The Blood Magic tradition is a form of hemocraft practiced by wizards that use their own blood and life force to empower their spells. The Blood Magic subclass was created by Matthew Mercer.
Description[]
Ambitious and macabre mages use this form of magic to reach new heights of arcane prowess. This knowledge can be used for good things, but like all hemocraft, it has a bad reputation.[1]
History[]
Blood Magic wizards appeared for the first time after a priest in Wildemount, Trence Orman, was entrusted with the knowledge of hemocraft by his goddess, the Matron of Ravens, to use it as a weapon against the fiends involved in the Marrow War.[2] Orman initially trained blood hunters and blood clerics,[3] but eventually other mages found new arcane uses for this discipline.[1]
In recent years, the knowledge of blood magic has spreaded beyond the Claret Orders Trence founded, and new blood wizards (some good, some less scrupulous) have appeared in different places of Wildemount[4] or Tal'Dorei.[1]
Powers and abilities[]
This section is based on pp. 178-179 of the Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn.
For all abilities below, the necrotic damage blood wizards inflict on themselves by using their abilities can't be reduced in any way.
Blood Channeling
At 2nd level, a blood wizard can use their own body as arcane focus if they have been injured in some way (thus being below their hit point maximum). Moreover, they can take necrotic damage in order to forego costly material components for their spells (1d10 per 50 gp of the cost); if that damage is too great and they are reduced to 0 hit points they don't lose the spell slot, even though the spell itself fails.
Sanguine Burst
Also at 2nd level, the blood wizard can suffer necrotic damage in order to reroll damage dice for their spells (as many dice as their Intelligence modifier); the necrotic damage is equal to the level of the spell.
Bond of Mutual Suffering
At 6th level a blood wizard can use their reaction to bind their vitality with their enemy's (as long as said enemy isn't a construct or an undead), so both take the same damage when the wizard has been attacked. This ability can only be used once between short or long rests, but at 14th level it can be used twice.
Glyph of Hemorrhaging
At 10th level, once between rests, a blood wizard can curse their enemy (unless they are constructs or undead) after damaging them with a spell: for 1 minute, each time said enemy is damaged, they take an extra 1d6 necrotic damage, although they can try to resist the curse at the end of each of their turns.
Thicker than Water
At 14th level the blood wizard benefits more from magical healing (regaining additional hit points equal to their proficiency bonus). They also gain resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks while they are concentrating on a spell.
Notable blood wizards[]
- Honor Kinnabari: The youngest spellwright of the League of Miracles, a tiefling raised by dwarves in Westruun.
Trivia[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn, p. 178.
- ↑ See Explorer's Guide to Wildemount, p. 54.
- ↑ See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting, p. 33.
- ↑ See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn, p. 52.
Art:
- ↑ Official art of Honor Kinnabari, a blood mage and spellwright, by Lauren Walsh from Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn, page 179. This file is a copyrighted work. Its use in this article is asserted to qualify as fair use of the material under United States copyright law.