Need input for subclass idea

[simplyacrow]

I'd like to make a blood themed sorcerer subclass based around resisting madness. A high risk high reward type situation. Some ideas I had were using a resource or expending hit points to give extra benefits to spells, but when you do so, you have to make a wisdom saving throw to resist the effects, and using the short term madness table with a time frame of a single round. Any ideas for implementing this or making it work? Any similar subclasses already made?

[simplyacrow]

Here is a quick draft of the idea. Does this get the jdea of corruptive power across? If not, how can I improve it?

BLOOD - SORCEROUS ORIGIN


Forbidden Source

All blood holds power. At first level, rather than having a source of magic in your bloodline, you have learned how to tap into the power of your blood. The way you tapped into the well of power is up to you. Perhaps you worked closely with a vampire, found a dark tome, or simply had an interesting relationship with your body. Whatever you choose, this magic is considered taboo by most cultures. Even the highest institutions of learning have mixed views of blood magic due to its historical abuse during the Blood Age. Its corruptive influence is simply too dangerous for most to be comfortable with it.


When you cast magic, your origin manifests itself in one of the following ways:


D4 |

1 Your veins glow, glowing the brightest in your hands and forearms

2 Your eyes turn a deep red

3 Your spells take the form of flowing blood

4 The air around you grows your choice of either hot or cold.


Additionally, as an action you may use up to half of your hit dice. You regain health equal to the number rolled plus your Charisma modifier. You must complete long rest before using this action again.


Sanguinous Allure

Beginning at 1st level, your sanguine power begins to call to you. You are able to fuel spells with your blood. As a bonus action, you may choose to take 1d6 slashing damage. This damage cannot be reduced in any way. If you do so, spells you cast until the beginning of your next turn deal an additional 1d8 necrotic damage.

When you take damage this way, you must make a Wisdom saving throw, DC 8 plus the damage taken. If you fail, once the spell has been cast you suffer from Madness until the beginning of your next turn. Roll on the Short Term Madness table to determine the effect.


Sanguine Reflexes

Beginning at 6th level, you’ve learned to use your spilled blood to counterattack. When you take damage from an attack, you may spend 2 sorcery points to use your reaction to cast a spell that would normally take an action or bonus action to cast. You cast the spell after taking damage. When you cast a spell this way, make a Wisdom saving throw against DC 12 plus spell level(cantrips are considered spell level 0) or suffer from Madness until the beginning of your next turn. Roll on the Short Term Madness tavle to determine the effect.


Hematic Manipulation

At 14th level, you learn to manipulate the blood of your enemies. As an action, target a creature within 30ft of you that has taken damage since its last turn. That creature must succeed a Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC or become charmed until your next turn. When a creature is charmed this way, damage does not break the effect.

If a creature succeeds the saving throw, you cannot use this action on them for 24 hours.

You may use this action a number of times equal to your charisma modifier.


Crimson Aura

Beginning at 18th level, when you are at or below half of your hit point maximum, you gain a +3 to AC and add your proficiency bonus to damage rolls.

[MrStabby]

Blood sorcerer is a cool idea, but I would stear clear of HP or hit die sacrifice as a mechanic.

The problem with this is attention. You want every character to have their time in the spotlight and to have a roughly equal role in determining the course of actions. If you have one PC that is always low on HP then just by doing nothing they are still taking the focus of the game. You can't balance attentian grabbing bonuses by giving attention grabing penalties.

Sacrificing something like a proficiency bonus (temporarily) is likely to be much more balanced at the table - you get bonuses and still get to do cool things, but the draw back is you being able to dictate the flow of the game a little less rather than a little more.

With HP you can end up with a dynamic where the sorcerer does cool stuff, requiring the cleric to use their actions to heal them... so the sorcerer does more cool stuff and when the cleric wants to do cools tuff they are low on spell slots. Alternatively there may be things like house Jorasco in Eberron that let the caster heal themselves as well that you might need to look out for.

Given the way you are taking this - especially the level 1 ability, I wonder if the sorcerer is the best option? The sorcerer is already built round boosting spells as a class, adding another ability on seems a little redundant? I could see it working for a bard - with music in the blood and appealing to the power of blood in others.

Finally, the is balance and wording issues. Things like " spells you cast until the beginning of your next turn deal an additional 1d8 necrotic damage" would normally be "until the beginning of your next turn, when you cast a spell that deals damage it deals an extra d8 damage", to avoid issues round spells like spirit guardians or vitriolic sphere that do damage multiple times...

And on the balance front, this is a bit borked as at level 1 you can be casting magic missile for 3*(d4+d8+1) damage.