Blood Caster Revived
You were once a Wizard, tamer of the arcane magic that flows through the world, equipped with your spellbook and your arcane focus. A component pouch was necessary to make all your wonderful arcane arts flourish. That was all so limiting. Your spellbook was a burden to you, limiting your perspective. So you threw that to the wayside. Now, freed of your limitation, you have found something new to broaden your perspective. Dabbling in the energy that flows through every being, you wondered, why has no one tried to use this before? And you learned to use it. So you suffered a few losses regarding spell learning? The rewards were well worth it.
What is a Blood Caster?
A Blood Caster is an Ex-Wizard that uses their own life source instead of the power of a Spellbook to cast their spells. They have a mostly hidden external source that always follow them, hidden from the normal eye. Along their journey they can decide to either strengthen the ways they influence the world with their spells or increase the possibilities of their external source for spells. Whatever way one chooses bending blood to cast spells is something mostly considered unnatural and oftenly brought in connection to necromancy. Therefore it is not appreciated in many settlements and societies. However those that search for the dark secrets of death and power will likely be interested in a Blood Caster.
Creating an Blood Caster
First of all when creating a Blood Caster you have to keep in mind that you once were a Wizard. You either still feel bonds to other Wizards since you once practiced the same ways as them or you broke all bonds, potentially even having developed hatred towards them. Next up most Blood Casters either boast strongly about the way they found to cast magic or they keep it a secret as well as possible, not showing to anyone what they are. Lastly you mostly work for your own benefit, not being interested in the well being of others that much. However you may still find people that you hold dear, though it usually takes you a bit longer to get used to them.
Quick Build
You can make a Blood Caster quickly by following these suggestions. First, Intelligence should be your highest ability score, followed by Constitution. Second, choose the Sage background.
The Blood Caster Table
| Level | Proficiency Bonus |
Features | Cantrips Known | Spells Known | Max Spell Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | +2 | Spellcasting, Blood Fountain | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| 2nd | +2 | Blood Restoration | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| 3rd | +2 | Blood Path | 3 | 6 | 2 |
| 4th | +2 | Ability Score Improvement | 4 | 7 | 2 |
| 5th | +3 | Extra Attack | 4 | 8 | 3 |
| 6th | +3 | Path Feature | 4 | 9 | 3 |
| 7th | +3 | Contained Blood | 4 | 10 | 4 |
| 8th | +3 | Ability Score Improvement | 4 | 11 | 4 |
| 9th | +4 | Blood Frenzy | 4 | 12 | 5 |
| 10th | +4 | Arcane Sensitivity | 5 | 13 | 5 |
| 11th | +4 | Path Feature | 5 | 14 | 6 |
| 12th | +4 | Ability Score Improvement | 5 | 15 | 6 |
| 13th | +5 | Blood Burn | 5 | 16 | 7 |
| 14th | +5 | Path Feature | 5 | 17 | 7 |
| 15th | +5 | Purity of Blood | 5 | 18 | 8 |
| 16th | +5 | Ability Score Improvement | 5 | 19 | 8 |
| 17th | +6 | Path Feature | 5 | 20 | 9 |
| 18th | +6 | A Body of Blood and a Mind of Iron | 5 | 21 | 9 |
| 19th | +6 | Ability Score Improvement | 5 | 22 | 9 |
| 20th | +6 | Absolute Focus | 5 | 23 | 9 |
Class Features
As a Blood Caster you gain the following class features.
Hit Points
Hit Dice: 1d10 per Blood Caster level
Hit Points at First Level: 10 + your Constitution
Modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) +
Constitution modifier per Blood Caster level after 1st
Proficiencies
Armor: Light armor
Weapons: Simple weapons, martial weapons
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Intelligence, Constitution
Skills: Choose two from Arcana, History, Investigation,
Perception and Religion.
Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) a longbow and 20 arrows or (b) any martial weapon
- (a) any simple weapon or (b) two handaxes
- (a) a scholar’s pack or (b) a dungeoneer's Pack
- Leather armor, any simple weapon, and two daggers
If you are using starting wealth, you have 4d4 x 10 in funds
Blood Casting
As a caster who uses their own hit points to fuel their art, you have a Blood Fountain that serves as a buffer for your spells before your hitpoints should you use it. See Spells Rules for the general rules of spellcasting and the Spells Listing for the wizard spell list.
Cantrips
At 1st level, you know three cantrips of your choice from the wizard spell list. You learn additional wizard cantrips of your choice at higher levels, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of the Blood Caster table.
Blood Fountain
At 1st level you have mastered a way to store blood in a source accessed only by you, called a Blood Fountain. Your Blood Fountain is the repository of the Blood Caster spells you know, except your cantrips, which are fixed in your mind. Your Blood Fountain contains blood that you can use instead of your hit points for casting spells. It contains blood equal to 5 + (your Proficiency Bonus * your Blood Caster level) + your Constitution modifier.
When your Blood Fountain runs out, your spells must draw from your hit points instead. Whenever you draw from your Blood Fountain, it becomes visible as a 2ft diameter sphere of blood that hovers around you. You may otherwise hide or reveal it as you wish. When you draw blood from your Blood Fountain, the diameter shrinks according to its fullness. Your Blood Fountain vanishes 1 minute after the last time you pulled blood from it. You regain all blood in your Blood Fountain when you finish a long rest.
Beginning at 5th Level: Your Blood Fountain increases in size, so that it now holds blood equal to (5 + your Proficiency Bonus) * (your Blood Caster level + your Constitution modifier).
Beginning at 11th Level: Your Blood Fountain increases in size, so that it now holds blood equal to (7 + your Proficiency Bonus) * (your Blood Caster level + your Constitution modifier).
Beginning at 17th Level: Your Blood Fountain increases in size storage wise, so that it now holds blood equal to (10 + your Proficiency Bonus) * (your Blood Caster level + your Constitution modifier).
Casting Spells
To cast Blood Caster spells of 1st level and higher you must use a certain amount of hit points equal to 5 * spell level. You can choose to take these from your Blood Fountain or directly from your hit points. This damage does not invoke a concentration check if you are concentrating on a spell. You may use a spell slot gained through another class, and split your spell pool in this way, or you may choose to switch the default full caster table for the Blood Fountain. If you choose this, note that you do not have access to separate slots from other classes. If you cast a spell that takes you to zero hitpoints, you fall to 1 HP and the spell fails. You are unable to cast spells that directly heal your own hit points with your Blood Casting, such as Cure Wounds. As a Blood Caster, you do not need Spell Components unless those components have a cost value associated with them.
Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher
You know three 1st-level spells of your choice from the Wizard Spell List.
The Spells Known column of the Blood Caster table shows when you learn more Blood Caster spells of your choice from the Wizard Spell List. Each of these spells must be equal or lower than the Max Spell Level on the Blood Caster Table. When you reach 6th level, for example, you learn a new Wizard spell, which can be 1st, 2nd, or 3rd level.
Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the Blood Caster spells you know and replace it with another spell from the Wizard Spell List, which also must be of a level equal or lower than the Max Spell Level on the Blood Caster Table.
Spellcasting Ability
Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for your Blood Caster spells, since you once were a regular Wizard and still follow their ways to learn spells through dedicated study and memorization.
You use your Intelligence whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Intelligence modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a Wizard spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.
Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier
Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier
Ritual Casting
You can cast an Blood Caster spell as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag and you have that spell in the list of your known spells.
Spellcasting Focus
While you were once a wizard, bound by your spellbook, abandoning the spellbook has also allowed you to abandon your arcane focus. You do not need an arcane focus, though you may use on if you wish.
Blood Restoration
At 2nd level whenever you roll hit dice during a short rest you can use these hit dice to restore the blood in your Blood Fountain if your hit points are full. If you roll a hit die and it would fill your hit points beyond your hit point maximum the unused hit points go into the Blood Fountain as blood. If they are willing, you can draw from the hit dice of allies around you. They can roll their hit dice as normal, and you will receive half of their total roll.
Blood Path
When you reach 3rd level, you can feel yourself being pulled in two different directions: The Path of the Blood Knight or the Path of the Magician. Will you indulge your hunger for blood, or strengthen your spells?
Your choice grants you features at 3rd level and again at 6th, 10th, and 14th level.
When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
Using the optional feats rule, you can forgo taking this feature to take a feat of your choice instead.
Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn. At 7th level, your blood flows and heals where it is most needed. You have advantage on Death Saving Throws, as your blood tends your most mortal wounds. Additionally, you have immunity to the poisoned condition and diseases and resistance to poison damage.Ability Score Improvement
Extra Attack
Contained Blood
Blood Frenzy
At 9th level, you have a good taste for the blood of others. When you reduce a creature below half health, you go into a frenzy for one minute. When you are below half health, you are considered always frenzied. When frenzied, for the next minute your focus is on the kill, and you gain the following effects.
Every time you try to move away from an enemy or end combat early, you must make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw, becoming unable to do so on a failure, and halving your base movement speed for one turn on a success.
You are considered to have +15 feet of movement speed when in combat.
You gain a +1 to attack and damage rolls for every hostile creature within 10 feet of you, and take the same amount of additional damage when you hit a creature in that range
Each time you hit a creature with a weapon attack within 10 feet, you gain hit points equal to half the weapon damage dealt.
You have disadvantage on persuasion and advantage on intimidation, and others have disadvantage on persuading you for anything other than combat.
Arcane Sensitivity
At 10th level, your use of blood magic has made you sensitive to even the faintest magical energy, making you sense and see the presence of magic. You sense magic in a radius of 60 feet, and can see an aura around any visible creature or object that bears magic, and you learn its school of magic, if any. If a spell was cast in the last minute, or if an area is magical or under the effects of magic, you see the faint sparkle and wisps of magic in that area, and you learn its school of magic, if any.
This sight can penetrate most barriers, but it is blocked by 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt.
Beginning at 13th Level: Your sensitivity to magic increases, you see invisible creatures and objects as if they were visible, and you can see into the Ethereal Plane. Ethereal creatures and objects appear ghostly and translucent.
Beginning at 16th Level: Your use of blood magic has opened your eyes to the true reality of magic. You have Truesight out to a range of 60 feet. This bonus is added to other Truesight you may have.
Blood Burn
At 13th level, you can push your body beyond its natural limits. You can sacrifice 5 hit points as a Reaction when making a Dexterity Save or being hit, to excite your blood and heighten your reflexes, taking halve the attack’s damage on failure and none on a success and increasing your AC by 2.
Purity of Blood
At 15th level, your body is further suffused with the arcane, turning toward divine ichor. You have no need for sleep and base bodily resources.
You do not feel the effects of old age, stop aging, and cannot be aged magically.
You may spend a long rest doing nothing more than light activity, and you can go without food and water for the day should you spend 10 hit points, 5 for food and 5 for water.
A Body of Blood and a Mind of Iron
at 18th level, something happens
Absolute Focus
At 20th level you have gained a manner of perfection in your way of casting spells. You no longer need to make concentration checks to maintain concentration on spells, though you can still only concentrate on one spell at a time. Additionally,
Blood Paths
Path of the Blood Knight
You chose to follow the Path of the Blood Knight, making you hunger for blood forever. Taking what you need to survive won't hurt, at least for yourself. Your goal is preservation, even if it means sacrificing your spells to do so.
Collect it
At 3rd level, when you choose this Path you can collect the blood of any creature that has blood and that has died within the last 10 minutes, in a 30 feet radius around you, as a bonus action. Your Blood Fountain gains blood equal to 2x the Challenge Ratings of those creatures (minimum of 1). You cannot go over your maximum blood pool this way.
Beginning at 6th Level: You make sure to use as much blood as possible. You regain half the total of blood absorbed as hit points if your Blood Fountain is full, rounded down (minimum of 1).
Blood Armor
At 6th level, as a bonus action you can create an armor from your Blood Fountain, which takes any form you wish. While active, your base AC increases to 14 + your Dexterity or Intelligence modifier if it was lower, and any damage you take is instead dealt to your Blood Fountain. When your Blood Fountain is empty your armor is dismissed, and any excess damage is dealt to your hit points. You can dismiss your Blood Armor as a bonus action on your turn.
Beginning at 11th Level: You can absorb items into your blood fountain over 1 hour, destroying them. You can then benefit from the additional features of that item, even without your blood armor equipped, unless that feature requires activation. When absorbing additional items, they are added to a catalog of potential sets, which you can change between over 1 hour. Your natural weapons, or currently wielded weapons, have the effects of absorbed weapons applied to them.
Alternatively, over 1 hour, you can combine a number of feature groups from absorbed items equal to your proficiency bonus, which then count as one set. These additional features last until you change or remove them. When using any extra features from absorbed items, they take up one attunement slot.
Blood Ward
At 11th level, you can grant your allies a temporary boon as a bonus action, known as a Blood Ward. This is a minor form of your Blood Armor.
The ally can use their reaction to accept the Blood Ward, and spend available hit dice to use it. They gain +1 AC and temporary hitpoints equal to the total on the rolled hit dice + your spellcasting modifier. Your Blood Ward lasts 3 rounds or until the hit points run out, and they lose any benefits gained when it ends.
Beginning at 17th Level: Your Blood Ward is more stable, granting a +2 to AC and lasting 1 minute or until the hit points run out.
Sacrifice Other
At 17th level, as an action, you can cast a spell of 5th level or lower drawing from the hit points of one creature you can see within 30ft. The creature has to make a Constitution saving throw against your Spell Save DC. On a fail, you successfully cast the spell with that creatures hit points, and can use healing spells on yourself in this way. On a success, you are instead forced to cast the spell with your own hit points, and the spell is treated normally. You have to finish a long rest before you can use this feature again, or you can gain a level of exhaustion to use it again before then.
Path of the Magician
You chose to follow the Path of the Magician, focusing on your spells for added versatility. With some focus, you can supplement your own arcane energy using a splash of magic around yourself.
Prepare yourself
At 3rd level, as an action, you can cast the next spell you cast in the next two rounds twice, as if you cast it normally each time. This increases the cost of this spell by 1/2 its original cost (rounded up). You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier. You regain all uses of this feature when you finish a long rest.
For example, if you cast a 1st level spell after activating this feature, the spell costs 8 blood instead of 5.
Beginning at 6th Level: You can cast the same spell spell twice in one turn, with three times its normal cost. For example, if you cast a 2nd level spell with this feature, the spell costs 30 blood instead of 10.
Knowledge is power
At 6th level, you can learn Wizard spells that you find by adding them to your Blood Fountain. The spell takes 2 hours per spell level to learn, and the material is consumed by your Blood Fountain during the process. You then have the spell always available and can cast it like your other spells. You didn't need that old book lying around anyway.
Beginning at 11th Level: You can learn spells from other classes, though they take 5 hours per spell level to learn.
The Price of Great Magic
At 11th level, you can use your bonus action power up your next spell. Spells you cast in this way you can treat as if you rolled the highest possible outcome on any dice, if the spell has no dice its duration is doubled instead. This triples the cost of the spell. Cantrips have a 15 hit point cost when used in this way.
Beginning at 17th Level: You can give yourself advantage to hit the spell's targets, or give affected targets disadvantage on their saves against your spell. This doubles the cost of the spell. Cantrips have a 10 hit point cost when used in this way.
WEWEWEWE
Multiclassing
Prerequisites. To qualify for multiclassing into the Blood Caster class, you must meet these prerequisites: 13 Intelligence
Proficiencies. When you multiclass into the Blood Caster class, you gain the following proficiencies: Arcana, History
Disclaimer
Thumbnail for this document is 'Blood Ritual' by TyphonArt
Cover Art for this document is []( "title")