Let's talk about Blood [Archive] - Giant in the Playground Forums

Eldan

2013-02-19, 09:01 AM

Blood. An interesting fluid, isn't it? So much material on it in fantasy.

I'm just thinking. What are some things that people can think of that can be done with blood and magic? Some homebrew might be coming from this.

Blood as life.
This is the most common one. Consuming blood restores life, health, youth or cures diseases, probably with hideous side effects like vampirism. Going on from this, in some settings , blood might give a boost to magical ability.

Blood as a bond.
Getting your hands on someone's blood gives you a measure of control over them. Maybe you can connect a tracking spell with a drop of their blood. Maybe you can make an effigy for sympathetic magic with some blood.

Blood as family.
Blood relations share a special bond. Maybe they can feel each other's emotions, or get dire visions when something bad will befall them in the near future. Connecting this with blood as a bond might mean that the blood of someone's family might serve as a channel to affect that person.

What other fantastic uses for blood can you think of?

Norin

2013-02-19, 09:06 AM

Have a look at the Blood Magus PrC from Complete Arcane for more inspiration. :smallsmile:

Eldan

2013-02-19, 10:43 AM

I do know it. However, most of the abilities it has don't actually seem to be that much connected to blood. Substituting blood for components and using it as potions is certainly nice, sure. But teleport to blood is just strange, flavourwise, even if it is unique.

Amphetryon

2013-02-19, 10:48 AM

Pathfinder offers these options:

Bloodmage (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/prestige-classes/other-paizo/a-b/bloatmage)

Blood Caster (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/3rd-party-prestige-classes/4-winds-fantasy-gaming/blood-caster).

Admittedly, the latter looks an awful lot like a straight translation of Blood Magus into Pathfinder, by my reckoning.

FreakyCheeseMan

2013-02-19, 10:52 AM

Blood as Emotion.

I can't think of any specific examples, but I'm pretty sure this has been done before - blood as a vehicle into rage or lust or other heightened emotional states. Spells cast on a person's blood could throw them into a berserker rage, or the blood of certain magical creatures could be used as a drug or aphrodisiac.

FreakyCheeseMan

2013-02-19, 11:03 AM

thompur

2013-02-19, 11:04 AM

I don't know, I'm rather sanguine about the whole topic.

How about Blood Pudding. Food or Monster. :smalltongue:

Shining Wrath

2013-02-19, 11:24 AM

It certainly seems as though there ought to be spells that target blood directly. UK LeGuin had a sorceress who "Set hot silver to run in the marrow of their bones" in Earthsea. A spell which thickened blood, or corrupted it, could inflict an interesting magical disease.

XmonkTad

2013-02-19, 12:08 PM

Blood as life.
This is the most common one. Consuming blood restores life, health, youth or cures diseases, probably with hideous side effects like vampirism. Going on from this, in some settings , blood might give a boost to magical ability.

Splitting this into two distinct parts you can have "Blood as Food" (vamparism, zombieism) and "Blood as Power" (blood mage).

From Fantasy (Goblins comic) and Sci-fi (aliens) you have "Blood as acid" or "Blood as Curse" where a persons blood may be the easy way of defeating an otherwise difficult enemy.

For a puzzle you can have "Blood as Proof" usually signaling some sort of chosen one. (also connects to the crime one from FreakyCheeseMan)

This has got me thinking...

Ravens_cry

2013-02-19, 12:10 PM

Alleran

2013-02-19, 12:24 PM

IIRC, Shugenja or the Tainted Sorcerers/Scholars from OA and later the SRD also have an association with blood to a certain extent.

(I think it's a shame that there isn't a better employment of the "blood as magical energy" theme, considering how often it seems to come up nowadays. Dragon Age is particularly famous for using it - though even there it isn't evil, per se - but it appears in vampire fiction, Warhammer, badly with the Blood Caster in Pathfinder and interestingly with the blood magic used in the Crimson Throne adventure path... the list goes on. Just the idea of inscribing spells in blood tends to draw on the "blood as magical energy source" element of storytelling.)

Amphetryon

2013-02-19, 12:31 PM

That's Bloatmage, but yes, they got a lot of blood.

The text in the link says Bloodmage, while the text OF the link says Bloatmage. As I don't have the physical copy, I had/have no immediate way of verifying which is accurate and which is the typo.

Shining Wrath

2013-02-19, 12:32 PM

Splitting this into two distinct parts you can have "Blood as Food" (vamparism, zombieism) and "Blood as Power" (blood mage).

From Fantasy (Goblins comic) and Sci-fi (aliens) you have "Blood as acid" or "Blood as Curse" where a persons blood may be the easy way of defeating an otherwise difficult enemy.

For a puzzle you can have "Blood as Proof" usually signaling some sort of chosen one. (also connects to the crime one from FreakyCheeseMan)

This has got me thinking...

Don't forget Chiron's blood, which was the eventual bane of Hercules.

mattie_p

2013-02-19, 12:33 PM

I recall reading about a magic user of some sort who turned his blood yellow to cure a disease or poison that was affecting him. David Eddings, perhaps? I can't really recall at the moment.

hamishspence

2013-02-19, 12:34 PM

Don't forget Chiron's blood, which was the eventual bane of Hercules.
I don't think it was Chiron- was a different centaur.

Wikipedia gives it as Nessus:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nessus_(mythology)

Alleran

2013-02-19, 12:59 PM

The text in the link says Bloodmage, while the text OF the link says Bloatmage. As I don't have the physical copy, I had/have no immediate way of verifying which is accurate and which is the typo.
"Bloatmage" is the accurate term. It's a result of the d20PFSRD needing to change all the names to non-Paizo-specific terminology, because they're no longer on the community use license or something to that effect.

I recall reading about a magic user of some sort who turned his blood yellow to cure a disease or poison that was affecting him. David Eddings, perhaps? I can't really recall at the moment.
Eddings. It happened in the second book of the Belgariad, where Garion (in order to cleanse his system of various toxins) had to use sorcery to temporarily alter the chemical makeup of his blood, which would purge them from his system. It was very dangerous, and if he hadn't had God As His Co-Pilot at the time, he could easily have died.

It also wasn't really a specific "blood magic" spell. More a nasty-feeling Neutralise Poison, really.

Eldan

2013-02-19, 01:13 PM

For a puzzle you can have "Blood as Proof" usually signaling some sort of chosen one. (also connects to the crime one from FreakyCheeseMan)
.

Or more generally, "Blood as Identity". There's many ways this one could go. Proving your lineage is one way, but you could also identify someone from spilt blood, or drink someone's blood to learn facts about them, such as weaknesses. Or a shapeshifter's blood could give them away.

hamishspence

2013-02-19, 01:17 PM

Blood as Emotion.

I can't think of any specific examples, but I'm pretty sure this has been done before - blood as a vehicle into rage or lust or other heightened emotional states.

The dragon-specific berserker class in Draconomicon- bloodscaled fury- does sweat blood when in a rage.

mattie_p

2013-02-19, 01:19 PM

"Bloatmage" is the accurate term. It's a result of the d20PFSRD needing to change all the names to non-Paizo-specific terminology, because they're no longer on the community use license or something to that effect.

Eddings. It happened in the second book of the Belgariad, where Garion (in order to cleanse his system of various toxins) had to use sorcery to temporarily alter the chemical makeup of his blood, which would purge them from his system. It was very dangerous, and if he hadn't had God As His Co-Pilot at the time, he could easily have died.

It also wasn't really a specific "blood magic" spell. More a nasty-feeling Neutralise Poison, really.

Thanks. It was bugging me.

Or more generally, "Blood as Identity". There's many ways this one could go. Proving your lineage is one way, but you could also identify someone from spilt blood, or drink someone's blood to learn facts about them, such as weaknesses. Or a shapeshifter's blood could give them away.

One of the Wizard's X Rule books by Terry Goodkind had the blood of a particular ex-virgin as a special kind of arcane focus for some magic.

Ravens_cry

2013-02-19, 01:32 PM

Blood Biography anyone?
Blood Transcription. Blood Money. Bood Rage. There is quite a few Pathfinder spells with a blood theme.

Zetapup

2013-02-19, 07:39 PM

I'm a little surprised that blood oaths haven't been mentioned yet. In a setting with magic, blood oaths could actually have a meaningful consequence: perhaps one who breaks a blood oath becomes exsanguinated or experiences some other suitably bloody death.

FreakyCheeseMan

2013-02-19, 08:25 PM

Yora

2013-02-19, 08:29 PM

Talk about blood? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1zjeYhJs7o) :smallbiggrin:

Coidzor

2013-02-19, 10:26 PM

Blood as Crime.

Blood marks the places where horrible deeds have been committed in the past. Murders, battles, mass executions - the stains of history are preserved in the blood itself, and locations where blood was spilled wrongly are haunted by the fear and anger of those final moments.

This is related to the Blood as crime, but there's a very oldschool idea about the blood itself crying out for vengeance/restitution, that sort of thing. I think this is an older form of balancing the scales in blood.

Milo v3

2013-02-20, 01:24 AM

Blood as death
Blood acts a channel for negative energy in a creature, removing it from the various parts of the body (like RL blood with oxygen except in reverse). That's why vampires drink blood. Also with enough blood spilled in one place, undead can rise.

Anderlith

2013-02-20, 01:29 AM

Kingsblood to wake the stone dragon...

Blood can summon bound creatures to once again walk the earth

Yora

2013-02-20, 07:44 AM

In the world I am working on, positive energy is basically mana. A living body isn't very different from a magical construct in that regard. Since blood transports the life energy within a living creatures body, it is very rich in such energy, and with some minor tricks the energy can be converted into mana.

A Blood Mage is a lot like a Defiler of Dark Sun, just that he drains life energy from people and animals instead of the land.

supermonkeyjoe

2013-02-20, 09:12 AM

Blood as a fuel? Just look at the blood golem of Hextor as an example:

http://crpp0001.uqtr.ca/w4/campagne/images/WotC_Art_Galleries/FiendFolio/Blood%20golem%20of%20Hextor.jpg

Shining Wrath

2013-02-20, 09:15 AM

I don't think it was Chiron- was a different centaur.

Wikipedia gives it as Nessus:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nessus_(mythology)

You're right. Haven't been in Bullfinch for a while, forgot my centaurs.

Yora

2013-02-20, 09:32 AM

In the myth of Kali, the gods were fighting a demon who could not be killed because when his blood hit the ground, new copies of him would grow from the earth. So Shiva created Kali, a deity of war, protection, and vengance, to kill the demon. Kali then defeated the demons by cutting of their heads and drinking up all the blood, so none would hit the ground.
That's why in pretty much all paintings and statues, two of the items she is holding are a severed head and a bowl with blood.
http://www.devi-durga.com/images/Goddesses/kali.jpg

Shining Wrath

2013-02-20, 09:34 AM

This is related to the Blood as crime, but there's a very oldschool idea about the blood itself crying out for vengeance/restitution, that sort of thing. I think this is an older form of balancing the scales in blood.

VERY old school.

9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

10 The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.
Genesis 4 (NIV translation)

Genesis 4, as in "First story after Eden". That's as old school as old school gets.

GolemsVoice

2013-02-20, 09:40 AM

Related to Blood as Bond:

Blood as Memory:
A person's blood contains information about him, like heigth, looks, general mental state and so on.

Blood as Sacrifice:
If you want something to be powerful and permanent, you'll have to donate some of your essence (Blood as Life) i.E. your blood. This shows your devotion, and also transfers your magical power to the thing you want.

rot42

2013-02-20, 11:16 AM

The Familial Geash spell from Heroes of Horror has a little "blood as bond" going for it.

The shapeshifters in Chronicles of Amber could create a "creature of the blood" - basically a bespoke living construct with a small measure of their power.

"Why couldn't it be like a-a lymph ritual or something? (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Buffy_the_Vampire_Slayer/Season_5#The_Gift)"
Relatedly, what is up with all the kooky when searching YouTube for "lymph"?