

Your hemocraft allows you to manipulate your own blood as a means to protect you. When you roll your hemocraft die and lose hit points as a result, you also gain an equal amount of temporary hit points equal to the roll.

Temporary hit points gained this way only lasts until the start of your next turn.

Veteran’s Way

You are able to draw guidance and wisdom from your countless wounds and scars, a painful yet effective method.

Whenever you make an ability check that you are proficient, you can choose to roll your hemocraft die once and lose hit points equal to the roll, in exchange you gain a bonus to your total equal to half of the roll (rounded down). You can do so after you see the roll, but not before the outcome has been decided.

Alternatively, you can use your reaction to provide this bonus to a friendly creature within 10 feet of you that makes an ability check that you are proficient, provided you can see them and they can hear you.

Brand of Passage

Your Brand of Castigation can now absorb your rite brandishing the next strike with your hemocraft. When you hit a branded creature with a weapon while your Crimson Rite is active, you can choose to infuse the rite (no action required) into the target after the attack, ending the rite on your weapon. The damage dealt by your Brand of Castigation now becomes the same as the infused rite's damage type and it ignores the creature's resistance and immunity. A creature can only be infused by one rite at a time.

Additionally, when a friendly creature attacks the branded target while it is infused with your rite, you can use your reaction to transfer that rite into their weapon for 1 minute or until they are no longer holding the weapon by the end of their turn. That creature's hemocraft die is a d6 for the purpose of the rite, unless they have the Blood Hunter class, in which case they roll their own hemocraft die.

Blood Curse Memory

You've learned to imprint your pain with your hemocraft, destroying those unfortunate enough to experience them. You gain the Blood Curse of Memory for your Blood Maledict feature. This doesn't count against your number of blood curses known.

When you lose hit points from your hemocraft, you can use your reaction to choose a creature that you can see within 60 feet. The target must make an Intelligence saving throw and on a failed save, they take psychic damage equal to four times the hit points you lost. On a successful save, they take psychic damage equal to twice the hit point you lost.

Amplify. The creature has disadvantage on the saving throw and you add the hemocraft die used to amplify this curse to the total damage dealt.

Crimson Defiance

Your determination to live and to see the new generation rise has allowed you exceed the limits of your hemocraft. Your hemocraft die is now a d12 and the temporary hit points granted by your Sanguine Shield feature is doubled.