Blood Mage

Blood Mage

This is a wizard variant.

Blood Mages do not use normal magical forces (ley lines, wands, etc), instead they use the power of blood as a shortcut to casting their spells. Because to truly utilize this type of magic to the fullest they must take the blood of others, blood mages are feared and mistrusted. Most regular wizards, even those who practice necromancy shun them, and they are outlawed in most civilized lands. In particular most healers and paladins find them abhorrent.

The Blood Mage is identical wizard, except as follows:

Blood mages must be human.

Garb: As wizard, except their garb must be completely blood red. They do this to save on laundry bills. Weapons: All blood mages carry a dagger. This is both a weapon and a focus (like a wand). Without it they cannot gain spellpoints. They may not normally use any other weapons. The dagger itself is not special, they can carry a spare or borrow one.

Blood Mages do not prepare spellbooks. They have access to all wizard spells in the spellbook, up to their level.

However, they start with 0 spellpoints.

Instead, they must power their spells via blood, their own or someone else's.

They can gain spellpoints as follows:

Using a dagger:

1 point - wounding own arm or leg. 2 points - wounding someone else's arm or leg 5 points - killing someone in combat 10 points - killing someone in a ritual. The victim must either be a willing victim, subdued, or restrained. The Yield spell will work for this, and is in fact a favorite spell of blood mages. To kill someone in a ritual, the blood mage must hold the dagger aloft in both hands over the victim for a ten count and then stab them. (if someone else kills the victim first, no spellpoints are gained).

Note - if you wound a target and then perform a ritual you only get a total of 10 points, not 12. However, you can get a total of 7 if you wound them and then kill them in combat. If you wound them and they get away and later in the game you encounter and do the ritual you can get the full 10.

Once they have spell points they may spend them on any wizard spell in the rulebook up to their level. However, any spells they cast are for that life only. If they spend points on a spell that normally costs 1 point for 1/life (e.g. Hold Person, it is cast that one time, but they do not get it on future lives. If they spend points on a spell that is normally 1/U (e.g., Fireball), they get unlimited use of it for the rest of their current life, but must buy it again on future lives. And if they buy a neutral (e.g., Ambidexterity), it only lasts for their current life. Nothing carries over to their next life.

For incantations of spells that invoke a power, they should substitute "blood" for that power whenever possible, so long as the syllables match up. e.g., Heat Weapon becomes "By the Power and Might of the Blood" insteaed of "sun", Defend becomes "Blood Defend me". This is not essential, mostly a flavor thing and can be dropped if it causes trouble.

Monsters - many blood mages sacrifice animals or monsters instead of humans as a form of morality. Sacrifices of monsters are as follows (going by standard dor types and/or traits, use all that apply (if told to multiply and add, multiply first)). These apply to any points gained from them, whether via limb, death or ritual.

Beast: Half points. Sentient blood has more power. Bloodless: 0 points. They have no blood. Bone: 0 points. They have no blood. Extra-Planar: Double Points. These beings have a lot of latent magical energy. Large: one extra point. They have a lot of blood. Mystical: one extra point. Sheer Numbers: normal, but they take twice as long to kill in a ritual.

Beasts or other non-intelligent monsters: Half points (rounding down). Undead: 0 points (exception, see below): Most have no blood. Vampires and Nosferatu: normal, unless they have fed (stolen a life) on their current life, if so, double normal. Fey Creatures: double points. They have a lot of latent magical energy in their blood. Giants: double points. They have a lot of blood. Other monsters: Normal, but use common sense, there are probably others that should be zero.

Levels:

1 - as above 2 - Blood Healing: A blood mage also gains access to the Heal Spell at a cost of 1 spell points per use. This may only be used on themselves. When casting it, they should substitute "red blood" for "white light". 3 - The blood mage starts each life with 2 spellpoints. They do learn a little normal magic... (they still spend these like they would any points gained from blood)... 4 - Blood Enhancement: A blood mage gains access to the bard spell Warskill. Like all neutral spells, they pay for it for their current life only. 5 - A blood mage may sacrifice themselves as per the ritual death, this gets them 5 points. If they do this they remain alive long enough to cast one spell with those points and then die. They must cast the spell immediately and cannot move from the spot where they enacted this ritual. Only the casting of the spell is completed (e.g., a blood mage cannot use this to charge a fireball and then throw it). Since they are already dead, they cannot be further killed to stop them from completing this spell... although targets may move out of range. A Silence or Anti-Magic field will stop the spell. 6 - A blood mage may spend double points to cast a spell more quickly than normal. Doing so will cut the incantation (or "count") of a spell in half, rounding up.