Blood Witch (Half-Orc, Witch Archetype)

While half-orcs wizards seek to increase their battle prowess through the use of fire-based spells, blood witches shed their own blood or the blood of their enemies to fuel and enhance their magic. (*The Blood Witch racial archetype was inspired by the Blood Mage concept by isdestroyer.)

Class Features

The blood witch has the following class features.

Blood Athame (Su)

A blood witch uses a special slashing or piercing weapon to perform her blood rituals (see Blood Sacrifice). She gains proficiency with all light slashing and piercing melee weapons, in addition to those weapons granted by the witch class. At 1st level, a blood witch selects one slashing or piercing weapon that she is proficient with as her blood athame. Whenever the blood witch deals bleed damage with her blood athame, the save DC of any hex used against the target of the bleed damage increases by +1.

At 3rd level, whenever a blood witch deals damage with her blood athame, she can also choose to deal bleed damage to her target. As a swift action, the blood witch can use her blood athame to deal slashing or piercing damage to herself, up to her Intelligence modifier. This damage counts against her daily total of self-inflicted bleed damage (see Blood Sacrifice). Any successful blood athame attacks made against a creature during this round also deals bleed damage equal to the amount of damage she inflicted on herself.

Blood Sacrifice (Su)

At 1st level, a blood witch learns the secrets of the long forgotten art of blood magic to fuel her spells and her blood athame. At 1st level, a blood witch can deal an amount of bleed damage to herself per day equal to her blood witch level + her Constitution modifier. She can use her blood to cast a prepared spell without expending the spell slot by sacrificing 1 point of bleed damage per level of the spell. The maximum number of spells of each spell level that the blood witch can spontanteously cast using blood sacrifice cannot exceed her Constitution modifier. For example, a blood witch with a Constitution score of 16 can only spontaneously cast three spells of each spell level using blood sacrifice.

A blood witch can also forego a spell’s costly material component requirements by sacrificing 1 point of Constitution damage per 100 gp of the component’s value. If her Constitution is reduced to 1 through the use of this ability, she immediately falls unconscious. Constitution damage taken through blood sacrifice cannot be healed magically (cure light wounds, restoration, etc.), only by natural healing at the rate of 1 point of Constitution per day. Temporary hit points cannot be used as part of the bleed damage required to use this ability.

At 5th level, a blood witch can spontaneously cast a prepared spell as if it had been prepared using the Empower Spell, Enlarge Spell, Extend Spell, Intensified Spell, Maximized Spell, Silent Spell, Still Spell, or Widen Spell metamagic feat by sacrificing an amount of bleed damage equal to twice the feat’s level increase, plus bleed damage equal to the spell’s level. She must prepare the spell in a higher level spell slot as normal. If the blood witch has an individual metamagic feat, she can sacrifice an amount of bleed damage equal to twice the feat’s level increase to prepare the spell with that metamagic feat without taking up a higher level spell slot, or, to increase his caster level by twice the amount sacrificed for a single spell.

At 9th level, a blood witch can sacrifice 1 point of Constitution damage to increase the caster level of a single spell. If this would increase the spell’s level to a level higher than she can cast, the blood witch must make a caster level check in order to cast the spell.

This ability requires a swift action and replaces the hex gained at 1st level.

Orc Blood

While primarily a half-orc racial archetype, any creature with orc blood counts as meeting the racial requirements for the blood witch.

Witch’s Familiar (Ex)

This is exactly like the witch ability of the same name. In addition, at 3rd level, a blood witch can use blood sacrifice on her familiar. She cannot, however, deal Constitution damage or use any aspect of blood sacrifice that requires Constitution points on the familiar. If the familiar is unwilling, it must be rendered helpless before performing the blood sacrifice. Using blood sacrifice on an unwilling familiar is considered an evil act. If the use of blood sacrifice kills the familiar, she regains her familiar 1 day later as normal, but loses the ability to use blood sacrifice on the familiar for 30 days, or until she gains a new witch level, whichever comes first. 

Hexes

The blood witch may select the new Arterial Spray or Bloody Claws hex. 

Blood Runes (Su)

At 6th level, a blood witch can use blood sacrifice to create a spell rune, causing her chosen spell to affect the creature that triggers the rune. This spell must be able to target one or more creatures, but regardless of the number of targets the spell can normally affect, it only affects the creature that triggers the rune. If the spell used to create the blood rune is a glyph or rune spell (such as explosive runes or glyph of warding), it only requires half the amount of bleed damage to create the rune. Creating a blood rune requires a standard action and replaces the hex gained at 6th level.

Blood Siphon (Su)

At 12th level, a blood witch can use blood sacrifice on another sentient creature once per day. She cannot, however, deal Constitution damage or use any aspect of blood sacrifice that requires Constitution points on the creature. If the creature is unwilling, that creature must be rendered helpless before performing the blood sacrifice. Using blood sacrifice on an unwilling creature is considered an evil act. This ability replaces the hex gained at 12th level.

Table: Blood Witch