Mongobear
2019-08-27, 03:49 PM
A player asked me to try and Homebrew a "Blood Mage" archetype for him, loosely based on the older 3.5 PrC, Blood Magus.
Here is the first draft of what I've come up with, looking for input or possible OP combinations that might break the design.
The Blood Mage - v2.0
The Blood Mage was born with a taboo ability to manipulate the very blood within their veins, and eventually the blood of others. They can manipulate their own life essence to fuel their abilities, replenish their vitality by slaying enemies, and event use blood as a means to quickly traverse the battlefield.
Expanded Spell List
At 1st level, the Blood Mage may select additional options for their known spells from the list and treats it as a Sorcerer spell. At later levels, whenever they are able to learn a new spell, they may select a spell from the list if it is of a level which they can cast.
Spell
Level
1st - Cure Wounds, Inflict Wounds
2nd - Alter Self, Lesser Restoration
3rd - Life Transference, Revivify
4th - Aura of Life, Blight
5th - Contagion, Mass Cure Wounds
Sanguine Thirst
At 1st level, a Blood Mage's magical power naturally restores their life essence whenever they kill an enemy. Once per round whenever they reduce an enemy to 0 hit points with a spell attack, they may expend a single Hit Die as though they had just finished a Short Rest.
Thicker Than Water
At 1st level, the Blood Mage's abilities transforms his physical resiliency, and their natural rate of recovery. If dropped to 0 hp, the Sorcerer automatically stabilizes, and does not have to make Death saves, but remains Unconscious. If they take damage while Unconscious, Death Saves begin to occur as normal.
Sangromancy
At 6th level, a Blood Mage is able to fuel his Sorcerous powers directly from his own life energy. Whenever he uses an ability that normally costs Sorcery Points, he may instead choose to take an amount of necrotic damage equal to four times the cost of the ability being used.
This damage ignores resistances and immunities and cannot be reduced or prevented in any way, and it ignores temporary HP.
Sanguine Empowerment
At 14th level, a Blood Mage can infuse his very life energy into his spells, vastly increasing their power at the cost of his own well being.
Whenever he casts a Sorcerer spell he knows that deals damage, he may spend a number of Sorcery Points equal to five times the spells level. If he does, maximize the damage done by the spell.
Bloodwalk
At 18th level, the Blood Mage unlocks the pinnacle of his power, the ability to move between living creatures via their blood.
Once per Long Rest as an Action, he may disappear into a living creature within 5ft of him and reappear adjacent to another creature he can see by exiting their bloodstream.
He may choose to have either creature make a Constitution saving throw, if he does, that creature takes 15d8 Necrotic damage on a failed save from the trauma of the Blood Mage forcing his way into their bloodstream and is Stunned until the end of its next turn. If either creature makes their save, they take half damage and the Blood Mage is Stunned until the end of his next turn after exiting the second creature.
If the Blood Mage has a sample of the target creatures blood, he does not need to see the creature to use this ability, and may jump out of them from any distance as long as they are on the same plane of existence. Additionally, the creature has disadvantage on the saving throw if it has to make one.
Here is the first draft of what I've come up with, looking for input or possible OP combinations that might break the design.
The Blood Mage - v2.0
The Blood Mage was born with a taboo ability to manipulate the very blood within their veins, and eventually the blood of others. They can manipulate their own life essence to fuel their abilities, replenish their vitality by slaying enemies, and event use blood as a means to quickly traverse the battlefield.
Expanded Spell List
At 1st level, the Blood Mage may select additional options for their known spells from the list and treats it as a Sorcerer spell. At later levels, whenever they are able to learn a new spell, they may select a spell from the list if it is of a level which they can cast.
Spell
Level
1st - Cure Wounds, Inflict Wounds
2nd - Alter Self, Lesser Restoration
3rd - Life Transference, Revivify
4th - Aura of Life, Blight
5th - Contagion, Mass Cure Wounds
Sanguine Thirst
At 1st level, a Blood Mage's magical power naturally restores their life essence whenever they kill an enemy. Once per round whenever they reduce an enemy to 0 hit points with a spell attack, they may expend a single Hit Die as though they had just finished a Short Rest.
Thicker Than Water
At 1st level, the Blood Mage's abilities transforms his physical resiliency, and their natural rate of recovery. If dropped to 0 hp, the Sorcerer automatically stabilizes, and does not have to make Death saves, but remains Unconscious. If they take damage while Unconscious, Death Saves begin to occur as normal.
Sangromancy
At 6th level, a Blood Mage is able to fuel his Sorcerous powers directly from his own life energy. Whenever he uses an ability that normally costs Sorcery Points, he may instead choose to take an amount of necrotic damage equal to four times the cost of the ability being used.
This damage ignores resistances and immunities and cannot be reduced or prevented in any way, and it ignores temporary HP.
Sanguine Empowerment
At 14th level, a Blood Mage can infuse his very life energy into his spells, vastly increasing their power at the cost of his own well being.
Whenever he casts a Sorcerer spell he knows that deals damage, he may spend a number of Sorcery Points equal to five times the spells level. If he does, maximize the damage done by the spell.
Bloodwalk
At 18th level, the Blood Mage unlocks the pinnacle of his power, the ability to move between living creatures via their blood.
Once per Long Rest as an Action, he may disappear into a living creature within 5ft of him and reappear adjacent to another creature he can see by exiting their bloodstream.
He may choose to have either creature make a Constitution saving throw, if he does, that creature takes 15d8 Necrotic damage on a failed save from the trauma of the Blood Mage forcing his way into their bloodstream and is Stunned until the end of its next turn. If either creature makes their save, they take half damage and the Blood Mage is Stunned until the end of his next turn after exiting the second creature.
If the Blood Mage has a sample of the target creatures blood, he does not need to see the creature to use this ability, and may jump out of them from any distance as long as they are on the same plane of existence. Additionally, the creature has disadvantage on the saving throw if it has to make one.