Sanguine Sorcerer

Sanguine Sorcerers are the most primal and untamed of all sorcerers. They use their own blood as a means to empower and enhance their spellcasting abilities, drawing on their own life essence as source of great arcane power. While other sorcerers may tap into the potential offered by their heritage or bloodlines, Sanguine magic uses an exchange of one's own life force to perform great feats of power. Many of those who have used Sanguine magic have perished, sacrificing too much of themselves to achieve greater forms of power. The pain and sacrifice involved becomes an addiction, driving those who would use it to sacrifice more and more, until they are consumed by their own thirst for power.

Sanguine magic is often outlawed and reviled, as such pursuits are viewed as selfish and cruel. Those who perform this dark art often skirt the line between life and death, walking a razor's edge, with mistakes often proving fatal and final. The constant harm inflicted upon one's self also tends to warp a person's sanity, making them chaotic and unpredictable, with a lust for power. Sometimes people and objects of great sentimental value to an individual can help them to break away from their addiction, but all too often, the attempt to offer salvation and forgiveness comes too late.

Blood Ritual

At 1st level you gain the ability to offer some of your own life force in exchange for heightened arcane abilities.

When you cast a Sorcerer spell with a spell slot, you can choose to take damage equal to double the level of spell slot and empower the spell with one of the two following effects (your choice):

• If the spell has a more powerful effect when you cast it at a higher level, you instead cast the spell as if you had used a spell slot of one level higher (to a maximum of 9th level).
• If the spell deals damage, it ignores damage resistances. If the target creature has immunity to the damage dealt by the spell, it instead becomes resistant.

The damage you take as part of this feature ignores resistance and immunity, and does not require you to make a Constitution saving throw to maintain your concentration. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (a minimum of once). You regain any expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Thirst for Power

At 1st level you gain the ability to exchange some of your own life force for arcane influence.

As a bonus action, you can choose to slice your palm with a ritualistic blade, taking 1d6 of necrotic damage. This damage ignores immunity and resistance, and lowers your Hit Point maximum by the same amount of damage taken, as your blood is converted into arcane energy. You then gain a number of sorcery points equal to half of the damage taken (rounded down). The sorcery points granted by this feature can only restore expended sorcery points, and any remaining points which would exceed your maximum sorcery point value for your level are subsequently lost.

The reduction to your Hit Point maximum lasts until you take a long rest, and you may use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus. Any expended uses are also restored upon taking a long rest.

As your thirst for power grows, so does the sacrifice you offer to satiate it. The damage die used for this feature increases at later levels; 1d8 at 6th level, 1d10 at 12th level and 1d12 at 18th level.

Bloodied Focus

At 6th level you have become resilient to pain, teaching yourself to focus your mind even as your body cries out in anguish.

You gain advantage on Constitution saving throws made to maintain concentration on your spells. Furthermore, whenever you gain a level in this subclass, you receive 1 additional Hit Point to your Hit Point maximum (including previous levels in this subclass).

Sanguine Shield

At 14th level you gain the ability to manipulate your own blood into providing a protective coating when you are severely injured.

Whenever you fall below half your Hit Point maximum, you can magically force the blood from your wounds to coagulate and harden into a crimson armour. When in this state, your AC becomes equal to 10 + Dexterity Modifier + Constitution Modifier. You also gain resistance to bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage from non-magical attacks.

This effects lasts until you are incapacitated, die, or return to a Hit Point value equal to or greater than half your Hit Point maximum.

Crimson Renewal

At 18th level you gain the ability to regenerate from being grievously wounded to a near-perfect state.

As a bonus action when you have fewer than half of your Hit Points remaining, you can remove any reductions to your Hit Point maximum. This can remove any reductions imposed by the effects of spells or necrotic damage, as well as the reductions caused by use of the Thirst for Power class feature. However, this will not restore any reductions that may have occurred as a result of your Constitution being altered in any way.

When you remove these reductions to your Hit Point maximum, you also regain a number of Hit Points equal to half of your Hit Point maximum. This method of healing may also be used even if you have no reductions to your Hit Point maximum, so long as you have fewer than half of your Hit Points remaining when you use this feature.

Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.