Order of the Martyr

Blood magic often evokes images of ostentatious rivers of crimson, but few know that blood does not have to be shed for it to be used in the process of hemomancy. That is only the most common way to harness this power, and nobody knows that better than the hunters belonging to the Order of the Martyr. The Order of the Martyr, much like the Order of the Mutant, splintered from older orders when these Hunters found that it was pain, and not the actual act of bloodletting, that allowed hemomancers to channel their magic. Martyrs have mastered the act of feeling that pain, and taking on the pain of others, to channel their own magic.

Martyrs never break the skin when drawing upon their powers. Instead, they inflict psychic pain upon themselves, or take the pain felt by others, in order to turn this suffering into power. This has led to the tell-tale sign of these hunters being the tears that stream down their faces when they draw forth their blood magic.

Not anyone can join the Order of the Martyr. Only those who have borne a deep enough wound, whether psychological or physical, are ever invited into the order. Depending on the source of this initial pain, the tears that flow as the result of their blood magic manifest in different ways, from black as night, to crimson, to even gold.

This selection is part of the Hunter’s Bane ritual, since the particular way in which Martyrs channel blood magic is reliant on empathy. Because Martyrs are expected to not only feel their own pain but that of others to utilize their powers, they must understand pain on a visceral level. This has made them somewhat of an oddity among even other Hunters. While all Blood Hunters are regarded with apprehension or even fear by the masses, Martyrs are often met with these same feelings from their fellow Hunters. They are outcasts even among the outcasts because ¡of the singular way they use their powers; their readiness to take the pain of even fellow Hunters, to use as a weapon—and the true purpose behind the Order of the Martyr.

All Blood Hunters hunt the wicked, but the Order of the Martyr specializes in hunting those who have succumbed to blood magic and turned into what they were supposed to fight. To other Orders, Martyrs are a walking reminder of what will happen should they lose their tenuous grasp on their powers.

Martyrdom

You have learned to draw the power of blood magic through emotional pain rather than physical wounds. Whenever you roll your Hemocraft Die to determine damage, whether to yourself or to another creature, you deal Psychic damage instead of Necrotic damage. Damage dealt to yourself by your Hemocraft Die cannot be reduced in any way.

Additionally, whenever you roll your Hemocraft Die to take damage in order to activate your Crimson Rite, you can choose to roll your Hemocraft Die twice and take the higher result. When you do so, you also roll your Hemocraft Die twice and choose the higher result every time you deal the extra damage associated with your chosen Rite.

Pain Adept

Your particular experience with pain renders suffering of the body trivial. You gain Resistance to Necrotic damage and the Defense Fighting Style Feat. Additionally, when you roll a Hit Die to recover Hit Points, you also roll your Hemocraft Die and add it to the total Hit Points you heal. At level 10, you no longer roll your Hemocraft Die and instead add the highest possible result of the roll to the total Hit Points you heal.

 

Brand of Flagellation

Your particular school of hemocraft allows you to channel the pain of others into yourself to empower your hemomancy. When a creature branded by your Brand of Castigation deals damage to a creature you can see within 30 feet of you, you can use your Reaction to take half of the damage that creature would have taken (rounded down). As part of this same Reaction, you can choose between the following effects, which take place immediately after you take this damage:

• You inflict Psychic damage on the branded creature equal to one roll of your Hemocraft Die plus your Hemocraft Modifier.
• You activate an ability that requires you to roll your Hemocraft Die and take the damage rolled, without taking any additional damage.

Pain Maven

You are able to siphon the pain someone felt at the moment of their death, gaining it as your own strength. Whenever a creature within 30 feet of you dies, you can use your Reaction to roll the dead’s creature’s Hit Die and gain the number rolled as Temporary Hit Points.

Blood Curse of the Sacrificant

Starting at 15th level, your Blood Curse can offer succor through the pain you feel. You gain the Blood Curse of the Sacrificant for your Blood Maledict feature. This doesn’t count against your number of Blood Curses known.

Blood Curse of the Sacrificant. As a Bonus Action, you grant a number of creatures equal to your Hemocraft Modifier Resistance to Necrotic damage until the end of your next turn.

Amplify. The creatures that have gained Resistance to Necrotic damage through this Blood Curse gain a number of Temporary Hit Points equal to the damage you took when amplifying this Blood Curse. These creatures keep their Resistance until they lose all of the Temporary Hit Points granted by this Blood Curse.

True Martyr

At 18th level, you become the epitome of martyrdom.

When you reach 0 Hit Points, choose one of the following:

• You immediately become stable. You can use this ability a number of times equal to your Hemocraft Modifier (minimum of once), and you regain all expended uses when you finish a Long Rest.
• You rise again for a number of turns equal to your Hemocraft Modifier. You remain at 0 Hit Points, you cannot benefit from any healing, and you are Immune to all damage types, including from your own Hemocraft Die. You can still use any abilities activated by rolling your Hemocraft Die but you treat the result of the roll as a 0 for the purposes of inflicting damage to yourself. While you are in this state you cannot take reactions and you can use either an action or a bonus action, not both. At the end of the last turn, you instantly die, and your corpse is under the effects of the spell Gentle Repose. After you use this ability, roll your Hemocraft Die; you can’t use this ability again until you finish a number of Long Rests equal to the number rolled on your Hemocraft Die.