Or something along those lines.
So I've got tired of using the OA maho-tsukai IMC, and decided to roll my own. This is what I've got so far. How powerful would you reckon this class is?
BLOODMAGE
The greatest, most powerful magics are those fueled by the spark of life. Blood magic, the tool of the bloodmage, entails sacrificing part of one's vitality for magics that are beyond the ability of normal wizards. It promises great power over the essence of life and death, an enticing prize indeed.
Such knowledge comes at a price, however. Blood magic finds its ultimate source in the lower planes, and the lords of darkness do not give up their secrets easily. A prospective bloodmage must carry out a ritual that involves treachery and the sacrifice of innocents; furthermore, as the bloodmage progresses along this path, he will almost invariably be the cause of more death and suffering to those in his path. Such is the nature of blood magic, that corrupts the soul with every spell that is cast.
NPC bloodmages are rarely seen, but far more common than might be thought. They lead a secretive existence, as most nations and cultures would destroy them on sight. However, the greatest bloodmages may rise above such shackles and claim for themselves a territory of their own. Such a domain is usually a place of death and despair, with no-one safe from the bloodmage's appetite for victims.
Most NPC bloodmages are sorcerers, who possess great innate magical power but may lack the schooling to realise the danger of blood magic before it's too late. The next most common are wizards, who have rummaged in libraries of ancient lore and stumbled across the scrolls detailing the necessary steps to become a bloodmage. Rarest are fallen clerics and druids, but these are not unknown.
Requirements
Alignment: Any nongood.
Base Will save bonus: +4
Skills: Concentration 8 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 4 ranks.
Other: Ability to cast 2nd level spells.
Special: The character must locate and use ancient scrolls detailing the rites and rituals necessary to take this class.
Class Statistics
Hit Die: d8.
Class Skills: Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Craft (alchemy) (Int), Disguise (Cha), Hide (Dex), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (planes) (Int), Profession (Wis), Spellcraft (Int).
Skill Points/Level: 2 + Int modifier.
Class Features
All the following are class features of the bloodmage.
Weapon and Armour Proficiency: The bloodmage gains no weapon or armour proficiencies beyond those he already has. Armour of any type interferes with a bloodmage's arcane gestures, which can cause his spells to fail (if those spells have somatic components).
Spells: At every level, the bloodmage gains new spells per day and spells known as if he had gained a level in a previous spellcasting class. He does not, however, gain any other benefits of the other spellcasting class. This essentially means that he adds his bloodmage levels to the level of whatever other spellcasting class he has, then determines spells known, spells per day, and caster level accordingly.
A bloodmage has access to all Necromancy spells and all spells with the Death or Evil descriptors that appear on either the sorcerer/wizard or cleric spell lists, just as if they were on the spell list for his previous spellcasting class. This is in addition to the spells he gains from his previous spellcasting class. The spell's level is equal to the lower of its wizard and cleric spell levels, for those that appear on both lists. These spells are listed below.
Accursed (Ex): The bloodmage's association with foul magic has left its mark on his soul. He is treated as evil-aligned for the purposes of spells and effects, regardless of his actual alignment. For example, he detects as evil with a detect evil spell, he suffers extra damage when struck by a weapon with the holy enchantment, and so on.
Blood Magic (Su): The bloodmage's power is derived from blood sacrifice, hence the name. Each time he casts a spell, he takes 1 point of damage per level of the spell (as increased by metamagic, where applicable). This does not provoke a Concentration check to successfully cast the spell, but cannot be negated through damage reduction or any other means.
If a spell has expensive material components, he does not use them, but must pay a greater price in terms of damage. The additional damage taken is given in the table. When using blood to replace a costly component in this way, the bloodmage must make a Concentration check (DC 10 + damage taken) to successfully cast the spell. This Concentration check is unnecessary if the bloodmage uses points taken from his bloodpool instead (see below).
Component cost Damage dealt
50 gp or less 5
51 gp-300 gp 11
301 gp-750 gp 17
751 gp or more 23
Bloodpool (Su): As the bloodmage's power grows, he learns to use the bodies of others to fuel his spells. At 2nd level, the bloodmage can build up a reserve of arcane power, by bleeding a victim in a gruesome and agonizing ritual. Each hit point of damage he deals to the victim counts as a point he can substitute for his own, when casting his spells. The points the bloodmage accumulates in this manner do not add to his own hit point total -- they can be used only for the purpose of casting blood magic, and only within eight hours, after which their potency fades.
The bloodmage's maximum bloodpool size is equal to his caster level x 10, and any points he accumulates in excess of this amount are wasted. A sacrificial victim cannot contribute more than its total hit points + 10 to the bloodmage's bloodpool, which is enough to kill it. The bloodmage can choose to keep his victim alive (for future rituals, or to avoid wastage) instead of killing it, by bleeding it for fewer points of damage than it has hit points left.
Bleeding a victim is a ritual that takes at least one minute, and it must be helpless or willing for the entire duration. A potential victim must have blood or ichor of some sort (not a plant, elemental, construct or undead), have Intelligence and Charisma scores of at least 3, and called or summoned creatures cannot be used. If the ritual is interrupted, the victim takes the full amount of damage as chosen by the bloodmage, but the bloodmage gains no benefit.
The level of spell that the bloodmage can power using his bloodpool is limited by the level he has reached in this prestige class. At 1st level, he can use the bloodpool to cast 0-level spells (cantrips or orisons). This goes up by 1 spell level for every bloodmage level, until he can use it to cast 9th level spells at 10th bloodmage level.
Spell List
0 level -- Disrupt undead, inflict minor wounds, touch of fatigue.
1st level -- Deathwatch, cause fear, chill touch, curse water, doom, inflict light wounds, protection from good, ray of enfeeblement.
2nd level -- Blindness/deafness, command undead, death knell, desecrate, false life, gentle repose, ghoul touch, inflict moderate wounds, scare, spectral hand.
3rd level -- Animate dead, bestow curse, contagion, halt undead, inflict serious wounds, magic circle against good, ray of exhaustion, speak with dead, vampiric touch.
4th level -- Death ward, enervation, fear, inflict critical wounds, poison.
5th level -- Blight, dispel good, magic jar, mark of justice, mass inflict light wounds, nightmare, slay living, symbol of pain, unhallow, waves of fatigue.
6th level -- Circle of death, create undead, eyebite, harm, mass inflict moderate wounds, symbol of fear, undeath to death.
7th level -- Blasphemy, control undead, destruction, finger of death, mass inflict serious wounds, symbol of weakness, waves of exhaustion.
8th level -- Clone, create greater undead, horrid wilting, mass inflict critical wounds, symbol of death, unholy aura.
9th level -- Astral projection, energy drain, implosion, power word kill, soul bind, wail of the banshee.
So I've got tired of using the OA maho-tsukai IMC, and decided to roll my own. This is what I've got so far. How powerful would you reckon this class is?
BLOODMAGE
The greatest, most powerful magics are those fueled by the spark of life. Blood magic, the tool of the bloodmage, entails sacrificing part of one's vitality for magics that are beyond the ability of normal wizards. It promises great power over the essence of life and death, an enticing prize indeed.
Such knowledge comes at a price, however. Blood magic finds its ultimate source in the lower planes, and the lords of darkness do not give up their secrets easily. A prospective bloodmage must carry out a ritual that involves treachery and the sacrifice of innocents; furthermore, as the bloodmage progresses along this path, he will almost invariably be the cause of more death and suffering to those in his path. Such is the nature of blood magic, that corrupts the soul with every spell that is cast.
NPC bloodmages are rarely seen, but far more common than might be thought. They lead a secretive existence, as most nations and cultures would destroy them on sight. However, the greatest bloodmages may rise above such shackles and claim for themselves a territory of their own. Such a domain is usually a place of death and despair, with no-one safe from the bloodmage's appetite for victims.
Most NPC bloodmages are sorcerers, who possess great innate magical power but may lack the schooling to realise the danger of blood magic before it's too late. The next most common are wizards, who have rummaged in libraries of ancient lore and stumbled across the scrolls detailing the necessary steps to become a bloodmage. Rarest are fallen clerics and druids, but these are not unknown.
Requirements
Alignment: Any nongood.
Base Will save bonus: +4
Skills: Concentration 8 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 4 ranks.
Other: Ability to cast 2nd level spells.
Special: The character must locate and use ancient scrolls detailing the rites and rituals necessary to take this class.
Class Statistics
Hit Die: d8.
Class Skills: Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Craft (alchemy) (Int), Disguise (Cha), Hide (Dex), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (planes) (Int), Profession (Wis), Spellcraft (Int).
Skill Points/Level: 2 + Int modifier.
Code:
Lvl BAB F R W Special Spells
1 +0 +2 +0 +0 Blood magic, accursed, +1 caster level
bloodpool (0 level)
2 +1 +3 +0 +0 Bloodpool (1st level) +1 caster level
3 +1 +3 +1 +1 Bloodpool (2nd level) +1 caster level
4 +2 +4 +1 +1 Bloodpool (3rd level) +1 caster level
5 +2 +4 +1 +1 Bloodpool (4th level) +1 caster level
6 +3 +5 +2 +2 Bloodpool (5th level) +1 caster level
7 +3 +5 +2 +2 Bloodpool (6th level) +1 caster level
8 +4 +6 +2 +2 Bloodpool (7th level) +1 caster level
9 +4 +6 +3 +3 Bloodpool (8th level) +1 caster level
10 +5 +7 +3 +3 Bloodpool (9th level) +1 caster levelClass Features
All the following are class features of the bloodmage.
Weapon and Armour Proficiency: The bloodmage gains no weapon or armour proficiencies beyond those he already has. Armour of any type interferes with a bloodmage's arcane gestures, which can cause his spells to fail (if those spells have somatic components).
Spells: At every level, the bloodmage gains new spells per day and spells known as if he had gained a level in a previous spellcasting class. He does not, however, gain any other benefits of the other spellcasting class. This essentially means that he adds his bloodmage levels to the level of whatever other spellcasting class he has, then determines spells known, spells per day, and caster level accordingly.
A bloodmage has access to all Necromancy spells and all spells with the Death or Evil descriptors that appear on either the sorcerer/wizard or cleric spell lists, just as if they were on the spell list for his previous spellcasting class. This is in addition to the spells he gains from his previous spellcasting class. The spell's level is equal to the lower of its wizard and cleric spell levels, for those that appear on both lists. These spells are listed below.
Accursed (Ex): The bloodmage's association with foul magic has left its mark on his soul. He is treated as evil-aligned for the purposes of spells and effects, regardless of his actual alignment. For example, he detects as evil with a detect evil spell, he suffers extra damage when struck by a weapon with the holy enchantment, and so on.
Blood Magic (Su): The bloodmage's power is derived from blood sacrifice, hence the name. Each time he casts a spell, he takes 1 point of damage per level of the spell (as increased by metamagic, where applicable). This does not provoke a Concentration check to successfully cast the spell, but cannot be negated through damage reduction or any other means.
If a spell has expensive material components, he does not use them, but must pay a greater price in terms of damage. The additional damage taken is given in the table. When using blood to replace a costly component in this way, the bloodmage must make a Concentration check (DC 10 + damage taken) to successfully cast the spell. This Concentration check is unnecessary if the bloodmage uses points taken from his bloodpool instead (see below).
Component cost Damage dealt
50 gp or less 5
51 gp-300 gp 11
301 gp-750 gp 17
751 gp or more 23
Bloodpool (Su): As the bloodmage's power grows, he learns to use the bodies of others to fuel his spells. At 2nd level, the bloodmage can build up a reserve of arcane power, by bleeding a victim in a gruesome and agonizing ritual. Each hit point of damage he deals to the victim counts as a point he can substitute for his own, when casting his spells. The points the bloodmage accumulates in this manner do not add to his own hit point total -- they can be used only for the purpose of casting blood magic, and only within eight hours, after which their potency fades.
The bloodmage's maximum bloodpool size is equal to his caster level x 10, and any points he accumulates in excess of this amount are wasted. A sacrificial victim cannot contribute more than its total hit points + 10 to the bloodmage's bloodpool, which is enough to kill it. The bloodmage can choose to keep his victim alive (for future rituals, or to avoid wastage) instead of killing it, by bleeding it for fewer points of damage than it has hit points left.
Bleeding a victim is a ritual that takes at least one minute, and it must be helpless or willing for the entire duration. A potential victim must have blood or ichor of some sort (not a plant, elemental, construct or undead), have Intelligence and Charisma scores of at least 3, and called or summoned creatures cannot be used. If the ritual is interrupted, the victim takes the full amount of damage as chosen by the bloodmage, but the bloodmage gains no benefit.
The level of spell that the bloodmage can power using his bloodpool is limited by the level he has reached in this prestige class. At 1st level, he can use the bloodpool to cast 0-level spells (cantrips or orisons). This goes up by 1 spell level for every bloodmage level, until he can use it to cast 9th level spells at 10th bloodmage level.
Spell List
0 level -- Disrupt undead, inflict minor wounds, touch of fatigue.
1st level -- Deathwatch, cause fear, chill touch, curse water, doom, inflict light wounds, protection from good, ray of enfeeblement.
2nd level -- Blindness/deafness, command undead, death knell, desecrate, false life, gentle repose, ghoul touch, inflict moderate wounds, scare, spectral hand.
3rd level -- Animate dead, bestow curse, contagion, halt undead, inflict serious wounds, magic circle against good, ray of exhaustion, speak with dead, vampiric touch.
4th level -- Death ward, enervation, fear, inflict critical wounds, poison.
5th level -- Blight, dispel good, magic jar, mark of justice, mass inflict light wounds, nightmare, slay living, symbol of pain, unhallow, waves of fatigue.
6th level -- Circle of death, create undead, eyebite, harm, mass inflict moderate wounds, symbol of fear, undeath to death.
7th level -- Blasphemy, control undead, destruction, finger of death, mass inflict serious wounds, symbol of weakness, waves of exhaustion.
8th level -- Clone, create greater undead, horrid wilting, mass inflict critical wounds, symbol of death, unholy aura.
9th level -- Astral projection, energy drain, implosion, power word kill, soul bind, wail of the banshee.
)... Just add purple sunglasses, frilly shirt and the Angst! and you'd have a winner. 
