The Blood Sponsor (5e Subclass)

The Blood Sponsor

Warlock Subclass

By some freak accident, your own foolishness, a lot of bad luck, or something else entirely, you've been bitten by a vampire. You've somehow still managed to remain who you fundamentally are for the most part, but your body and bodily needs have changed quite a lot, making you literally blood thirsty. Well-intentioned creatures in your position would want to survive but wouldn't want to do so by sucking the blood of others, whereas less than well-intentioned creatures in your position may seek out power that synergizes well with their new form for self-serving or malicious reasons. There are a few ways they can go about doing both of these, and one of those ways—which is what you've done—is forming a pact with a patron willing to be a Blood Sponsor for you.

Whether your patron is a fiend from the abyss, some sort of evil god, another vampire, an elder blood lich, or something else entirely, you've formed a warlock pact with them. The pact you formed with your patron may not even be the type of warlock pact they usually form with their other warlocks. As per the pact you made, your patron is going to provide you with enough blood to survive, give you partial protection from some of your most damning weaknesses, and give you both some traditional warlock powers as well as some powers that will let you capitalize on your new form. Work with your DM to determine who your patron is and what kind of favors they want from you in return (almost all of them will want something in return).

Expanded Spell List

The Blood Sponsor lets you choose from an expanded list of spells when you learn a warlock spell. The following spells are added to the warlock spell list for you:

Spell Level	Spells
1st	command, false life
2nd	blindness/deafness, detect thoughts
3rd	animate dead, bestow curse
4th	dominate beast, greater invisibility
5th	dominate person, modify memory

Traits of the Bitten

You've been bitten by a vampire, and your body has permanently changed significantly as a result. At 1st level, you gain the following features:

• Undead Pseudo-Type

Any effect that works on undead also works on you even if it doesn't usually work on your actual creature type. If an effect is based on an undead creature's CR, the effect instead uses your level for the purpose of it affecting you. If you would regain hit points from an effect which explicitly says it doesn't work on undead, you instead regain half the amount of hit points you would regain otherwise.

In addition, you suffer none of the frailty of old age, you can't be aged magically, and you can't die of old age. You no longer need to sleep and can't be forced to sleep magically. To gain the benefits of a long rest, you can spend all 8 hours doing light activity, such as tending to your wounds, consuming blood, reading a book, and keeping watch.

• Damage Affinities

You have resistance to necrotic damage, but you are vulnerable to radiant damage.

• Darkvision

You have darkvision with a range of 120 feet.

• Natural Weapons

Your teeth are natural weapons, which you can use to make bite attacks. If you hit with them, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike, you deal 1d4 piercing damage.

Once per turn when you hit a creature with your bite attack, if the creature is tiny or larger, the creature has blood in its body, the creature is grappled, incapacitated, restrained or willing, and the creature isn't an undead or construct, you can suck their blood. You deal an extra 1d4 necrotic damage to the target, the target's hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic damage, and you regain hit points equal to that amount. The reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest. If you dealt at least 1 necrotic damage in this way, you consume 0.5 pints of blood (1 pint if the attack roll scored a critical). This consumption of blood nourishes you, as detailed in your Blood Thirst feature. If you contract a disease or ingest a poison as a result of sucking another creature's blood in this way, whenever you made an ability check or saving throw against said disease or poison, you can treat the d20 roll as a 20.

• Blood Thirst

You no longer need food or water to survive. Conventional food and drink now taste bland and stale to you with the exception of rare cooked meat and alcohol. Instead, you need to consume blood to survive, which now tastes sweet and refreshing to you. You need to consume 4 pints of blood per day. You can go without blood for an amount of days equal to 3 + your Constitution modifier (minimum 1 day). Consuming 2 pints of blood in a day counts as half a day without blood. At the end of each day beyond that limit, you automatically suffer a level of exhaustion. A normal day of consumption resets the count of days without blood to zero.

• Lack of Reflections

You don't have a reflection, and you don't cast any shadows.

• Forbiddance Weakness

You can't enter a residence without an invitation from one of the occupants.

• Running Water Weakness

You take 1d4 acid damage if you end your turn in running water. This damage ignores resistance and vulnerability to acid damage.

• Sunlight Weakness

You have disadvantage on attack rolls, Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight, Strength checks, Dexterity checks, and Constitution checks while you're in direct sunlight. You also have disadvantage on attack rolls and Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight while the target of your attack or whatever you're trying to perceive is in direct sunlight.

Spending prolonged time in sunlight harms you. When you enter direct sunlight for the first time after finishing a long rest, you must make a DC 1 Constitution saving throw or suffer a level of exhaustion. On a successful saving throw, if you spend a cumulative amount of hours equal to half (not rounded) the result of your saving throw in direct sunlight without first finishing a long rest, you suffer a level of exhaustion. After you suffer a level of exhaustion as a result of this feature for any reason, if you spend a cumulative 1 hour in direct sunlight without first finishing a long rest, you suffer another level of exhaustion. In addition, if you spend more than 1 hour in direct sunlight during a long rest, you must begin the rest again to gain any benefit from it.

While in direct sunlight, you can take certain precautions to lessen the blow of it on you such as wearing a full body cloak, staying under an umbrella, using inexpensive magical protection, et cetera. While doing so, each minute you spend in direct sunlight instead counts as half a minute in direct sunlight.

Crimson Donation and Protection

At 1st level, your patron gives you a Crimson Bottle, a waterskin that's visually themed after them, as well as a Crimson Amulet, a magical piece of jewelry that's also visually themed after them.

The Crimson Bottle can hold 4 pints of liquid. While holding your Crimson Bottle, you can spend 1 hour entreating your patron for aid in the form of blood, which can be done over a short rest. At the end of the hour, your patron fully fills your Crimson Bottle with blood. Any blood conjured in this way that leaves the Crimson Bottle disappears within 1 round unless you or another creature drink or consume it. Once you receive blood in this way, you can't do so again until you finish a long rest, unless you expend a warlock spell slot to do so again. As an action while your Crimson Bottle has blood in it, you can consume 1 pint of blood from the bottle, which both causes you to regain 2d6 hit points and nourishes you, as detailed in your Blood Thirst feature. Blood consumed in this way doesn't taste as sweet and refreshing as blood consumed in other ways.

The Crimson Amulet requires attunement by you to gain its effects. While you're wearing the Crimson Amulet, any time you spend in direct sunlight doesn't count as such for the purpose of your Sunlight Weakness feature giving you levels of exhaustion. In addition, being in direct sunlight doesn't impose disadvantage on Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution checks.

If your Crimson Bottle or Crimson Amulet is either lost or destroyed, you can perform a 1-hour ceremony to receive a replacement of one or both of them from your patron. This ceremony can be performed during a short or long rest, and it destroys the previous bottle and/or amulet. If your old bottle is destroyed in this way, any blood still in it is destroyed as well. If your old amulet is destroyed in this way while you're attuned to it, you can attune yourself to the new amulet upon completing the ceremony immediately. Both the bottle and amulet turn to ash when you die.

Unnatural Enchanter

At 6th level, your patron assists you in using your natural charm to beguile others. As an action while you aren't in direct sunlight, you can attempt to charm a humanoid you can see within 30 feet of you. If the target can see you, they must make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC or be charmed by you. While charmed in this way, the target regards you as a trusted friend to be heeded and protected. A target charmed in this way is considered a willing target for the purpose of your bite attack, and if you make a bite attack against such a target and you miss, you can turn the miss into a hit.

As an action, you can issue a simple verbal command (limited to a sentence or two) to any number of targets charmed in this way that can hear and understand you, which they do their best to obey. The command must be worded in such a manner as to make the course of action sound reasonable. If you ask such a target to stab itself, throw itself onto a spear, immolate itself, or do some other obviously harmful act to itself, the effect ends immediately for all such targets that heard and understood the command even if it wasn't directed at them.

If you or any of your companions do anything harmful to a target charmed in this way, the effect ends immediately for that target. If such a target takes damage in any other way, that target can make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC. If you or that target are in direct sunlight, that target has advantage on the saving throw. On a successful save, the effect ends early for that target.

A target charmed in this way remains charmed for 10 minutes. When the effect ends, that target knows it was charmed by you. Once you've used this feature to attempt to charm a creature, you can't use this feature to attempt to charm that creature again until you finish a long rest, unless you expend a warlock spell slot to do so again.

Vampiric Shapechanger

At 10th level, your patron bestows upon you some basic vampiric shapechanging abilities. As an action while you aren't in direct sunlight, you can transform into a bat, into a cloud of mist, or into your true form. When you transform in this way, you decide whether equipment you're wearing or carrying falls to the ground in your space, merges with your old form, or is worn or carried by your new form. Equipment doesn't change size or shape to match the new form, and any equipment that didn't merge with you which the DM determines is impractical for your new form to wear or carry falls to the ground upon transforming. Any equipment that merges with your old form has no effect until you revert back to said form. In both your bat and mist form, your statistics are the same as your true form except where otherwise noted.

While you're in your bat form, your size is tiny. Your walking speed is 5 feet, and you have a flying speed of 40 feet. While you aren't deafened, you have blindsight out to a range of 60 feet. Your ability to take any action that requires hands is limited to the capabilities of the bat, and you are unable to speak.

While you're in your mist form, you are weightless, have a flying speed of 20 feet, can hover, can enter a hostile creature's space, and can stop in a hostile creature's space. You can pass through any space which air is able to pass through without squeezing, but you treat liquids as though they were solid surfaces. You have resistance to nonmagical damage, and you have advantage on Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution saving throws. You're unable to attack, speak, wear or carry anything, or manipulate objects, and any equipment that didn't merge with you which isn't specifically and magically designed to accommodate your mist form falls to the ground upon transforming into your mist form.

You can't cast spells while you're in your bat or mist form, but transforming doesn't break your concentration on a spell you've already cast or prevent you from taking actions that are part of a spell, such as vampiric touch or major image, that you've already cast.

You can remain in your bat form for a cumulative number of hours equal to your proficiency bonus, at the end of which you revert to your true form. You can remain in your mist form for a cumulative number of hours equal to your proficiency bonus, at the end of which you revert to your true form. The maximum durations of both forms reset when you finish a long rest. You revert to your true form if you drop to 0 hit points or die. If you have any equipment merged with your bat and mist forms, all of it falls to the ground in your space if you die.

Turning Bite

At 14th level, you learn to turn other creatures with your bite. Once per turn when you hit a creature with your bite attack and attempt to suck their blood, you can expend a warlock spell slot to increase the extra necrotic damage by 5d8.

In addition, you can imbue creatures with a foul mimicry of life, causing them to rise as vampire summons, the stat block for which is shown below. If you reduce a humanoid to 0 hit points with your bite attack, you dealt at least 1 necrotic damage to them as a result of sucking their blood, and you weren't in direct sunlight at the time, the target dies if isn't already dead and then rises as an undead in 2d6 rounds as if you cast animate dead on it. Alternatively, you can use your action to bite the corpse of a creature that isn't an undead or construct, causing it to rise as an undead in 2d6 rounds as if you cast animate dead on it. In any case, the target rises as a vampire summon instead of as a zombie or skeleton.

If you cast animate dead to maintain your control over undead, you can choose to maintain your control over vampire summons which you've raised in this way. Once the creature is no longer under your control, when it is reduced to 0 hit points, or when it dies, it vanishes in a whisp of necrotic energy, mist, and darkness.

A target charmed by you via your Unnatural Enchanter feature or via a vampire summon's Unnatural Enchanter trait is considered a willing target for the purpose of your bite attack and the bite attack of any vampire summon under your control. While you're in your bat or mist form, you can speak, but only vampire summons under your control can understand you. While a vampire summon is in its bat or mist form, it can speak, but only you and other vampire summons under your control can understand it.

You can raise a creature or corpse as a vampire spawn once in this way, and you regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest.

Vampire Summon

Medium Undead, Your Alignment

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Armor Class 14 (natural armor)
Hit Points 26 (4d8+8)
Speed 30ft.

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STR		DEX		CON		INT		WIS		CHA
16 (+3)		15 (+2)		11 (+0)		11 (+0)		10 (+0)		Your CHA

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Saving Throws DEX +6, WIS +4
Skills Perception +4, Stealth +6
Damage Vulnerabilities Radiant (Excludes Damage Caused by the Sunlight Weakness Trait)
Damage Resistances Necrotic; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks
Senses Darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 14
Languages the languages it knew in life
Challenge —
Proficiency Bonus +4

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Vampiric Shapechanger. The vampire can use its action to transform into a bat, into a cloud of mist, or into its true form. It follows the same rules as your Vampiric Shapechanger feature.

Lack of Reflections. The vampire doesn't have a reflection, and it doesn't cast any shadows.

Forbiddance Weakness. The vampire can't enter a residence without an invitation from one of the occupants.

Running Water Weakness. The vampire takes 1d4 acid damage if it ends its turn in running water.

Sunlight Weakness. The vampire takes 1 radiant damage for every minute it spends in direct sunlight. It also has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks while it is in sunlight. It also has disadvantage on attack rolls and Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight while the target of its attack or whatever it's trying to perceive is in direct sunlight.

While in direct sunlight, the vampire can take certain precautions to lessen the blow of it on them such as wearing a full body cloak, staying under an umbrella, using inexpensive magical protection, et cetera. While doing so, it takes 1 radiant damage for every 1 hour it spends in direct sunlight, instead of every 1 minute.

ACTIONS

Claws (Vampire Form Only). Melee Weapon Attack: your spell attack modifier to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 1d4 + 3 slashing damage.

Bite (Bat or Vampire Form Only). Melee Weapon Attack: your spell attack modifier to hit, reach 5 ft., one willing creature or a creature that is grappled, incapacitated, or restrained. Hit: 1d4 + 3 piercing damage plus 2d4 necrotic damage. The target's hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic damage, and the vampire regains hit points equal to that amount. The reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest.

Unnatural Enchanter (1/Day). The vampire targets one humanoid it can see within 30 feet of it. If the target can see the vampire, the target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC or be charmed by vampire as if by your Unnatural Enchanter feature. If you are within 30 feet of the target, you may choose to have the target be charmed by you instead.

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Unique Eldritch Invocations

The Blood Sponsor lets you choose from an expanded list of eldritch invocations. When you learn an eldritch invocation, the following options are available to you in addition to those from other sources:

• Allure of the Talisman (Prerequisite: The Blood Sponsor Patron, Pact of the Talisman feature)

As either an action or a reaction to taking damage from a creature within 5 feet of the wearer of your talisman, the wearer of your talisman can attempt to temporarily beguile their assailant. The attacking creature must roll a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC or be charmed by the wearer of your talisman until the end of their next turn. A creature charmed in this way can't attack any of the charmer's allies or target any of the charmer's allies with harmful abilities or magical effects. This benefit can be used an amount of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and all expended uses are restored when you finish a long rest.

• Children of the Night (Prerequisite: The Blood Sponsor Patron, 7th level, Pact of the Chain feature)

As an action while the sun is down, you can summon 1d3+1 swarms of bats or rats. If you're outdoors, you can summon 2d4 wolves instead. The called creatures arrive in 1d3 rounds. Once they arrive, the called creatures act as your allies and always obey your commands. You can telepathically communicate with any called creatures as if they were a familiar you summoned via find familiar. In combat, the called creatures roll initiative independently of you but act on the same turn as each other. The called creatures remain for 1 hour, until you die, or until you dismiss them as a bonus action.

Once you use this invocation, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.

• Crimson Tracker (Prerequisite: The Blood Sponsor Patron)

You gain proficiency in the Perception and Survival skills. In addition, whenever you make a Wisdom (Perception) or Wisdom (Survival) check relating to perceiving or tracking a creature whose blood you've seen or smelled in the past hour, you double your proficiency bonus for those skills.

• Defenses of Darkness (Prerequisite: The Blood Sponsor Patron, 7th level, Pact of the Blade feature)

You can cast shield without expending a spell slot. You can cast it in this way an amount of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest. When you cast it in this way, you protect yourself with a barrier of necrotic energy, mist, and darkness instead of the usual invisible barrier of magical force.

In addition, while you aren't wearing any armor, your AC equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Charisma modifier.

• Experienced Enchanter (Prerequisite: The Blood Sponsor Patron, 9th level)

You can use your Unnatural Enchanter feature on any creature instead of just humanoids, and all targets charmed by your Unnatural Enchanter feature that can hear you can understand any command you issue.

In addition, when the effect of your Unnatural Enchanter feature ends for a target, that target is not made aware of the fact that they were charmed by you. Instead, that target loses all memory during which it was charmed by you in this way except for time it spent in direct sunlight.

• Extended Enchanter (Prerequisite: The Blood Sponsor Patron, 12th level)

A target charmed by your Unnatural Enchanter feature remains charmed for 1 hour instead of 10 minutes. Immediately before the effect ends for such a target, that target must make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failed save, the duration is extended by 1 hour. Once the target has been charmed in this way for 24 consecutive hours, the effect ends.

In addition, if you or any of your companions do anything harmful to such a target, instead of the effect ending immediately for that target, the target must make a Wisdom saving throw as though they had taken damage from a source that wasn't the result of you or any of your companions.

• Gift of the Arachnoids (Prerequisite: The Blood Sponsor Patron, 5th level)

You gain the ability to move up, down, and across vertical surfaces and upside down along ceilings, while leaving your hands free. You also gain a climbing speed equal to your walking speed.

In addition, you can cast spider climb once without expending a spell slot. You regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest.

• Lifeblood Broadcaster (Prerequisite: The Blood Sponsor Patron, 7th level, Pact of the Tome feature)

A new page appears in your Book of Shadows. With your permission, a creature can use its action to write its name on that page, which can contain a number of names equal to your proficiency bonus.

As a reaction to you regaining hit points while your Book of Shadows is on your person, you may choose a creature whose name appears on this page. If that creature isn't an undead, a construct, or dead, they regain the hit points instead of you. If this healing raises them to their hit point maximum, you regain any excess hit points.

As an action, you can magically erase a name on the page by touching it.

• Lifeblood Larcenist (Prerequisite: The Blood Sponsor Patron, Pact of the Tome feature)

If you cast bestow curse, circle of death, enervation, finger of death, hex, or vampiric touch as a warlock spell while your Book of Shadows is on your person, for all creatures affected by the spell, the creature's hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to half the necrotic damage they took, and you regain hit points equal to that amount. The reduction lasts until the creature finishes a long rest.

• Monstrous Regeneration (Prerequisite: The Blood Sponsor Patron)

As an action, you can spend an unspent hit die. Roll the hit die. You regain hit points equal to the number rolled + your Constitution modifier (minimum 0 hit points).

In addition, you regain all of your hit dice, instead of just half, upon finishing a long rest.

• Physique of the Talisman (Prerequisite: The Blood Sponsor Patron, 7th level, Pact of the Talisman feature)

As either an action or a reaction to taking damage which doesn't reduce the wearer of your talisman to 0 hit points, the wearer of your talisman can transform into a bat or a cloud of mist and can immediately move up to half their new flying speed without provoking opportunity attacks. They only remain transformed until the end of their next turn, but they otherwise follow the same rules as your Vampiric Shapechanger feature (even if you don't have that feature yet). This benefit can be used an amount of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and all expended uses are restored when you finish a long rest.

• Sanguine Blade (Prerequisite: The Blood Sponsor Patron, Pact of the Blade feature)

When you attack with your pact weapon, you can use your Charisma modifier, instead of Strength or Dexterity, for the attack and damage rolls.

In addition, as an action, you can expend a warlock spell slot to imbue your pact weapon with blood-like energy. Your pact weapon remains imbued with this energy for 1 hour. When you hit a creature with your pact weapon while it is imbued with this energy, your pact weapon deals necrotic damage instead of it's usual damage type, the target's hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic damage, and you regain hit points equal to that amount. The reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest.

• Spellcasting Shapechanger (Prerequisite: The Blood Sponsor Patron, 18th level)

While you're in your bat or mist form and not in direct sunlight, you can cast spells. You can't provide spell components while you're in your bat or mist form, but you can cast your warlock spells without the need to provide verbal components, somatic components, or material components that lack a cost and aren't consumed by the spell in your bat and mist form.

• Superior Shapechanger (Prerequisite: The Blood Sponsor Patron, 15th level)

You can now remain in your bat and mist forms for any amount of time.

In addition, as an action while in your true form and not in direct sunlight, you can transform your appearance by making basic alterations. You decide what you look like, including your height, weight, facial features, sound of your voice, hair length, coloration, sex, and other distinguishing characteristics, if any. You can make yourself appear as a member of another race, though none of your statistics change. You can't duplicate the appearance of a creature you've never seen. Your clothing and equipment aren't changed by this feature, and you must adopt a form that has the same basic arrangement of limbs that you have; if you're bipedal, you can't use this feature to become quadrupedal, for instance. The changes wrought by this feature last for 1 hour or until you change your appearance in this way again. To discern that you have transformed your appearance, a creature can use its action to inspect your appearance and must succeed on an Intelligence (Investigation) check against your spell save DC.

• Twin Life Chain (Prerequisite: The Blood Sponsor Patron, Pact of the Chain feature)

Your life becomes entwined with your familiar. You and your familiar gain the following benefits:

• Whenever you regain hit points, your familiar gains temporary hit points equal to the amount of hit points which you regained.

• Whenever your familiar regains hit points, you gain temporary hit points equal to the amount of hit points which your familiar regained.

• Vampiric Blast (Prerequisite: The Blood Sponsor Patron, eldritch blast cantrip)

When you fire a beam while casting eldritch blast, you can choose to empower the beam with crimson necrotic energy. On a hit, you deal 1d6 force damage to the target instead of the usual 1d10 force damage, you deal an extra 1d4 necrotic damage to the target, the target's hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic damage, and you regain hit points equal to that amount. The reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest.

5.00

(one vote)

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