Bloodlord Patron - Warlock Subclass Based on M:tG's Sorin Markov (PEACH)

[Vogie]

As I'm reading the War of the Spark novel based on block of the same name, the Infinity-Wars-esque story cap in the Magic: the Gathering universe, I'm restarting my series of subclasses based on Planeswalkers.

The Bloodlord

There are many stories that attempt to explain the origin of vampirisim - blood rituals, infernal intervention, dark alchemy - but those who are afflicted care little. They know their new ‘condition' is a trial. The weak are consumed by it, gorging themselves upon the living and are hunted down like animals. The strong, however, transcend it, and intend to be counted among the Bloodlords.

Expanded Spell List
The following spells are added to the warlock spell list for you

Spell Level	Spells
1st	False Life, Sleep
2nd	Blur, Silence
3rd	Animate Dead, Bestow Curse
4th	Dominate Beast, Locate Creature
5th	Telekinesis, Geas

Mark of the Vampire
Starting at 1st level, you have become a vampire. You grow fangs that act as magical natural finesse weapon with which you are proficient. You can use either a bonus action or action to bite a creature within melee range for 1d4 piercing damage - however, you can only make one bite attack per turn. This increases to 1d6 at warlock level 5, 1d8 at warlock level 10, and 1d10 at level 15.

In addition, you age at a slower rate. For every 10 years that pass, your body ages only 1 year, and you are immune to being magically aged.

Bloodflow Connoisseur
Starting at 6th level, your connection to manipulating blood deepen. You gain an ability based on your Pact Boon:

• Blade - Whenever you deal damage with a melee attack, you may gain THP equal to half your warlock level at the end of that turn. In addition, you gain the Lifedrinker invocation, and your fangs count as your pact weapon for the effect of the ability. It doesn't count towards the number of invocations known, and cannot be swapped when you gain a level in this class.
• Tome - Being within 5 feet of a hostile creature doesn’t impose disadvantage on your Eldritch Blast rolls. When you score a critical hit with your eldritch blast cantrip or fangs, you may immediately expend a hit die to regain hit points equal to your roll + Constitution Modifier (minimum 1). In addition, you gain the Ascendant Step invocation. It doesn't count towards the number of invocations known, and cannot be swapped when you gain a level in this class.
• Chain - You learn the Vampiric Touch spell and can cast it once per short rest without expending a spell slot or requiring concentration. It doesn't count towards your spells known. In addition, as a bonus action, you merge with your familiar. While merged, you have the size and speed of your familiar while keeping the hit points, attacks and action options of your normal form. However, Your AC is 15, and you can't cast anything that requires material components, as your equipment merges into your new form. You can end the merge as a bonus action. It also ends early if you are knocked Unconscious.

Vampiric Physique
At 10th level, you gain proficiency with martial weapons, and you have resistance to bludgeoning and necrotic damage. In addition, when you are within 100 feet of a bloodied creature, you have advantage on initiative and attack rolls. Bloodied creatures are those that are actively bleeding or those at half health or lower. You always know if a creature you can see is bloodied.

Extend the Bloodline
At 14th level, you can use your reaction to bite a living humanoid that was reduced to 0 HP. That creature drops to 1 hit point instead, and is charmed by you until a Remove Curse spell is cast on it, the charmed condition is removed, or until you use this feature again. In addition to the charm, this creature is cursed with vampirism, and gains your Mark of the Vampire feature, and you can communicate telepathically with the charmed creature as long as the two of you are within 1000 feet. Use the Vampire Spawn stats as a reference.

Spoiler: Notes:

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• Mark of the Vampire uses monk-esque scaling, and was intended as allowing all versions of the class to have a second attack, including ChainLocks that give their attack action to their familiar.
• Yes, two of the 6th level abilities grant invocations before they're normally available. That is intended - it gives the vampiric feel and that shouldn't be gated to 9th level for this subclass. Ascendant Step is close to the Vampiric Exultation feat from Plane Shift: Zendikar, while Lifedrinker is just right there on the tin.
• The chain lock version allows you to fly around and vampiric touch your targets
• Vampiric Physique uses the 4e Bloodied condition as a trigger, but defines it in the feature. While you won't likely run across many creatures with half hit points if your DM has all combat in initiative order, but this is written to include your party members, or even polymorphed familiars.
• Extend the bloodline is a way for you to make more vampires, but you only charm one at a time. It's based off of the GOO capstone, but is more violent, and even if they aren't charmed, they're still a Vampire.

Let me know what you think!

Spoiler: Other M:tG Inspired Homebrew

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• School of Galvimancy - Wizard subclass based on Ral Zarek
• The Ghost Slayer, a rogue subclass based on Kaya
• Oath of the Hieromancer, a paladin subclass based on Gideon Jura
• Circle of Awakening a druid subclass based on Nissa Revane,
• The Soulless, a warlock patron based on Liliana Vess.
• The College of Mentalism- Telepathic/Illusion-based Bard Subclass based on Jace Beleren
• M:tG Keywords ideas for Ravnica encounter & monster creation
• Mutagenic Sorcerer, a support-based subclass based on the Simic Guild of MTG's Ravnica

[Ganryu]

Man, I do love this subclass. Maybe its because I love Sorin? Meh, who doesn't besides Nahiri?

There are a few things I would change though.

Mark of the vampire: It's a bite attack, I would pick either let it be an action, or a bonus action, either way, I would say only once a turn can you bite. Otherwise someone can get off 3 bites in a single turn at level 6 with this. That's potentially 3d10 + 30, at level 6, every turn.

Also feel, even if just descriptive, sunlight should irritate you, but that's nothing more than flavor, and my feeling, feel free to ignore.

Bloodflow Connoiseur: Love that this divides with pact boons, I feel like more subclasses should do this:

Blade - You're regenerating potentially 25 health a turn, even if 10 are THP. I'd say with lifedrinker, strong as it is, you shouldn't also get THP. Perhaps if you hit with melee, you can use your bonus action to gain that instead.

Tome - What does expand a hit die mean? Do you take away from the critical damage? Do you roll a short rest hit die?

Chain - Bit strong seeing as you could become an imp, go invisible, get advantage on your biting combination. I would not give the regular options in the familiar form.

Vampiric Physic - Cool! I love it. 3 resistances is a bit much. I'd either give a choice, or pick 2 though. But seriously, cool!

Extend the bloodline - I don't have anything against it, looks cool.

[Vogie]

Mark of the vampire: It's a bite attack, I would pick either let it be an action, or a bonus action, either way, I would say only once a turn can you bite. Otherwise someone can get off 3 bites in a single turn at level 6 with this. That's potentially 3d10 + 30, at level 6, every turn.

At level 5, the bite attack is a d6, and only counts as a pact weapon for lifedrinker, not thirsting blade. Having a +30 would work if you had both 20 charisma and either 20 Dexterity or Strength, which is a hard sell at level 6.

However, limiting the bite to a once/turn thing (twice if you use it as a reaction) is probably smart. Updated.

Blade - You're regenerating potentially 25 health a turn, even if 10 are THP. I'd say with lifedrinker, strong as it is, you shouldn't also get THP. Perhaps if you hit with melee, you can use your bonus action to gain that instead.

Despite the name, the lifedrinker invocation doesn't actually heal you. It just gives "extra necrotic damage equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum 1)". The only "healing" is the THP which is capped at half warlock level, and only comes once a turn.

Tome - What does expand a hit die mean? Do you take away from the critical damage? Do you roll a short rest hit die?

In this case, You are actually healing yourself by spending a hit die, as you would during a short rest. As for the second question, no - it doesn't effect the damage, the critical is just the trigger.

Chain - Bit strong seeing as you could become an imp, go invisible, get advantage on your biting combination. I would not give the regular options in the familiar form.

You can already use Invisibility spell (Invisibility of the Imp requires concentration too), Darkness/Shadows of Moil, or One with Shadows (later, Shroud of Shadow) to become invisible to gain advantage on EB rays. The difference is this gives you a smaller form and flying speed at the cost of being unable to use arcane foci or component pouches.

I decided to cap the AC at the familiar's AC, though. Most of them have AC 13 or less, save the Sprite that has 15, so I made the familiar form for chain locks have an AC of 15.

Vampiric Physic - Cool! I love it. 3 resistances is a bit much. I'd either give a choice, or pick 2 though. But seriously, cool!

Good point. Reduced to 2. Added martial weapon proficiency too.

[Ganryu]

Huh, can't believe screwed that up on lifedrinker.

Still, great subclass, do like it.