Blood Magic Sorcerer Subclass

[GWJ_DanyBoy]

I'm trying to build a new subclass for the Sorc. 5e being the first edition of D&D I really got into, I don't know anything about any previous incarnations of this concept.
Essentially I'm trying to create a high efficiency caster who's abilities tie into HP and hit dice.

Sorc subclasses gain abilities at 1st, 6th, 14th and 18th level. While I've lots of ideas, I'm having a bit of trouble slotting things, and trying to balance relative power and would welcome suggestions. So here's what I have so far:

Blood Mage Sorcerer

Level 1: Blood Ritual

You may cast the following spells as a ritual. In addition to the normal components, you must reduce your maximum HP equal to the spell's level in order to complete the ritual. Your maximum HP does not recover until you finish a long rest. You learn each set of spells at the indicated sorcerer level.

Lvl 1: 1st level spells
Comprehend Languages
Detect Magic
Find Familiar
Lvl 3: 2nd level spells
Augury
Gentle Repose
Silence
Lvl 5: 3rd level spells
Feign Death
Water Breathing
Lvl 9: 5th level spells
Contact Other Plane
Rary's Telepathic Bond

Level 1: Blood Barrier
Once per long or short rest, you may take an action to spend a hit die to gain temporary hit points equal to the die roll plus your Charisma modifier.

Level 6: Power of Blood
Once a day when you finish a short rest, you may spend hit dice in order to recover Sorcery points equal to the number of dice spent. You cannot gain more sorcery points than your normal maximum in this way.

Level 14: Quick Clots
When you fail a concentration save, you may instead lose HP equal to the level of the concentration spell plus the amount you failed the save by in order to maintain concentration.

Level 18: Transfusion
As a bonus action, you may touch an entity to transfer and spend 1 hit die either from the creature to yourself or from yourself to the creature. Roll the hit die of the entity spending the die, then reduce the HP of that entity by the amount rolled. Then the receiving entity is healed the amount rolled. If the entity is unwilling, it must make a CON save versus your sorcerer spell DC in order to avoid this effect.

[GWJ_DanyBoy]

Other ideas that I had but couldn't balance or make interesting:

-You know the cure wounds spell. This does not count toward your spells known.
-You can convert HP into spell slots
-You can empower spells with HP
-Casting spells damages you
-You can spend sorcery points to heal

[eastmabl]

Based upon an eye test, it looks very sharp. I might suggest that you note the spell level of the rituals instead of the level you learn it - not only is it more in line with the style of other similar spells granted lists (like for domains), it also makes the HP math easier.

As for the discarded mechanics, here are my thoughts:

1.) Blood magic seems more about using your blood to drive your magic; using your blood to heal back up is the opposite of this goal. Cure wounds and sorcery points to drive healing doesn't so much fit the theme.

2.) Converting HP into spell slots / empowering spells could be achieved thematically by refluffing sorcery points as Sanguinity Points. You've got a certain amount of life force represented separately from HP that drives your spellcasting awesomeness.

3.) Casting spells damaging you is conceptually fun but a serious drain on party resources, namely healing.

[Rilak]

Level 6: Power of Blood
Once a day when you finish a short rest, you may spend hit dice in order to recover Sorcery points equal to the amount rolled. You cannot gain more sorcery points than your normal maximum in this way.

Consider your option, with a Bard multiclass (cure wounds available). Turning 1 HD into 3.5 sorc points gives 1.75 level 1 spells. Cure wounds heals 1d8+CHA (let's say +3); 7.5 HP per cure wounds. 7.5*1.75 = 13.125 HP. Using the HD to restore HP directly: 1d8+CON (7.5 HP). So you can heal any target you like for more by turning the HD into sorcery points...

So it is too powerful. Sorcerers are not supposed to be hit and tend to have HD remaining after fights as well. At level 20, you spend 6d6 of your daily 10d6 to double your sorcery points (average 21)?
It overshadows the Sorcerer capstone (4 points/short rest).

At the most you can give a level 1 slot for a HD. So 1 sorcery point or 1 level 1 slot (which can be turned into 1 sorcery point).


Level 14: Quick Clots
When you fail a concentration save, you may instead lose HP equal to the level of the concentration spell in order to maintain concentration.

Maybe re-roll the save for that HP cost. Or force to pay the cost instead of making the roll (so no rolling and then deciding to pay HP). Paying 4 HP to maintain hold person on 3 targets? You would do that any day.

At the very least you would want to make it "level of the spell + amount you fail the save by".


Level 18: Transfusion
As a bonus action, you may touch an entity to transfer 1 hit die of HP either from the creature to yourself or from yourself to the creature. Roll the hit die of the entity losing HP and transfer the amount rolled. If the entity is unwilling, it must make a CON save versus your sorcerer spell DC in order to avoid this effect.

This is a level 18 ability, so it is probably fine. Since you can only transfer 1 HD worth of HP per round, it is unlikely to break anything considering you can already cast level 9 spells.

[GWJ_DanyBoy]

Based upon an eye test, it looks very sharp. I might suggest that you note the spell level of the rituals instead of the level you learn it - not only is it more in line with the style of other similar spells granted lists (like for domains), it also makes the HP math easier.

Added the spell level as well. And thanks for the input

[eastmabl]

At the most you can give a level 1 slot for a HD. So 1 sorcery point or 1 level 1 slot (which can be turned into 1 sorcery point).

On closer review of the class, I had read trade 1 HD = 1 sorcery point, and not 1 HP from HD = 1 sorcery point.

[GWJ_DanyBoy]

Consider your option, with a Bard multiclass (cure wounds available). Turning 1 HD into 3.5 sorc points gives 1.75 level 1 spells. Cure wounds heals 1d8+CHA (let's say +3); 7.5 HP per cure wounds. 7.5*1.75 = 13.125 HP. Using the HD to restore HP directly: 1d8+CON (7.5 HP). So you can heal any target you like for more by turning the HD into sorcery points...

So it is too powerful. Sorcerers are not supposed to be hit and tend to have HD remaining after fights as well. At level 20, you spend 6d6 of your daily 10d6 to double your sorcery points (average 21)?
It overshadows the Sorcerer capstone (4 points/short rest).

At the most you can give a level 1 slot for a HD. So 1 sorcery point or 1 level 1 slot (which can be turned into 1 sorcery point).

Hmm, I didn't consider the multiclass possibilities. You could also have barbarian hit dice mixed in there, but that can be fixed by adding the word "sorcerer" in the right place. This was the one ability I was particularly worried about being too strong. Now, I'm less worried about it creating positive feedback with cure wounds, since if a player wants to build a character to create a positive synergy, I say let them, so long as it doesn't get crazy.
So setting it to a fixed 2 sorcery points per hit die allows them 1 full recharge per day if they put half of their hit dice towards it, as much as they get back per long rest. At this power level it's something you'd do a lot unless you really needed to heal.
A fixed 1 per die would be the thing you'd do if you had spare hit dice or were flat out of Sorc points. It also allows for one half-charge per day if you're using all the dice you get from a long rest. This feels like the appropriate power level.


Maybe re-roll the save for that HP cost. Or force to pay the cost instead of making the roll (so no rolling and then deciding to pay HP). Paying 4 HP to maintain hold person on 3 targets? You would do that any day.
At the very least you would want to make it "level of the spell + amount you fail the save by".
All good suggestions. So do I want the sorc to take more damage when he fails; or to consistently take damage and/or take a gamble? More damage to hold a fizzleing spell seems more in keeping with the theme. Plus massive damage would cause you to take even more massive damage if you forced yourself to hold the spell, due to the way concentration saves work.

[Feldarove]

Very cool idea.

My group hasn't dealt a lot with concentration checks. WIth the sorcerer, who seems to be a blaster for the most part, I can't imagine giving a boost to it being vital. That said, if you want to incorporate it, I would make it one of the earlier options.

As sorc points are the prime resource for sorcerers I would be hesistant to alter its already balanced mechanics. I do like the level 6 power of blood ability. I think 1 point for one HD seems like a good trade off if you were to go that route.

I agree with what some people are saying about the flavor. I don't think of blood magic being used to heal people. I also think this changes the dynamics of the sorcerer. Perhaps draining life works, but that seems more necromancy.

I think I would try to focus more on spending HD to do cool stuff. A simple ability could be spend HD, roll it, add to damage. You could scale the ability (how many HD you can spend for a given spell. Level 6 you can spend 1, lvl 10 2, etc)

[GWJ_DanyBoy]

As is, I think it's more geared towards utility, support and control, so I'm reluctant to add damaging enhancing effects. Plus, having extra sorcery points means more spells or more metamagic effects like twin or quicken, which becomes more damage.
I think the concentration enhancing ability is important since it lends to more of a control and support style.

Let dragons be the beefy blasting and wilds have their accuracy altering effects. The bloods get their own niche.

Edit: I'm not sure if the 2 x level HP cost for the rituals is too much or about right. ~10 to 20% of your HP for your highest ritual isn't nothing.

[eastmabl]

Is there a reason why you skip over 4th level spells for the ritual spells? It seems odd that it's first, second, third, fifth and sixth. I'd almost recommend that you just do one through five, although I'm sure there's a reason why you went up to sixth level spells.

[GWJ_DanyBoy]

Is there a reason why you skip over 4th level spells for the ritual spells? It seems odd that it's first, second, third, fifth and sixth. I'd almost recommend that you just do one through five, although I'm sure there's a reason why you went up to sixth level spells.

It's because there's a dearth of level 4 rituals. There's only one, Divination, a level 4 cleric spell, where you get ask your patron god a question. It seemed out of place for a sorcerer. And I went to six because that's a high as ritual casting goes. I might have gone to 9 if thematically appropriate ritual spells went to that level.

[Gnomes2169]

First off, I do love the work and as a first attempt at 5e homebrew it is awesome, perfectly thematic and very useful. However, there are a few things that could be cleaned up/ clarified/ balanced a bit better.

As it stands, the number of rituals learned is a bit much (typically you only get 2 spells/ spell level from subclasses at most) and a few of them (such as wind walk) seem like they are a little out of place. I would suggest keeping the rituals learned as thematic as possible, and cutting the list down to 2/ spell level. As well, you would be dealing a fair bit of damage to yourself each one you cast... Maybe instead make it only deal the spell's level and cost one sorcery point per ritual cast in this way?

Power of blood is the only other standout oddity. It's just a little too strong as it stands. Since you are a sorcerer and standing in the back lines usually anyway, you will have plenty of hit dice to spend to regain amywhere between 1-11 sorc points per die spent (depending on your con bonus... Which will realistically be between +2-3 at level 6 and +2-5 by level 20). It effectively doubles your sorc points/ day and makes the capstone of the sorc basically worthless on the first short rest/ day. I would suggest changing the wording to: "Once per long rest, you may spend a single hit die durring a short rest to recover sorcery points instead of hit points," or something like that. Limiting it to one hit die reduces the amount of late-game schenanigans you can pull with it unless you dip a level for a paladin hit die or something (you have a limit of 11 on a sorc hit die, and only 16.666666% chance of hitting that on a roll).

Along the sane vein, you may want to specify that Transfusion converts transfered/ stolen hit dice into dice of the same size possessed by the creature recieving the die. Otherwise, you'll have a sorc running around with d20's he stole from a gargantuan creatures, a barbarian with some d6's that his sorc buddy doesn't need (because he stole the d20's) and things will become silly. You also might want to make it cost 2 sorc points, since all level 18 sorc subclass features seem to cost at least 2 points, and it can be a relatively potent recovery ability.

Some general criteques:

-All sorcerer bloodlines have at least 1 way to spend sorcery points. As mentioned above, you have two abilities that can easily qualify for this requirement.

-I like the interaction with your HP pool and hit dice in general, it gives the subclass a very offensive/ utility blood-oriented feeling. This said, Quick clots feels a little out of place. If you replace any ability, I suggest it be this one and that any replacement somehow deal with hit dice at the cost of sorc points (maybe make a 4 sorc point "life bomb" that blows up a number of hit dice and deals damage? Idk...)

-You could probably add in knowledge of a cantrip like Chill Touch or an ability that gives you +1 max hp at level 1 without straying from the theme/ balance. Yes, this would be on top of the ritual spells ability (other sorcerer bloodlines have 2 level 1 perks, so it fits precident.)

[eastmabl]

It's because there's a dearth of level 4 rituals. There's only one, Divination, a level 4 cleric spell, where you get ask your patron god a question. It seemed out of place for a sorcerer. And I went to six because that's a high as ritual casting goes. I might have gone to 9 if thematically appropriate ritual spells went to that level.

AH - this is what happens when I post before looking at my PHB. Sorry about that.


Power of blood is the only other standout oddity. It's just a little too strong as it stands. Since you are a sorcerer and standing in the back lines usually anyway, you will have plenty of hit dice to spend to regain amywhere between 1-11 sorc points per die spent (depending on your con bonus... Which will realistically be between +2-3 at level 6 and +2-5 by level 20). It effectively doubles your sorc points/ day and makes the capstone of the sorc basically worthless on the first short rest/ day. I would suggest changing the wording to: "Once per long rest, you may spend a single hit die durring a short rest to recover sorcery points instead of hit points," or something like that. Limiting it to one hit die reduces the amount of late-game schenanigans you can pull with it unless you dip a level for a paladin hit die or something (you have a limit of 11 on a sorc hit die, and only 16.666666% chance of hitting that on a roll).

As it was originally posted, you spent HD and got the HP back as sorcery points. That was rolled back pretty early on in the post.

Presently, the ability reads [/b]"...you may spend hit dice in order to recover Sorcery points equal to the number of dice spent."[/b] This means you get one (single) sorcery point for each HD of healing you convert, and your Con bonus does not come into play. At best, the ability nearly gives you a full recharge of sorcery points, but at cost of severely hampering your ability to heal on your own by spending HD for a while.

[Gnomes2169]

Oh, I didn't notice that the ritual spells went up to level 6... Right then.

That is a bit much. Of the other subclasses that give spells (cleric domains, paladin oaths and warlock pacts), none of them get above level 5. If you are worried about a lack of ritual options, you can say that all spells on the list are given the ritual tag (for whatever cost you decide on) and use that to give yourself more options/ stay in the level 1-5 range precident set by the other classes.

[GWJ_DanyBoy]

First off, I do love the work and as a first attempt at 5e homebrew it is awesome, perfectly thematic and very useful. However, there are a few things that could be cleaned up/ clarified/ balanced a bit better.

As it stands, the number of rituals learned is a bit much (typically you only get 2 spells/ spell level from subclasses at most) and a few of them (such as wind walk) seem like they are a little out of place. I would suggest keeping the rituals learned as thematic as possible, and cutting the list down to 2/ spell level. As well, you would be dealing a fair bit of damage to yourself each one you cast... Maybe instead make it only deal the spell's level and cost one sorcery point per ritual cast in this way?

Power of blood is the only other standout oddity. It's just a little too strong as it stands. Since you are a sorcerer and standing in the back lines usually anyway, you will have plenty of hit dice to spend to regain amywhere between 1-11 sorc points per die spent (depending on your con bonus... Which will realistically be between +2-3 at level 6 and +2-5 by level 20). It effectively doubles your sorc points/ day and makes the capstone of the sorc basically worthless on the first short rest/ day. I would suggest changing the wording to: "Once per long rest, you may spend a single hit die durring a short rest to recover sorcery points instead of hit points," or something like that. Limiting it to one hit die reduces the amount of late-game schenanigans you can pull with it unless you dip a level for a paladin hit die or something (you have a limit of 11 on a sorc hit die, and only 16.666666% chance of hitting that on a roll).

Along the sane vein, you may want to specify that Transfusion converts transfered/ stolen hit dice into dice of the same size possessed by the creature recieving the die. Otherwise, you'll have a sorc running around with d20's he stole from a gargantuan creatures, a barbarian with some d6's that his sorc buddy doesn't need (because he stole the d20's) and things will become silly. You also might want to make it cost 2 sorc points, since all level 18 sorc subclass features seem to cost at least 2 points, and it can be a relatively potent recovery ability.

Some general criteques:

-All sorcerer bloodlines have at least 1 way to spend sorcery points. As mentioned above, you have two abilities that can easily qualify for this requirement.

-I like the interaction with your HP pool and hit dice in general, it gives the subclass a very offensive/ utility blood-oriented feeling. This said, Quick clots feels a little out of place. If you replace any ability, I suggest it be this one and that any replacement somehow deal with hit dice at the cost of sorc points (maybe make a 4 sorc point "life bomb" that blows up a number of hit dice and deals damage? Idk...)

-You could probably add in knowledge of a cantrip like Chill Touch or an ability that gives you +1 max hp at level 1 without straying from the theme/ balance. Yes, this would be on top of the ritual spells ability (other sorcerer bloodlines have 2 level 1 perks, so it fits precident.)

The problem with the rituals costing sorcery points is that you don't get any sorcery points at level 1. Now, the bloodmage could be adjusted to get one at level one with no metamagic (to discourage multiclassing dips), so there's still wiggle room on that. You might be right that there are too many, but most have such limited utility that it's not game breaking. I added Water Walk 'cause it's on the Sorc spell list and didn't think much beyond that. If anything I'd drop speak with animals and magic mouth.

Power of blood has been adjusted in the OP. It's now 1 hit die to 1 point trade as suggested by Rilak. Limiting to one would be alright, but it becomes nearly an automatic choice at that point. You'll do it every time you can as opposed to having to make resource management choices.

You interpretation of Transfusion wasn't my intent, though that is an interesting direction if I wanted to make the class about hoovering and then blowing hit dice. In my intended version the hit die is consumed during transfer and gets added to the receiver's HP immediately. The idea is to suck up extra HP from big bads with big dice like Dragons with d20s, or to do an emergency HP injection with your tiny d6 into an ally.

[GWJ_DanyBoy]

Oh, I didn't notice that the ritual spells went up to level 6... Right then.

That is a bit much. Of the other subclasses that give spells (cleric domains, paladin oaths and warlock pacts), none of them get above level 5. If you are worried about a lack of ritual options, you can say that all spells on the list are given the ritual tag (for whatever cost you decide on) and use that to give yourself more options/ stay in the level 1-5 range precident set by the other classes.

I was basing it more on the Warlock Book of Secrets and other ritual casting features. I expanded the list beyond sorcerer spells as that was pretty anemic (pun intended) but I also didn't want the exact same capability where spells could continuously be added if found and transcribed. Personally I'm not going to remove the level 6 spells since I like the idea of Forbidance as a blood ritual way too much, and creating a blood tie with the Instant summon and telepathy.
Also a lot of people complain about the sorcerer's claustrophobic spells known list, and this is a compromise with that.

Edit: Not trying to be down on you Gnomes. I really do appreciate the input.

[Theodoxus]

I like this, other than the rituals... I can see on one hand, they match a theme. On the other, they take the place of some pretty sweet bennies from Dragon or Wild and are kinda 'meh' in that respect.

To whit, you get some pretty mediocre utility, that hurts you to cast (when you could just spend a feat to get the same ability sans self-destruction).

My suggestion would be to tone down the rituals - keep the thematically flavorful ones, but limit them to 2/level as suggested above and level 1-5 (move the 5th and 6th down to 4th and 5th, perhaps?)

Then, add a second 1st level ability that really calls into the theme of the subclass: blood.

Something like:
Ablative Blood - gain [some number] of temporary hit points that refresh (aren't additive) every short rest.
OR
Armored Blood - Your AC increases by 2 as long as you are at full hit points. If you take any damage, either in combat, or self-inflicted by your abilities, it decreases by 1 point. If you lose half your hit points or more (rounded down), you lose Armored Blood until you regain all your hit points. (the +1 AC bonus of slightly wounded doesn't come back until you're fully healed).

Either option plays along the lines of the Dragon (+1 HP/level vs a temp increase - I'd probably say 5 - where the dragon eventually comes out stronger, but the Ablative has more durability, being refreshed, rather than having to be healed) - The AC is 1 less than the Dragon, but isn't formulaic, so the +2 works even if you're wearing armor. Its a genuine trade off - but because you're not getting both, the dragon bloodline remains attractive.

[GWJ_DanyBoy]

Trimmed the ritual list, and added a new level 1 ability.


Level 1: Blood Barrier
As an action, you may spend a hit die to gain temporary hit points equal to the die roll plus your Charisma modifier

[eastmabl]

Trimmed the ritual list, and added a new level 1 ability.

Is there a limitation on the number of times you can do this per short/long rest?

[Myzz]

are you still keeping CHA as his spellcasting stat? I would think here would be the best place to have a CON based caster, more so than Warlocks ever were. Even Wis as a casting stat, representing will power not how wise inflicting damage on yourself is, would be decent. But CHA seems to make less thematic sense than it does for Sorcerer in general...

btw I love the idea, reminds me a bit of the Vampires from Shadowbane.

<edited to add>
Also, I like the idea that they would be harder to heal. Otherwise, once you get a ring of regen or something its just a mana battery. Could prehaps call it Viscous Blood or Thick Blood and at later levels give them Bludgeoning or Slashing Resistance to non-magial weapons

[GWJ_DanyBoy]

Is there a limitation on the number of times you can do this per short/long rest?

At the moment, no limit. Do you think that would be a problem? One can only do it X times at X level, and 1/2 X every day after that unless you lay off for a day to recharge all your hit dice. And temporary hit points can't be stacked according to the PHB.

[Joe the Rat]

You spend your turn to get 1HD+Cha as temporary HP... so eyeballing about 6 on average (9 max) for a first level blood sorcerer... and 8.5 (11 max) on a higher level, Cha-maxed sorcerer... or an occasional 11.5 (17 on a lucky roll) if you went Barbarian for a level or so. If you want to curtail multiclass shenanigans, you can have it be a fixed amount, like 3or4 +Cha Mod.

Yeah, that's not going to break anything. You are effectively giving up a chance to throw a ray of bloody frost or a magic blood missile to spend a Hit Die to pre-mitigate some damage rather than use it during a short rest to recover damage.

Thematically, even if you don't use CON as the casting stat, having this ability keyed to the CON modifier would be reasonable.

[eastmabl]

At the moment, no limit. Do you think that would be a problem? One can only do it X times at X level, and 1/2 X every day after that unless you lay off for a day to recharge all your hit dice. And temporary hit points can't be stacked according to the PHB.

I think that being able to spend HD to gain hit points, even when temporary, cries out for some limitation. Otherwise, you can (potentially) blow your load of HD outside the normal constraints of a short rest.

Maybe the inability to stack temporary HP is sufficient to temper the abuse that I'm envisioning.

[Rilak]

Maybe the inability to stack temporary HP is sufficient to temper the abuse that I'm envisioning.

Temporary HP don't stack according to the PHB, so that is already taken care of.

[eastmabl]

Temporary HP don't stack according to the PHB, so that is already taken care of.

Right... I said that. But this is what I mean about abuse:

My concern is that a character with full available HD could spend his actions to eventually use all of his HD to keep inflating his HP pool after taking damage. For example:

Level 20 sorcerer (full HD, full HP) spends 1 HD to increase his HP total with some temporary HP (at this level, assuming a +5 Cha bonus, 6-11). He suffers damage equal to or greater than his temporary HP in a given round, and next round he spends another HD to get another cluster of temporary HP. Imagine this down and on the line for a total of 20 HD, and you've effectively doubled the sorcerer's HP total (82 + 100 = 182 regular HP and 3.5+5=8.5*20= 170 average temporary HP available).

Now, layer onto this the fact that your sorcerer can cast haste on the regular. The fact that the sorcerer is blowing his action in order spend a HD to regain the temporary HP ceases to be problematic, because haste busts open the action economy. Quick Clots means that you don't really fail your concentration checks when you take damage you can turn HP into saves you pass.

Or, if you don't imagine this being problematic for a PC, imagine if you faced a villain using this same tactic.

Alternatively, consider the multiclass implications of this ability without some limitation. A barbarian 19/blood sorcerer 1 with Cha 20 could spend an action to get between 6 and 17 temporary hit points per turn. A blood sorcerer with 2 levels of rogue can use Cunning Action to move around the battlefield without casting haste. Any class could dip into this class to get a shot in the arm for some quick temporary HP.

So, that's why I think that maybe it should be limited somewhat, perhaps to once per short/long rest.

[Rilak]

Alternatively, consider the multiclass implications of this ability without some limitation. A barbarian 19/blood sorcerer 1 with Con 20 could spend an action to get between 6 and 17 temporary hit points per turn. A blood sorcerer with 2 levels of rogue can use Cunning Action to move around the battlefield without casting haste. Any class could dip into this class to get a shot in the arm for some quick temporary HP.

So, that's why I think that maybe it should be limited to once per short/long rest.

You would need 3 levels to get the path though. Limiting it to Sorcerer HD would make sense.

As for Haste breaking action economy, it really does not. The best thing you can do with that action is a single weapon attack.

[eastmabl]

You would need 3 levels to get the path though. Limiting it to Sorcerer HD would make sense.

As for Haste breaking action economy, it really does not. The best thing you can do with that action is a single weapon attack.

Three levels to get the path of Rogue 2/Blood Sorcerer X? Sure. Otherwise, it's just a one level dip.

Or if you're really into the "not taking damage" survivor role, you can use the Dodge action to boost your AC by an effective 5 points.

Really, I think that limiting it to one usage per short or long rest is the way to make a level 1 ability which otherwise breaks the rules reasonable.

[GWJ_DanyBoy]

You would need 3 levels to get the path though. Limiting it to Sorcerer HD would make sense.

As for Haste breaking action economy, it really does not. The best thing you can do with that action is a single weapon attack.

Sorc paths are chosen at level 1, like clerics. Though you'd still need 5 levels of sorcerer to pull off the haste combo. If mixed with a fighter for instance, you could use action surge as well.

So our hasted Barb/Sorc mix could throw up a 1d12+mod HP shield, and make a single weapon attack every turn. It's an unlikely combo due to the total lack of synergy of barbarian and caster, but Paladin could work. I see how this could be obnoxious as hell in for one encounter if the pal/sorc has full resources, constant ~10hp buffs and then using the one attack to smite fools.

Mainly, I want to have the blood sorc be able throw one on before a combat. It's also like it if they could occasionally refresh it, but not constantly so in light of the points raised above. Once per rest would be just a weaker version of the fighter recovery. How about adding a 1 minute cast time? That would make in-combat use impractical.

Edit: If it was once per long or short rest, would also making it equal to hit die + CON mod + CHA mod be too much?

[eastmabl]

Mainly, I want to have the blood sorc be able throw one on before a combat. It's also like it if they could occasionally refresh it, but not constantly so in light of the points raised above. Once per rest would be just a weaker version of the fighter recovery. How about adding a 1 minute cast time? That would make in-combat use impractical.

Edit: If it was once per long or short rest, would also making it equal to hit die + CON mod + CHA mod be too much?

I think that I prefer the one minute activation time to once per short/long rest. You're already working with a limited resource, so the lengthy activation doesn't mean that a character is abusing the ability. You get back into the "managing scarce resources" that this class seems to built around.

The only thing I can imagine is that with the lengthen activation time, the party's going to hang out by the door of the dungeon room waiting ten rounds until Sanguinius gets done carving the appropriate letters into his forearm so the party can storm the castle.

[Theodoxus]

I think that I prefer the one minute activation time to once per short/long rest. You're already working with a limited resource, so the lengthy activation doesn't mean that a character is abusing the ability. You get back into the "managing scarce resources" that this class seems to built around.

The only thing I can imagine is that with the lengthen activation time, the party's going to hang out by the door of the dungeon room waiting ten rounds until Sanguinius gets done carving the appropriate letters into his forearm so the party can storm the castle.

I'm fine having it use the exact same mechanic as healing with HD - it requires a short rest to activate. So you get Temp HPs instead of actual healing. It's still limited to 1 HD of temp, and limited to use only when resting - so no middle of combat shenanigans.

[Rilak]

I would suggest also limiting HD spent to class HD. Else you can multi-class Druid and use shape shifting to gain additional HD (or use the level 18 ability to siphon HP from summoned monsters/shapeshifted druids).

[GWJ_DanyBoy]

I would suggest also limiting HD spent to class HD. Else you can multi-class Druid and use shape shifting to gain additional HD (or use the level 18 ability to siphon HP from summoned monsters/shapeshifted druids).

So look at that, druid's hit dice do change during wildshape. So annoying those wildshaping druids. Here I thought the worst combo would be a barbarian's d12 making a ~11hp barrier instead of a 8hp one. How big are the hit dice on the available beast forms?

And the hit dice in the level 18 ability are spent when transferred, not to be stored. You're the second to make that conclusion, so I'll add some explicit language.

[Person_Man]

My opinion is that Blood Magic should spend hit points and/or hit die, and then once spent you can't heal them back until the duration of the spell/effect has ended and you take a Long Rest. In other words, you are trading Blood in exchange for power. Otherwise, you're just setting up a hit point/resource management metagame, where the player spends and then heals hit points, and finds clever ways to min/max and game the system rather then just choosing interesting abilities and playing the game.

[GWJ_DanyBoy]

An interesting element that i haven't played with yet is max HP. I'll take your suggestion and change the rituals to reduce max HP until the next long rest.

Edit: Only Gentle Repose and Water Breathing have durations longer than 8 hours, so for simplicity I didn't include the "until the spell's duration expires" element.