Eldan
2015-09-24, 09:09 AM
Blood is Power - Vampires
The power of blood is the power of life. And for as long as there have been mortals, there have been those who just wanted more life. To be stronger. Tougher. Immortal.
At the very basis, the power of blood is known to all. We consume other living things, so that we may live. It is not about literal blood, it is about energy. There is life energy in all we eat, even simple lettuce.
But the true power of blood magic is about more than that. In literal blood, the blood of living, breathing, moving things, this energy is concentrated. Perhaps it is a metaphor. But then, in the end, all magic is metaphor. As above, so below.
And therefore, those who drink blood gain power. It is a strange power, it twists and warps those who have it, their minds and their bodies, into strange, new things. Vampires.
1. Blood is Life: Basic Rules
This section includes new rules for obtaining drinking blood and the use of blood.
Of course, almost any creature can drink blood. Most, however, will gain little benefit from it.
For purposes of the game rules, blood comes in the basic measurement of a cup. A cup of blood can be drained from any willing or helpless, living creature by use of a bladed or piercing weapon of any kind.This takes one minute and deals one point of constitution damage and one point of weapon damage. Creatures immune to constitution damage can not have their blood drained. Alternatively, any creatures whose attacks cause bleeding (such as a swarm) or constitution drain or damage (such as a vampire) are assumed to drain one cup of blood with each such attack that succeeds.
A cup of blood can be consumed as a full-round action, if it is in a suitable container. Creatures who drain their blood as an attack are assumed to also automatically consume it with that attack.
There are three ways to drink blood, depending on the creature doing it: Unpreparedly, Ritualistically and Habitually.
Those who drink blood Unpreparedly gain no benefit from it, but must immediately make a fortitude save (DC 12) or be nauseated for 1 round and then sickened for ten minutes.
To drink blood Ritualistically, a creature must succeed on a knowledge (religion or arcane) check DC 15. If successful, the creature can, once per day as a full-round-action, consume a cup of blood ritualistically to gain 5 temporary hit points.
To drink blood habitually, a creature must have a blood pool. A blood pool represents an inborn or learned ability to drink blood and allows a creature to save some of the power of blood. By drinking a cup full of blood or draining it with an attack, they can gain a blood point. At any time, a creature can have a number of blood points saved equal to their blood pool. There are only a few ways to gain a blood pool:
Living who naturally drink blood, by having a wounding attack (e.g. bat swarms) or a blood drain attack (e.g. dire weasels) are considered to have a blood pool of 1 point.
Creatures with the vampire template or a similar race or template (e.g. half-vampires, savage vampires, vampiric creatures) have a blood pool of a size equal to the level adjustment of the race or template in question, e.g. vampires have a blood pool of 8 points.
Creatures who take any of the vampire classes below in addition have a bonus to the size of their blood pool equal to their class level.
Creatures with a blood pool can spend one point of blood in their pool as a standard action to either heal 1d4 points of damage or gain 5 temporary hit points. Other uses for blood points can be unlocked by vampire talents or vampire classes (see below for both).
2. The Tainted: Blood Drinker Template
This section presents a very basic template for creatures who regularly drink blood and have unlocked more of the power within it.
Blood drinker is an acquired template that can be added to any non-construct creature.
A blood drinker keeps the base creature's size, type, statistics and special abilities, and gains the following new abilities:
Blood Pool (ex): A blood drinker has a blood pool of one point.
Bite: Blood drinkers gain a natural bite attack, which deals 1d4 points of damage (if they are medium size, adjust as necessary). They can drain blood with their bite if they wish, which deals 1 point of constitution damage and gives them one blood point.
Blood is life (ex): Blood drinkers have a +2 racial bonus on fortitude saves against diseases and poisons and damage reduction 3/silver.
Darkvision (ex): A blood drinker gains darkvision to a range of 60 ft. If they already have darkvision from another source, the range of their darkvision increases by 30 ft.
Tainted (ex): Creatures who drink blood are tainted in the eyes of the gods and many religions. A blood-drinker who has drunk blood in the last 72 hours is weak to divine power.
Any creature can present them with a holy symbol as a move action by holding it towards the blood drinker with one hand. As long as they are doing so, they are protected by a sanctuary effect (as the spell) with a DC of 10 + the presenting creature’s charisma modifier + ½ their total level in any divine spellcasting classes, if they have any.
Favored Class: Blood drinkers treat all vampire classes (below) as favored classes.
Level-adjustment (ex): +1
Becoming a blood drinker:
Any creature with an intelligence of 3 or more can become a blood drinker by undergoing a special ritual, which begins at dusk and ends at dawn. To begin the ritual, the creature must either be mentored by another creature with a blood pool, which must be present during the ritual, or must research the ritual. Research usually takes a week of work, access to either a helpful creature with a blood pool or dark manuscripts which can only rarely be found in the largest libraries and a DC 20 check in either knowledge (arcane) or knowledge (religion).
As part of the ritual, the creature must drink all the blood of another creature of their race, which will, barring very extraordinary circumstances, kill that creature, though the blood may also come from a very fresh corpse.
The power of blood is the power of life. And for as long as there have been mortals, there have been those who just wanted more life. To be stronger. Tougher. Immortal.
At the very basis, the power of blood is known to all. We consume other living things, so that we may live. It is not about literal blood, it is about energy. There is life energy in all we eat, even simple lettuce.
But the true power of blood magic is about more than that. In literal blood, the blood of living, breathing, moving things, this energy is concentrated. Perhaps it is a metaphor. But then, in the end, all magic is metaphor. As above, so below.
And therefore, those who drink blood gain power. It is a strange power, it twists and warps those who have it, their minds and their bodies, into strange, new things. Vampires.
1. Blood is Life: Basic Rules
This section includes new rules for obtaining drinking blood and the use of blood.
Of course, almost any creature can drink blood. Most, however, will gain little benefit from it.
For purposes of the game rules, blood comes in the basic measurement of a cup. A cup of blood can be drained from any willing or helpless, living creature by use of a bladed or piercing weapon of any kind.This takes one minute and deals one point of constitution damage and one point of weapon damage. Creatures immune to constitution damage can not have their blood drained. Alternatively, any creatures whose attacks cause bleeding (such as a swarm) or constitution drain or damage (such as a vampire) are assumed to drain one cup of blood with each such attack that succeeds.
A cup of blood can be consumed as a full-round action, if it is in a suitable container. Creatures who drain their blood as an attack are assumed to also automatically consume it with that attack.
There are three ways to drink blood, depending on the creature doing it: Unpreparedly, Ritualistically and Habitually.
Those who drink blood Unpreparedly gain no benefit from it, but must immediately make a fortitude save (DC 12) or be nauseated for 1 round and then sickened for ten minutes.
To drink blood Ritualistically, a creature must succeed on a knowledge (religion or arcane) check DC 15. If successful, the creature can, once per day as a full-round-action, consume a cup of blood ritualistically to gain 5 temporary hit points.
To drink blood habitually, a creature must have a blood pool. A blood pool represents an inborn or learned ability to drink blood and allows a creature to save some of the power of blood. By drinking a cup full of blood or draining it with an attack, they can gain a blood point. At any time, a creature can have a number of blood points saved equal to their blood pool. There are only a few ways to gain a blood pool:
Living who naturally drink blood, by having a wounding attack (e.g. bat swarms) or a blood drain attack (e.g. dire weasels) are considered to have a blood pool of 1 point.
Creatures with the vampire template or a similar race or template (e.g. half-vampires, savage vampires, vampiric creatures) have a blood pool of a size equal to the level adjustment of the race or template in question, e.g. vampires have a blood pool of 8 points.
Creatures who take any of the vampire classes below in addition have a bonus to the size of their blood pool equal to their class level.
Creatures with a blood pool can spend one point of blood in their pool as a standard action to either heal 1d4 points of damage or gain 5 temporary hit points. Other uses for blood points can be unlocked by vampire talents or vampire classes (see below for both).
2. The Tainted: Blood Drinker Template
This section presents a very basic template for creatures who regularly drink blood and have unlocked more of the power within it.
Blood drinker is an acquired template that can be added to any non-construct creature.
A blood drinker keeps the base creature's size, type, statistics and special abilities, and gains the following new abilities:
Blood Pool (ex): A blood drinker has a blood pool of one point.
Bite: Blood drinkers gain a natural bite attack, which deals 1d4 points of damage (if they are medium size, adjust as necessary). They can drain blood with their bite if they wish, which deals 1 point of constitution damage and gives them one blood point.
Blood is life (ex): Blood drinkers have a +2 racial bonus on fortitude saves against diseases and poisons and damage reduction 3/silver.
Darkvision (ex): A blood drinker gains darkvision to a range of 60 ft. If they already have darkvision from another source, the range of their darkvision increases by 30 ft.
Tainted (ex): Creatures who drink blood are tainted in the eyes of the gods and many religions. A blood-drinker who has drunk blood in the last 72 hours is weak to divine power.
Any creature can present them with a holy symbol as a move action by holding it towards the blood drinker with one hand. As long as they are doing so, they are protected by a sanctuary effect (as the spell) with a DC of 10 + the presenting creature’s charisma modifier + ½ their total level in any divine spellcasting classes, if they have any.
Favored Class: Blood drinkers treat all vampire classes (below) as favored classes.
Level-adjustment (ex): +1
Becoming a blood drinker:
Any creature with an intelligence of 3 or more can become a blood drinker by undergoing a special ritual, which begins at dusk and ends at dawn. To begin the ritual, the creature must either be mentored by another creature with a blood pool, which must be present during the ritual, or must research the ritual. Research usually takes a week of work, access to either a helpful creature with a blood pool or dark manuscripts which can only rarely be found in the largest libraries and a DC 20 check in either knowledge (arcane) or knowledge (religion).
As part of the ritual, the creature must drink all the blood of another creature of their race, which will, barring very extraordinary circumstances, kill that creature, though the blood may also come from a very fresh corpse.