D&D 5E (Homebrew) Sorcerous Origin - Blood Skilled - spending hit dice on other things

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Sorcerous Origin – Blood Skilled


Sensitive to magic
Your lifeblood is interwoven with the Weave making you acutely sensitive to magic. In addition to your standard Sorcerer cantrips and spells known, at 1^st level you know Detect Magic and can cast it as a cantrip.

Blood skilled
At 1^st level you gain a ritual wound – a permanent scar somewhere on your body. When a creature saves against one of your spells, you can take a reaction to reopen that wound and spend 1 sorcerer hit dice. If you do, that creature rerolls their saving throw. (Hit dice spent reopening your ritual wound never add to your hit points.) Once you use this ability, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Arterial Font
At 6^th level, you can take an action to reopen your wound and spend 1 sorcerer hit dice. If you do, roll that hit dice and add the number rolled to your available sorcery points. Once you use this ability, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Sanguine Counterspell
At 14^th level, when another caster within 60’ of you casts a spell you can take a reaction to reopen your wound and spend 1 sorcerer hit dice and 3 sorcery points. If you do, cast Counterspell—countering that spell. You don’t need to know Counterspell or have it prepared to use this ability.

Heart Spell
At 18^th level, when you cast a spell that has a casting time of 1 action or bonus action, you can reopen your wound and spend 1 sorcerer hit dice and 1 sorcery point. If you do, that spell’s casting time is 1 bonus action for this casting and it can’t be Counterspelled.



This concept came out of disappointment on my part that the Blood Magic rules on DMG didn't use up hit dice, which seemed the obvious design route. Consequently they paled for me, feeling a touch wan. Are there any other homebrews that explore spending hit dice on other things?

 

[chunkosauruswrex]

One thing I would clarify in Arterial font is that the hit dice has to be a sorcerer hit dice. No taking a barbarian or paladin d12/d10 and adding it to your sorcery points.

In addition blood skilled is obscenely strong at upper levels. You could force 10 disadvantage on 10 saves at level 10. That's insanely good as forcing an enemy to have save disadvantage is a rare and extremely powerful skill.

 

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One thing I would clarify in Arterial font is that the hit dice has to be a sorcerer hit dice. No taking a barbarian or paladin d12/d10 and adding it to your sorcery points.

Good point. The intent was only sorcerer hit dice. I've clarified that all through. Or do you feel like some abilities should work with any hit dice? [Edit: once I constrained the dice, I felt spending a sorcery point to be unnecessary.]

In addition blood skilled is obscenely strong at upper levels. You could force 10 disadvantage on 10 saves at level 10. That's insanely good as forcing an enemy to have save disadvantage is a rare and extremely powerful skill.

Hmm... it costs a reaction and a hit dice. So it should be strong. If it feels too strong, one option is to roll the hit dice and deduct the number rolled from hit points. Increasing the cost. Another is to make it a short rest ability. So far as power goes, Bane can worsen a save by 1d4 and Portent can replace a save roll twice between long rests. A character with Lucky can reroll their own saves. My feeling is that blood skilled should be usable at least three times between long rests so I'll suggest it become a short rest ability.

 

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I'm feeling like one design direction for this would be to re-engineer Font of Magic to use Hit Dice for all Sorcerers. Perhaps regulated by how many sorcerer hit dice can be converted per level e.g.

Level.....Hit Dice
2-4.......1
5-7.......2
8-10.....3
11-13...4
14-16...5
17-19...6
20........7

And then give the class a couple of the Blood Skilled abilities as standard. Picturing the Sorcerer as a natural-born caster whose casts are simply more powerful than Wizard and Warlock casts, spell for spell.

 

[chunkosauruswrex]

I think changing it to short rest would make it very good and not OP whatsoever