Circle of Blood

Druids of the Circle of Blood embrace the cycle of life and death a little too literally, using their own life force to empower their allies and ensnare their foes. They view blood as another aspect of nature, and while they aren't as dedicated to the cause of protecting the trees and animals as other druids, they strive to preserve the cycle of life and death, when it suits them.

Circle Spells

Your ability to manipulate blood grants you access to certain spells. At 2nd level, you learn the sanguine lash cantrip, which becomes a druid spell for you. At 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th level you gain access to the spells listed for that level in the Circle of Blood Spells table.

Once you gain access to one of these spells, you always have it prepared, and it doesn't count against the number of spells you can prepare each day. If you gain access to a spell that doesn't appear on the druid spell list, the spell is nonetheless a druid spell for you.

Circle of Blood Spells

Druid Level	Circle Spells
2nd	inflict wounds, ray of sickness
3rd	blindness/deafness, hold person
5th	animate dead, life transference
7th	blight, death ward
9th	dominate person, enervation

Sanguine Soul

Starting at 2nd level, your blood is potent enough where a single drop carries the weight of your soul. You have proficiency in death saving throws, and a spell that requires a body to bring a creature back to life only requires a single drop of your blood if you're the target of the spell.

Empowering Haze

At 2nd level, you can mingle with the blood of your allies, allowing you to retreat within their body for protection. As a bonus action on your turn, you can choose a willing humanoid within 10 feet of you, expending a use of your Wildshape. You lose a number of hit points up to a total number equal to three times your druid level, and the host gains temporary hit points equal to the amount of hit points you lost, which last while you two are connected. You can't reduce yourself to 0 hit points using this feature. You turn into a mist (along with any of equipment you're wearing or carrying) that enters its body, it becoming your host. While the creature is your host, it's body changes slightly to reveal your connection. You might have its eyes become bloodshot, its veins might bulge under their skin, or your host's heartbeat becomes audible to those nearby.

While inside your host, other creatures can't target you with attacks, abilities, or spells, you're immune to all damage, and you use the senses of your target, instead of your own. You can't control your host's body, but you're able to communicate telepathically with your host as long as you share a language.

You remain inside your host for 10 minutes, until it loses the its temporary hit points, or until you use your Wildshape again, at which point you re-appear in an unoccupied space within 10 feet of your host. You can also leave your host early on your turn (no action required). If you leave your host while it still has any of the temporary hit points you granted it with this feature, you regain a number of hit points equal to its remaining temporary hit points.

While inside your host, you can only take the Cast a Spell action, take actions or bonus actions that are part of spells (such as call lightning or heat metal), can only cast druid spells, and can't cast a spell that has a range of self. Any spell with a range of touch instead has a range of 5 feet, and don't require you to touch the target. You must make a Constitution saving throw to maintain your concentration on a spell whenever your host takes damage. You don't need any components for spells you cast while inside a target, unless those components are consumed or have a gold cost.

Deep Wounds

At 6th level, you excel at causing pain with even your most simple spells. When you finish a short or long rest, you can choose one of the following benefits:

Abrasion. When you damage a creature with a druid cantrip, you can push it up to 5 feet in a direction of your choice.

Laceration. When you damage a creature with a druid cantrip, it's movement speed is reduced by 10 feet until the start of your next turn.

Lesion. You add your Wisdom modifier to the damage you deal with any druid cantrip.

While you're below half your hit point maximum, you can choose a second benefit, and you gain all three benefits while you're on 1 hit point.

Ensnaring Haze

At 10th level, you're able to ensnare your foes with your blood magic. As an action on your turn, you can choose a creature within 10 feet of you, expending a use of your Wildshape. That creature must make a Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC. It automatically succeeds on this save if it doesn't have blood. On a failed save, it becomes incapacitated and its speed drops to 0, and you turn into a mist (along with any of equipment you're wearing or carrying) that enters its body, it becoming your host.

When you use this feature, and as an action on each of your turns thereafter, you can assert control over your host as you use your magic to numb their muscles and dull their mind, leaving them helpless. If you don't assert control over your host, it can repeat the saving throw at the end of its next turn, ending the effect on a success. Each time your host takes damage, it makes a new Constitution saving throw with advantage. If the saving throw succeeds, this effect ends.

You remain inside your host for 1 minute, until it succeeds on its saving throw against this effect, or until you use your Wildshape again, at which point you re-appear in an unoccupied space within 10 feet of your host. You can also leave your host early on your turn (no action required).

While inside your host, you can only take the Cast a Spell action (or perform the special action granted by this feature), can only cast druid spells, and can't cast a spell that has a range of self. You must make a Constitution saving throw to maintain your concentration on a spell whenever your host takes damage. You don't need any components for spells you cast while inside a target, unless those components are consumed or have a gold cost.

Lingering Cruor

Starting at 14th level, whenever you use your Empowering Haze or Ensnaring Haze feature, you can summon a blood spawn in the space you previously occupied. The blood spawn has the same statistics as a water elemental, except it's made from swirling blood. The blood spawn vanishes into a red mist when your Empowering Haze or Ensnaring Haze ends.

The summoned blood spawn is friendly to you and your companions, and acts immediately after your turn in combat. It obeys any mental commands that you issue to it (no action required by you). If you don't issue any commands to the blood spawn, it defend themselves from hostile creatures, but otherwise takes no actions.

Once you summon a blood spawn this way, you can't do so again until you finish a long rest.

Additional Spell

The following spell is additional spell for the Circle of Blood Druid, and is part of their Circle Spells feature.

Sanguine Lash

Necromancy cantrip

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 10 feet
Components: S
Duration: Instantaneous

You lash out with your own blood at a creature within range. Make a melee spell attack against the target. On a hit, the target takes 1d8 slashing damage. If you have less than half your hit points remaining when you cast this spell, you can roll the spell's damage twice and take the higher result.

This spell's damage increases by 1d8 when you reach 5th level (2d8), 11th level (3d8), and 17th level (4d8).

Credits

Created by u/Rain-Junkie. More of my work can be found here. Version 1.0 [18/10/20]

Artwork by Dominik Mayer.

Made using GMBinder.