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Bloodmage - Bloodclaw - Flagellation and Cutting and Karmic costs.
Sacrificing for power.
One of the paragon paths that impressed me as emulating ideas from real world magic more than most others was Bloodmage....(In essence there is an idea of sacrifice and risk it entails... that is very flavorful). Note I normally feel like skinning the hit point uses associated with this paragon path as other things Over channelling or witchy karmic cost.
Over-channelling. It isnt about blood... but the power is easy to over use and doing so wears on one.
Divine Bloodmage : This is readily skinned as a paragon path for Divine classes (flagellation) The monks of old flagellating themselves may have realistically been getting off on endorphins caused by the pain rather than attempting to achieve at least for a moment egolessness ... but in magical universes... it goes much further and that state is used in working divine wonders. The Blood Act could be a curse of innevitable doom.
Your witch (who I like to build as malediction invoker)... knows using magic especially "magic to attack" always comes with a karmic cost.
Of course Warlocks are primed and ready for it in its current form. (why Bloodmage is wizard and not warlock out of the box makes me wonder). Maybe your warlock uses a symbiotic otherworld thing which drains them to empower the might of there attacks.... or is that just a bloodclaw effect on a dagger?
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Bloodclaw Weapons are kind of the ... non mage version of this.
I am not as comfortable with pervasive "cutting" that the blood claw weapons imply via their default skinning and tempting potency in the game. And yes they do seem useful to the point that I am giving it away... allowing any hero to spend hit points 1 per 5 levels in acts of "heroic extreme exertion".
Think of the above as a legendary boon. (available at levels appropriate to bloodclaw weapons).
So Bloodclaw weapons skinned as they are ...become a thing of darkness... something villains need because they arent heros ;-).. and which heros just dont need... alah a magic item they might not even be able to use.
“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”
“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”
Or the houserule forum, if you want to adjust this in the form of an actual rule. Or a blood mage for a different class.
Jay
That could be it... does feel like some houseruling ideas in there.. guess I could just snag and repost eh ;-) You both proved me atleast partially wrong.
“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”
- Lazarus Long via Robert Heinlein.
Last edited by Garthanos; 8th November 2009 at 02:52 AM..
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