D&D 5E (2014) New Spell: Blood Pulse

[Hawk Diesel]

So this spell is inspired by the power of the same name presented in the 4e book Heroes of Shadow. It introduces a new mechanic that is a bit weird and not really present in 5e (I think). The wording may be clumsy, and the level of the spell may need adjustment, but I thought I'd put it out there to see what people thought and if the spell could be viable.

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Blood Pulse
3rd-level necromancy
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 120 feet
Components: V, S, M (your blood)
Duration: 1 round

As part of the spell, you can choose to deal 1d10, 2d10, or 3d10 damage to yourself. This damage cannot be reduced in any way and is necessary to fuel the spell. You slash open a wound upon your wrist with a fingernail, releasing motes of crimson plasma to streak across the battlefield to a point you choose within range. Each creature in a 20-foot-radius sphere centered on that point must make a Constitution saving throw. A target takes 6d6 necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. Until the end of your next turn, any creature that moves through this area takes additional necrotic damage for every 5 feet of movement. This additional damage is equal to the damage you dealt to yourself at the beginning of the spell.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, the damage increases by 1d6 for each slot level above 3rd.

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I was also thinking that the player could instead choose to spend up to half their hit dice to fuel the spell, rolling the hit dice and using that towards the secondary damage. But given the potential power and damage of the spell, I thought perhaps the more visceral HP cost was more appropriate.

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

Hmmmm. I was okay with it up until the line "This additional damage is equal to the damage you dealt to yourself at the beginning of the spell." Seems a bit steep--for every 5' of movement? Make it more like Wall of Fire (they take damage from moving through it, but only once per turn) and I'll bite. (The damage doesn't reduce maximum HP and can readily be healed, or even just come out of temp HP, so don't be surprised if the 3d10 damage option is chosen frequently.)

If you leave the spell in its current form, I'd call that a 6th level spell. (If you cast it directly on a creature, using 3d10, it will take 12d10+6d6 = 87 points of damage on average getting out. A successful Con save will reduce damage only by 10 points; and a Repelling Blast will knock them right back in for a fresh 12d10 = 70 points of damage.)

Also, you might want to make it explicit which damage "At Higher Levels" increases. Clearly it's intended to be the 6d6 initial damage, but it wouldn't hurt to be specific: "the initial damage increases by 1d6..."

Finally, wouldn't hurt to be specific about the appearance of the affected area while affected. Aside from the initial streak of plasma motes, is there anything going on that might lead creatures to realize that they'll take severe damage from crossing the area?

 

[Hawk Diesel]

I appreciate the feedback. My vision for the spell is that it creates a kind of blood mist that covers and area, with each droplet full of unstable, explosive energy. I like your comparison to wall of fire, but this spell would be somewhat different. Instead of someone passing through the wall quickly, it would be more like if someone was running along the length inside the wall of fire. But like I mentioned before, 5e doesn't really have or consider effects like that. Usually it's more along the lines of "if you start your turn"/"If you end your turn" within some area you take damage.

I like the visual and thematic sense of the spell, but at this point it doesn't feel like a 5e spell.

 

[Ganymede81]

Why not simply change the mechanics of the spell so it more closely mirrors other spells? Make it so that the targets only take the damage either if they start their turn in the area/enter the area, or if they end their turn in the area. I'd lean to the latter.

If you reduced the damage of the spell (perhaps to d4s), you could also eliminate the self-inflicted damage. The self-damage makes it more difficult to balance.

What damage is increased at levels higher than third? The description doesn't specify.

 

[cbwjm]

I appreciate the feedback. My vision for the spell is that it creates a kind of blood mist that covers and area, with each droplet full of unstable, explosive energy. I like your comparison to wall of fire, but this spell would be somewhat different. Instead of someone passing through the wall quickly, it would be more like if someone was running along the length inside the wall of fire. But like I mentioned before, 5e doesn't really have or consider effects like that. Usually it's more along the lines of "if you start your turn"/"If you end your turn" within some area you take damage.

I like the visual and thematic sense of the spell, but at this point it doesn't feel like a 5e spell.

It's currently a cross between fireball and spike growth, it definitely has precedent in 5e just not as a combined spell, I guess the only thing that doesn't is the hurting yourself when you cast it (not that I'm aware of anyway). I'd probably boost the spell to 4th level, you'll be able to create a choke point for 1 round and the and damage isn't that much less than a fireball so I think 4th level at least should be about right.

Part of me would like it to be a concentration effect up to 1 minute although I think that would require a reduction in damage, perhaps to d4s (spike growth is 2d4 piercing/5 feet and able to last for 10 minutes with concentration). It's a cool spell, needs some flavour text to describe the effect.

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

I appreciate the feedback. My vision for the spell is that it creates a kind of blood mist that covers and area, with each droplet full of unstable, explosive energy. I like your comparison to wall of fire, but this spell would be somewhat different. Instead of someone passing through the wall quickly, it would be more like if someone was running along the length inside the wall of fire. But like I mentioned before, 5e doesn't really have or consider effects like that. Usually it's more along the lines of "if you start your turn"/"If you end your turn" within some area you take damage.

I like the visual and thematic sense of the spell, but at this point it doesn't feel like a 5e spell.

Well, there's some precedent for keeping the damage-per-5' clause the way you originally wrote it (see Spike Growth). But in that case I'd raise it to 6th level because of the enormous damage potential. (Although the Spike Growth precedent would seem to argue the opposite, since Spike Growth does almost as much damage and yet is only 2nd level. Spike Growth can't damage flying creatures though, and at higher levels that difference will be important. Anyway, if I were taking Spike Growth as a precedent I'd drop it from 6th level to 4th or 5th.)

I have a necromancy-oriented player who would probably love this spell. The idea is very cool.

 

[Hawk Diesel]

I have a necromancy-oriented player who would probably love this spell. The idea is very cool.

Yea, part of this was inspired because in the Eberron game I run, the players just finished a story arc heavily involving Blood of Vol cultists. After fighting the big bad, the necromancer in the group (who is now pretty intrigued by the idea of blood magic) found an amulet that looks like a Scarab. Which then caused me to seek inspiration on its enchantments in the Heroes of Shadow book, which led me to the original Blood Pulse spell, which in turn reminded me of the battle in Yu Yu Hakusho during which Kurama fought Karasu.

In my mind, this spell would make your blood become a floating mine field. And it would be cool to let the necromancer in the group find this spell.

While I know spells don't have a cost such as HP damage to the caster, and such an element complicates the balance of the spell, I think it is also something important in the spell's execution. And if you sacrifice more, you can further empower the spell.

I definitely am going to keep working to refine the spell. Not ready yet, but soon...

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

Oh, one other thing: if each droplet is full of unstable, explosive energy, maybe necrotic damage is not the best damage type. Radiant or maybe even thunder (for explosive) might be better.

And one more thing: if you're letting the players "find" the spell as treasure, make it any level you want. The feedback I'm giving above is my feel for the "natural" level of the spell, but I let players research spells at lower levels than their natural difficulty at an increased cost/DC, or a higher level at a decreased cost/DC. In my mind, that's why Fireball, Wall of Force and Absorb Elements are unusually strong spells for their level, because someone at some point in the past devoted some serious energy to optimizing the spells down to a lower level; while Drawmij's Instant Summons is pretty worthless mainly because someone with plenty of high-level spell slots just needed a quick-and-dirty one-off spell, so researched a 3rd level spell at 6th level just to get it done cheaper/quicker.

So if you gave this spell (as originally written, as a 3rd level spell) to your players in treasure, I'd be all for it. Your necromancer should be very excited and I'd be fine with that. It's the wizard equivalent of finding a +1 sword.

 

[Krachek]

So this spell is inspired by the power of the same name presented in the 4e book Heroes of Shadow. It introduces a new mechanic that is a bit weird and not really present in 5e (I think). The wording may be clumsy, and the level of the spell may need adjustment, but I thought I'd put it out there to see what people thought and if the spell could be viable.

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Blood Pulse
3rd-level necromancy
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 120 feet
Components: V, S, M (your blood)
Duration: 1 round

As part of the spell, you can choose to deal 1d10, 2d10, or 3d10 damage to yourself. This damage cannot be reduced in any way and is necessary to fuel the spell. You slash open a wound upon your wrist with a fingernail, releasing motes of crimson plasma to streak across the battlefield to a point you choose within range. Each creature in a 20-foot-radius sphere centered on that point must make a Constitution saving throw. A target takes 6d6 necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. Until the end of your next turn, any creature that moves through this area takes additional necrotic damage for every 5 feet of movement. This additional damage is equal to the damage you dealt to yourself at the beginning of the spell.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, the damage increases by 1d6 for each slot level above 3rd.

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I was also thinking that the player could instead choose to spend up to half their hit dice to fuel the spell, rolling the hit dice and using that towards the secondary damage. But given the potential power and damage of the spell, I thought perhaps the more visceral HP cost was more appropriate.

I can already spot the vultures preparing their dissonant whisper and command.

 

[Hawk Diesel]

I can already spot the vultures preparing their dissonant whisper and command.

I personally don't mind players using spell combos. With a spell duration of 1 round, most of that would have to come from player coordination/use of tactics with another magic user casting those spells. In my games I try to encourage those things, so it's less of a concern.