School of Hemalurgy (2024)

Servant of Iniquity. Defiler. Heretic. Criminal. Evil. Whispered about in the dark around a dying fire, those who practice the forbidden art of hemalurgy are described as many things, and are outcasts to all but their own. 

Whether it was to sate a desire for power, revenge, or some other strong emotion, you have turned toward the forbidden study of blood magic. Those who do so understand the burden it carries, as they are feared and pursued anywhere they are identified as one of its practitioners.

Where other wizards master the laws of magic through study, the hemalurgist discovers that magic can be made more pliable through sacrifice. Blood becomes a currency, death becomes a source of power, and every spell becomes an opportunity to extract more from the world than the laws of magic ordinarily permit.

Will you become a feared servant of the art, leaving nothing but mangled, exsanguinated bodies in your wake? Or will you become a paragon of change and reason, attempting to dispel the stigma behind the magic?

Blood Extraction

You have learned to harvest vital essence and condense it into Blood Spheres, which fuel your hemalurgic techniques.

Blood Sphere Maximum. You can hold a maximum number of Blood Spheres equal to your Proficiency Bonus. You cannot gain a Blood Sphere while you are at this maximum.

Harvesting Death. Once per turn, when a creature you can see within 30 feet of yourself dies, you can use your Reaction to harvest its blood and create one Blood Sphere. A creature that has no blood or is immune to necrotic damage cannot be harvested this way.

Personal Sacrifice. As a Bonus Action, you can expend one of your unexpended Hit Point Dice to create one Blood Sphere. The expended Die cannot be used to regain Hit Points and remains expended until you finish a Long Rest. You cannot use this feature if you have no unexpended Hit Point Dice or are already at your Blood Sphere maximum.

Dissipation. When you finish a Long Rest, all your unspent Blood Spheres dissipate.

Blood Rituals

You have developed specialized techniques for channeling stored vital essence into your spells. These techniques are known as Blood Rituals.

You learn three Blood Rituals of your choice from the Basic Rituals section. You learn two additional rituals at Wizard levels 6, 10, and one at Wizard level 14. You can learn rituals only from a tier available to you. Whenever you gain a Wizard level, you can replace one Blood Ritual you know with another ritual for which you qualify.

Using Blood Rituals. When you meet a ritual's triggering conditions, you can expend the required number of Blood Spheres to use it. Each ritual specifies its own trigger and effect.

You can use no more than one Blood Ritual per turn. You must expend the Blood Spheres when you use the ritual. Unless a ritual states otherwise, you can use it only once per triggering event.

Blood Echo

Cost: 2 Blood Spheres

When you cast a Wizard spell that targets only one creature and doesn't have a range of Self, you can expend 2 Blood Spheres to target a second eligible creature within the spell's range.

If the spell requires an attack roll, make a separate attack roll against the second target. If it requires a saving throw, the second target makes its own save. The original target is affected normally.

This ritual cannot duplicate a spell that consumes a material component with a specified cost or creates a persistent area of effect.

Blood for Blood

Cost: 4 Blood Spheres + 1 Unexpended Hit Die

When you cast a Wizard spell that deals damage to a creature, you can expend 4 Blood Spheres and one unexpended Hit Point Die to intensify the spell. One creature damaged by the spell takes an additional 6d10 necrotic damage.

The Hit Point Die expended for this ritual remains expended until you finish a Long Rest. This additional damage is dealt only once per casting.

Blood Ward

Cost: 3 Blood Spheres

When you cast a Wizard spell of level 1 or higher, you can expend 3 Blood Spheres to form a dense shell of coagulated blood magic around yourself. You gain Resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage until the start of your next turn.

Bloodletting Focus

Cost: 1 Blood Sphere

When you make a Constitution saving throw to maintain Concentration on a Wizard spell, you can expend 1 Blood Sphere to gain a bonus to that saving throw equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum +1).

You must use this ritual before rolling the saving throw.

Crimson Aegis

Cost: 1 Blood Sphere +

Immediately after you cast a Wizard spell of level 1 or higher, you can expend 1 Blood Sphere to gain Temporary Hit Points equal to twice your Intelligence modifier (minimum 1).

These Temporary Hit Points last until they are expended or you finish a Short or Long Rest.

You can expend additional Blood Spheres to multiply the effect by the amount of Blood Spheres expended.

Crimson Cataclysm

Cost: 4 Blood Spheres

When you cast a Wizard spell that deals damage to multiple creatures, you can expend 4 Blood Spheres to intensify the spell's hemalurgic force. Choose up to three creatures damaged by the spell. Each takes an additional 4d8 necrotic damage.

A creature can take this additional damage only once per casting. A creature immune to necrotic damage takes none of this additional damage.

Crimson Penetration

Cost: 1 Blood Sphere

When you cast a Wizard spell that deals damage to one or more creatures, you can expend 1 Blood Sphere to empower the spell. One creature damaged by the spell takes additional necrotic damage equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum 1).

This additional damage is dealt only once per casting, regardless of how many times the spell damages that creature.

Crimson Recoil

Cost: 2 Blood Spheres

Immediately after you cast a Wizard spell of level 1 or higher, you can expend 2 Blood Spheres to move up to 15 feet without provoking Opportunity Attacks.

This movement must be completed immediately after the spell is cast and cannot pass through occupied spaces.

Essence Reclamation

Cost: 4 Blood Spheres

When you cast a Wizard spell of level 2 or higher that deals damage to at least one creature, you can expend 4 Blood Spheres to reclaim a portion of the essence released by the spell. You regain one expended spell slot, provided the slot is of level 5 or lower, and lower in level than the spell you cast.

Once you regain a spell slot with this ritual, you cannot do so again until you finish a Long Rest.

Heartstopper

Cost: 4 Blood Spheres

When you cast a Wizard spell that deals damage to a creature, you can expend 4 Blood Spheres to arrest the creature's circulation with hemalurgic force. The creature must succeed on a Constitution saving throw against your Wizard spell save DC or become Stunned until the start of your next turn.

A creature that has no blood or is immune to necrotic damage is unaffected by this ritual.

Hemalurgic Precision

Cost: 1 Blood Sphere

When you cast a Wizard spell that deals damage and roll damage dice for it, you can expend 1 Blood Sphere to reroll any number of those damage dice. You must use the new rolls.

You must choose the dice before rerolling them, and you can use this ritual only once per casting.

Hemalurgic Ruin

Cost: 4 Blood Spheres

When a creature fails a saving throw against a Wizard spell you cast, you can expend 4 Blood Spheres to saturate its body with hostile hemalurgic energy. Until the end of your next turn, the creature has Disadvantage on Constitution saving throws it makes to maintain Concentration.

A creature that has no blood or is immune to necrotic damage is unaffected by this ritual.

Hemorrhagic Rupture

Cost: 3 Blood Spheres

When you cast a Wizard spell that deals damage to a creature, you can expend 3 Blood Spheres to cause the creature's blood to rupture from within. The creature takes an additional 4d8 necrotic damage.

You can apply this ritual to only one creature damaged by the spell, and the additional damage can occur only once per casting.

Sanguine Deflection

Cost: 3 Blood Spheres

When you are hit by an attack, you can expend 3 Blood Spheres as a Reaction to reduce the damage you take by an amount equal to five times your Wizard level.

You can use this ritual after the attack hits but before you take its damage.

Sanguine Disruption

Cost: 2 Blood Spheres

When a creature succeeds on a saving throw against a Wizard spell you cast, you can expend 2 Blood Spheres to disrupt its resistance to your magic. The creature takes necrotic damage equal to your Wizard level.

This damage is dealt only once per casting of the spell, regardless of how many creatures succeed on their saves.

Sanguine Reach

Cost: 1 Blood Sphere

When you cast a Wizard spell that has a range other than Self and can target only one creature, you can expend 1 Blood Sphere to double the spell's range for that casting.

If the spell has a range of Touch, its range instead becomes 30 feet. The spell must still target only one creature, and all other targeting requirements remain unchanged.

Sanguine Reprisal

Cost: 1 Blood Sphere +

As a Reaction, when a creature you can see within 60 feet of yourself damages you, you can expend 1 Blood Sphere to lash out with hemalurgic energy. The creature takes necrotic damage equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum 1).

This damage occurs after the triggering damage is resolved.

You can expend additional Blood Spheres to multiply the effect by the amount of Blood Spheres expended.

Sanguine Severance

Cost: 3 Blood Spheres

When you cast a Wizard spell that deals damage to a creature, you can expend 3 Blood Spheres to disrupt its ability to recover. Until the start of your next turn, the creature cannot regain Hit Points.

A creature that has no blood or is immune to necrotic damage is unaffected by this ritual.

Veinbinding

Cost: 2 Blood Spheres

When you cast a Wizard spell that forces a creature to make a Strength or Dexterity saving throw, you can expend 2 Blood Spheres to bind one creature affected by the spell with coagulated blood magic.

If that creature fails its saving throw against the spell, its Speed becomes 0 until the start of your next turn. This effect doesn't restrain the creature or prevent it from taking actions or Reactions.

Sanguine Siphoning

You learn to extract vital essence directly from the living, turning their blood into fuel for your hemalurgic practices.

As an Action, you can attempt to siphon blood from living creatures you can see within 30 feet of yourself. Each target must have blood and must not be immune to necrotic damage.

Each target must make a Constitution saving throw against your Wizard spell save DC. A target takes 4d6 necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

For each eligible creature you target with this feature, you create one Blood Sphere, regardless of whether it succeeds or fails its saving throw, provided you are below your Blood Sphere maximum. This feature doesn't restore Hit Points to you.

You can use Sanguine Siphoning a number of times equal to half your Intelligence modifier (rounded up, minimum of once). You regain all expended uses when you finish a Long Rest.

You also learn two additional Blood Rituals.

Improved Siphoning

Your ability to draw blood from multiple creatures improves. When you use Sanguine Siphoning, you can target up to two creatures instead of one. The damage increases to 6d6 necrotic damage per target, with half damage on a successful Constitution saving throw.

You also learn two additional Blood Rituals. You can choose Basic Rituals or Advanced Rituals.

Master of Blood and Magic

You have mastered the union of vital essence and arcane power, learning to force magic beyond its natural limits by paying in your own blood.

Blood-Magic Apotheosis. When you cast a Wizard spell of 1st level or higher, you can expend all your Blood Spheres to invoke this feature. You must expend at least five Blood Spheres, and you must expend one unexpended Hit Point Die. The spell gains the following benefits:

• Overwhelming Power. Choose a number of creatures affected by the spell up to your Proficiency Bonus. Each chosen creature has disadvantage on the first saving throw it makes against the spell.

• Pierce Resistance. The spell's damage ignores Resistance to its damage types for the chosen creatures. Immunity is unaffected.

• Unbound Essence. If the spell deals damage, treat one damage die of your choice for each chosen creature as having rolled its maximum value. A damage die can benefit from this only once per casting.

The Price of Apotheosis. After the spell resolves, you gain 2 levels of Exhaustion. You cannot use this feature again until you finish a Long Rest.

Masterful Siphoning. You have mastered the art of extracting vital essence from multiple creatures at once. When you use Sanguine Siphoning, you can target up to three creatures instead of two. The damage increases to 8d6 necrotic damage per target, with half damage on a successful Constitution saving throw.

You also learn one additional Blood Ritual. You can choose Basic, Advanced, or Master Rituals.