I'm working on a subclass for sorcerers drawing upon the potency of blood and sanguine infusions. I'd like to publish it officially at some point, and I'm looking for some feedback that might clean it up a bit, and make it as good as possible!
I have tried to build it in a way that adds to the sorcerer, and try to limit making it harder to play one. I have also tried to frontload it with cool features at the lower levels that gives the sorcerer more options, so they don't have to wait for the latter levels for some cool options.
Of particular worry is the deviation from how sorcerers normally learn additional spells at level 1 (the aberrant mind for example), and the amount of charges stored by the blood vessel (is that too confusing and/or annoying?).
I hope you'll take a look, and let me know what you think! :)
Blood Mage
Sorcerer subclass
Spawned from desperation, ancient bloodlines, dark pacts, or all combined, most blood mages are terrifying arcanists that infuse the innate power of blood into their spells. The work of a blood mage can be a nightmare-inducing thing to behold for bystanders, but blood magic in and off itself need not be evil in design. Blood can possess the power of both vigor and decay, life and death, and thus, determining a blood mage’s intent, source of power, and ability to control the unholy urges that blood magic inherently bring becomes important factors when determining their morality.
Level 1: Blood Vessel
Starting at level 1, you learn how to store and use blood in a blood vessel, in order to amplify your spells later. In order to create a blood vessel, you must concentrate on a container of your choice (usually a vial) for the duration of a short rest. The blood vessel becomes your arcane spell focus.
You can spend an action to siphon blood into the vessel. The blood must come from a living humanoid with blood (which can be yourself), or from a corpse that died within the past hour. If it comes from a living creature, that creature suffers a point of exhaustion that lasts for 24 hours. This exhaustion goes away once 24 hours have passed.
You can use the blood vessel a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all uses after a long rest. When you use the blood vessel, you drain all blood in the vessel, and you must find a way to replenish it before you can use it again. Starting at level 6, you can use the blood vessel 2 times before replenishing it, and this increases to 3 times at level 14.
You can use one of these three effects:
Increase Potency. You cast a spell and increase its spell level as if you had spent a spell slot one level higher.
Sanguine Infusion. When you roll damage from a spell you have cast, you may choose any amount of damage dice rolled and change their damage type to necrotic.
Blood Boon. You restore an amount of hit points equal to 1d10 + your character level to yourself.
Level 1: Blood Magic
Your mastery of blood magic lets you choose from an expanded list of spells when you learn sorcerer spells. The spells are added to the sorcerer spell list for you, and at level 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9, you may learn one additional spell, chosen from this expanded list only. You can cast each of these spells without expending a spell slot. Once you cast either of these spells in this way, you can’t cast that spell in this way again until you finish a long rest. You can also cast these spells using spell slots you have of the appropriate level.
Whenever you gain a sorcerer level, you can replace one spell you gained from this feature with another spell of the same level. The new spell must be a spell of the same level from the list of blood spells.
Bane, Cure Wounds, Hex, Inflict Wounds, Cause Fear
Blindness/Deafness, Enhance Ability, Hold Person, Lesser Restoration, Ray of Enfeeblement
Bestow Curse, Life Transference, Revivify, Summon Lesser Demons, Vampiric Touch
Arcane Eye, Black Tentacles, Compulsion, Locate Creature, Summon Greater Demon
Enervation, Geas, Greater Restoration, Raise Dead, Telepathic Bond
Level 6: Blood Sense
The presence of blood registers on your senses and instill in you a sense of adrenaline. As an action, you can open your awareness to detect any presence of blood. For the next 10 minutes, you gain a special type of blindsight extending 60 feet from you, which detects and pinpoints the location of any sources of blood within that range.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to 1 + your Charisma modifier. When you finish a long rest, you regain all expended uses.
Level 14: Blood Rituals
When you gain this feature, choose three spells that have the ritual tag from any class’s spell list (the two needn’t be from the same list). The spells are considered sorcerer spells for you, and they don’t count against the number of spells you know. You can cast the chosen spells as rituals. You can also cast a sorcerer spell you already know as a ritual if it has the ritual tag. In addition to this, you can spend a charge of your blood vessel to instantly cast spells with a ritual tag without spending a spell slot.
Level 18: Blood Manifest
Your mastery of blood magic now enables you to manifest it in a terrible display of raw sanguine power. You can spend an action to manifest your power in one of two ways, and regain the ability to do so after a long rest.
Option 1: Blood Servant
You conjure a monstrosity of blood that becomes your loyal servant for the next 10 minutes. The creature appear within 60 ft. of you and uses the Blood Servant stat block. The creature disappears when it drops to 0 hit points, or when 10 minutes have passed.
The creature is an ally to you and your companions. In combat, the creature shares your initiative count, but it takes its turn immediately after yours. It obeys your verbal commands (no action required by you). If you don’t issue any, it takes the Dodge action and uses its move to avoid danger.
(haven't made a stat block yet here, but it'll be similar to the "summon" spells, just more powerful)
Option 2: Fleshcrafting
You surround yourself with warped flesh, blood and bone, and gain the following benefits for the next 10 minutes.
Temporary Hit Points. You gain an amount of tem-porary hit points equal to half your sorcerer level x 10, rounded down. If you lose all of these temporary hit points, you immediately exit your fleshcrafted form.
Size. Your size increases to Large.
Sanguine Metamagic. You gain an amount of tem-porary sorcery points equal to your sorcerer level. These points can be used only for any metamagic options you have learned, and the points are lost when you leave your fleshcrafted form.
Hi folks!
I'm working on a subclass for sorcerers drawing upon the potency of blood and sanguine infusions. I'd like to publish it officially at some point, and I'm looking for some feedback that might clean it up a bit, and make it as good as possible!
I have tried to build it in a way that adds to the sorcerer, and try to limit making it harder to play one. I have also tried to frontload it with cool features at the lower levels that gives the sorcerer more options, so they don't have to wait for the latter levels for some cool options.
Of particular worry is the deviation from how sorcerers normally learn additional spells at level 1 (the aberrant mind for example), and the amount of charges stored by the blood vessel (is that too confusing and/or annoying?).
I hope you'll take a look, and let me know what you think! :)
Blood Mage
Sorcerer subclass
Spawned from desperation, ancient bloodlines, dark pacts, or all combined, most blood mages are terrifying arcanists that infuse the innate power of blood into their spells. The work of a blood mage can be a nightmare-inducing thing to behold for bystanders, but blood magic in and off itself need not be evil in design. Blood can possess the power of both vigor and decay, life and death, and thus, determining a blood mage’s intent, source of power, and ability to control the unholy urges that blood magic inherently bring becomes important factors when determining their morality.
Level 1: Blood Vessel
Starting at level 1, you learn how to store and use blood in a blood vessel, in order to amplify your spells later. In order to create a blood vessel, you must concentrate on a container of your choice (usually a vial) for the duration of a short rest. The blood vessel becomes your arcane spell focus.
You can spend an action to siphon blood into the vessel. The blood must come from a living humanoid with blood (which can be yourself), or from a corpse that died within the past hour. If it comes from a living creature, that creature suffers a point of exhaustion that lasts for 24 hours. This exhaustion goes away once 24 hours have passed.
You can use the blood vessel a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all uses after a long rest. When you use the blood vessel, you drain all blood in the vessel, and you must find a way to replenish it before you can use it again. Starting at level 6, you can use the blood vessel 2 times before replenishing it, and this increases to 3 times at level 14.
You can use one of these three effects:
Increase Potency. You cast a spell and increase its spell level as if you had spent a spell slot one level higher.
Sanguine Infusion. When you roll damage from a spell you have cast, you may choose any amount of damage dice rolled and change their damage type to necrotic.
Blood Boon. You restore an amount of hit points equal to 1d10 + your character level to yourself.
Level 1: Blood Magic
Your mastery of blood magic lets you choose from an expanded list of spells when you learn sorcerer spells. The spells are added to the sorcerer spell list for you, and at level 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9, you may learn one additional spell, chosen from this expanded list only. You can cast each of these spells without expending a spell slot. Once you cast either of these spells in this way, you can’t cast that spell in this way again until you finish a long rest. You can also cast these spells using spell slots you have of the appropriate level.
Whenever you gain a sorcerer level, you can replace one spell you gained from this feature with another spell of the same level. The new spell must be a spell of the same level from the list of blood spells.
Bane, Cure Wounds, Hex, Inflict Wounds, Cause Fear
Blindness/Deafness, Enhance Ability, Hold Person, Lesser Restoration, Ray of Enfeeblement
Bestow Curse, Life Transference, Revivify, Summon Lesser Demons, Vampiric Touch
Arcane Eye, Black Tentacles, Compulsion, Locate Creature, Summon Greater Demon
Enervation, Geas, Greater Restoration, Raise Dead, Telepathic Bond
Level 6: Blood Sense
The presence of blood registers on your senses and instill in you a sense of adrenaline. As an action, you can open your awareness to detect any presence of blood. For the next 10 minutes, you gain a special type of blindsight extending 60 feet from you, which detects and pinpoints the location of any sources of blood within that range.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to 1 + your Charisma modifier. When you finish a long rest, you regain all expended uses.
Level 14: Blood Rituals
When you gain this feature, choose three spells that have the ritual tag from any class’s spell list (the two needn’t be from the same list). The spells are considered sorcerer spells for you, and they don’t count against the number of spells you know. You can cast the chosen spells as rituals. You can also cast a sorcerer spell you already know as a ritual if it has the ritual tag. In addition to this, you can spend a charge of your blood vessel to instantly cast spells with a ritual tag without spending a spell slot.
Level 18: Blood Manifest
Your mastery of blood magic now enables you to manifest it in a terrible display of raw sanguine power. You can spend an action to manifest your power in one of two ways, and regain the ability to do so after a long rest.
Option 1: Blood Servant
You conjure a monstrosity of blood that becomes your loyal servant for the next 10 minutes. The creature appear within 60 ft. of you and uses the Blood Servant stat block. The creature disappears when it drops to 0 hit points, or when 10 minutes have passed.
The creature is an ally to you and your companions. In combat, the creature shares your initiative count, but it takes its turn immediately after yours. It obeys your verbal commands (no action required by you). If you don’t issue any, it takes the Dodge action and uses its move to avoid danger.
(haven't made a stat block yet here, but it'll be similar to the "summon" spells, just more powerful)
Option 2: Fleshcrafting
You surround yourself with warped flesh, blood and bone, and gain the following benefits for the next 10 minutes.
Temporary Hit Points. You gain an amount of tem-porary hit points equal to half your sorcerer level x 10, rounded down. If you lose all of these temporary hit points, you immediately exit your fleshcrafted form.
Size. Your size increases to Large.
Sanguine Metamagic. You gain an amount of tem-porary sorcery points equal to your sorcerer level. These points can be used only for any metamagic options you have learned, and the points are lost when you leave your fleshcrafted form.