Blood and rhythm
By acting in sync with the rhythm of their blood and heartbeat, a blood mage can enhance their strength and speed. They can also control their pulse, and some learn to telekinetically control their blood.
Some of the abilities of a blood mage involve using and/or expelling a significant amount of their own blood. Take 2 shifts of physical stress for each quarter liter of blood expended. This stress can’t be reduced except by the Hypervolemia stunt. You can recover Consequences and stress track boxes filled this way if you recover the lost blood.
Skills
Blood Magic
Half-cost skill. Describes the skill you have attained at using blood magic.
Stunts
Whenever your Blood Magic skill reaches a multiple of 10, you may gain a Blood Magic stunt that you meet the requirements for without paying its XP cost.
Blood Surge
- Prerequisite: Blood Magic 1
- Cost: 10 XP
By moving in sync with the rhythm of your blood, you gain a surge in speed and strength. As a Supplemental action, gain a bonus to all physical skills until your next initiative. The bonus equals your Blood Magic Aspect Bonus.
Blood Jump
- Prerequisite: Blood Magic 10, Blood Surge
- Cost: 25 XP
By perfectly timing a jump in tune with your blood, you gain a bonus to your jump distance equal to half your Blood Magic skill vertically, and equal to your Blood Magic skill horizontally.
Pulse Control
- Prerequisite: Blood Magic 10
- Cost: 25 XP
You can control your pulse. Using this ability, you can control your emotions to a limited extent (suppressing or feigning fear, excitement, nervousness, etc). You gain a bonus to Deceit equal to your Blood Magic Aspect Bonus.
Blood Shaper
- Prerequisite: Blood Magic 20
- Cost: 50 XP
You have minor telekinetic control over your blood. You can:
- prevent wounds on yourself from bleeding
- As a Supplemental Action, cause minor wounds (shallow cuts etc) to close and scab over
- As a Supplemental Action, open a minor would (shallow cut) anywhere on your body
- At will, expel a controlled amount of blood from any wound on your body.
- You can absorb blood through a wound if you are touching the blood, it is yours, and it is freshly spilled. Note: it’s probably a bad idea to reclaim your blood from the floor unless it’s sterile.
Blood Shot
- Prerequisite: Blood Magic 20, Blood Shaper
- Cost: 25 XP
You can shoot small globs of your blood from a wound on your body. The globs harden immediately after leaving your body.
Make a ranged attack using your Blood Magic skill.
Crimson Lance
- Prerequisite: Blood Magic 30, Blood Shaper
- Cost: 75 XP
As an action, you expel approximately half a liter of your blood and form it into a lance about 1 meter long. The lance is hardened by your magic and hovers in midair. It remains attached to you and your circulatory system by a thin thread of blood. If the thread is severed, the lance loses cohesion and the blood falls to the floor (assuming gravity is working).
As a supplemental action once during your turn, you can use the lance to attack an enemy in the same zone. Use your Blood Magic skill to roll for the attack.
If you are attacked in melee, you can defend yourself with the lance. Use your Blood Magic skill for the roll.
The lance has a Weapon rating equal to half your Blood Magic Aspect Bonus (round up).
Blood Shards
- Prerequisite: Blood Magic 30, Blood Shot
- Cost: 50 XP
Your blood shots become sharp crystal-like shards. They have a Weapon rating equal to half your Blood Magic Aspect Bonus (round up).
Blood Cannon
- Prerequisite: Blood Magic 30, Blood Shot
- Cost: 50 XP
You can shoot larger globs of blood (1/4 a liter) with your Blood Shot attack. When you attack in this way, choose one of:
- the shot is hardened throughout; it has Weapon: 2
- the shot explodes in a splatter of blood on hit; on hit, the target becomes Covered in Blood.
- the shot is almost completely liquid; on hit, the target becomes Covered in Blood, and the shot inflicts no stress.
Shard Cannon
- Prerequisite: Blood Magic 30, Blood Shot, Blood Cannon
- Cost: 50 XP
When you use your Blood Shot, you can apply the bonuses from both Blood Shards and Blood Cannon. The resulting shots have a Weapon rating equal to your Blood Magic Aspect Bonus.
Purified Blood
- Prerequisite: Blood Magic 20
- Cost: 50 XP
You continuously purify your blood and cleanse it of impurities. You are immune to blood-borne diseases and toxins. Larger impurities in your bloodstream (e.g. dust, sand, air bubbles) gather in harmless locations, you can move them around consciously, and you can expel them through a wound of sufficient size.
Sticky Blood
- Prerequisite: Blood Magic 20, Purified Blood
Your blood thickens on contact with air, becoming a sticky goo-like substance. You can suppress this effect as long as you are connected to the blood. You can revert this effect while you are touching the blood.
Blood Transfusion
- Prerequisite: Blood Magic 30, Blood Shaper, Purified Blood
- Cost: 75 XP
You can transfuse blood between yourself and another humanoid you touch. The blood flows through open wounds on donor and receiver. You purify and transform the blood as you work, so that there is no risk of rejection or transmission of blood-borne diseases.
Corrosive Blood
- Prerequisite: Blood Magic 40, Purified Blood
- Cost: 125 XP
Your blood is corrosive. It acts like a strong acid towards any substance other than your own body. As blood exits your body, if you are conscious, you can cause it to lose its corrosive properties.
Virulent Blood
- Prerequisite: Blood Magic 40, Blood Shaper, Purified Blood
- Cost: 100 XP
Whenever your blood enters another creature’s circulatory system, it autonomously spreads throughout that creature’s body and converts the creature’s blood into more of yours. You can remove this property from blood as it exits your body. You can suppress this effect inside a creature while you are conscious if you know it is infected by your blood.
You can inoculate a creature to designate it as an ally, so that your blood knows not to attack it.
Master Blood Shaper
- Prerequisite: Blood Magic 40, Blood Shaper
- Cost: 125 XP
Your blood telekinesis continues to function even if the blood is not connected to you, as long as it is within (Blood Magic level) meters of you. While manipulating disconnected blood in this way, you can only exert weak force through the blood. You know the position and shape of all your blood within this radius.
Hypervolemia
- Prerequisite: Blood Magic 40
- Cost: 125 XP
You can compress your blood and store more of it in your body. You also produce new blood faster. All stress taken from blood loss is halved.
Blood Puppetry
- Prerequisite: Blood Magic 50, Virulent Blood, Master Blood Shaper
- Cost: 200 XP
While a creature infected by your blood is within your range, if your blood makes up at least half of the blood volume in that creature’s circulatory system, you can attempt to control that creature’s movements.
On each of the creature’s turns or when the creature attempts an off-turn action, you can instead attempt to exercise your control. If the creature does not agree with your choice of action, make an opposed check of your Blood Magic skill against the creature’s Physique or Blood Magic (defender’s choice). If the number of shifts is greater than your Blood Magic Aspect Bonus, nothing happens (the creature doesn’t move). Otherwise, the winner of the contest determines the action.