The Old Art
In the earliest days of the Age of Myth, before the Gods had taught mortals how to write or to sing, before mortalkind had even learned the concepts of language at all, there was magic. Before they learned to manipulate the world with their minds and souls, they used the power inherent to all living things; Sangromancy. Using their own bodies as fuel, many of the earliest mages burned themselves up without understanding their own strength, or sacrificed themselves as living bombs.
Today, Sangromancy is categorised as a sub-school of Necromancy, manipulating the energies of living things, and is an extremely highly regulated field of study and practice. It is hazardous - often lethal - to use without proper training and care, and due to the ability of any mage to use it accidentally, one of the first things initiates are taught is how to focus their magic without using their own bodies as collateral.
The massive risk to both oneself and to others involved is only one of the reasons why Blood Magic is so highly scrutinized by The Assembly, requiring a license to practice at all. The other is the nature of its casting and effects. To bleed yourself for power is seen as barbaric and suicidal, and the effects of Sangromancy spells can mutilate opponents in awful ways, more gruesome than fireballs and magic missiles. Yet it remains practiced still at every level of power and understanding, with its
greatest master one of
The Immortals on high.
Untrained
Unintentional and untrained uses of sangromancy are, unfortunately, the leading cause of death amongst initiates, freshly discovered sorcerers, and overconfident apprentices, and have been for a long time. Before they are taught the distinction between mind and body, those new to spellcasting will often put everything they have into spells, bringing forth powerful effects and impressive displays, but destroying their body in the process. It is a tragically common tale for child sorcerers and prodigies to discover their abilities, attempt to show them off to friends or family, and accidentally kill themselves and their loved ones in the process. For this reason, reporting non-assembly magic users is one of the highest responsibilities a plebian can have.
Mechanics
Ignorance: You may attempt to learn Sangromancy spells, though they cost twice as much and twice as long as other spells to learn. When casting these spells, you take damage equal to the number rolled on any expended hit dice required by the spell.
Burning Reserves: When a caster has run out of spell slots but is in desperate need, they may be able to leech their own blood to continue casting. You may cast a spell you know or have prepared without expending a spell slot for it, but must roll a number of Hit Dice equal to the level of the spell being cast, up to a maximum of the highest spell slot level you can cast normally. You take the damage rolled, which cannot be mitigated or reduced in anyway and bypasses Temporary Hit Points, and - if you are still above 0 HP - then cast the desired spell.
Extreme Power: When a caster wishes to "give their all" to a spell, they may - intentionally or unintentionally - end up sapping every drop of strength left in their body, upcasting a known spell beyond their normal limits, up to a maximum of Slot Level 9. To do this intentionally requires an Arcana check with a DC equal to 15 + the desired Spell Slot Level. If successful, you must roll a number of Hit Dice equal to the level of the spell being cast; you then take the damage rolled, which cannot be mitigated or reduced in any way and bypasses Temporary Hit Points, and - if you are still above 0 HP - then cast the desired spell.
Exsanguination: If you would be killed by the damage rolled in an attempt to use Sangromancy this way, your body becomes a volatile nexus of magic, with the results decided by the DM. Some mages simply wither away to nothingness (seen as the "best" option by many), others detonate in a massive explosion of arcane energy, while others still call forth Arcane Storms to plague the world for months or years to come. If you die in this way, you cannot be brought back to life without the use of a True Resurrection or Wish spell.
Trained
Those with a Sangromancy license have typically gone through months of training to separate the tether between body and mind, able to access either independently or together. Many are still locked into mostly manipulating only their own blood, and often use it to hurl as sharpened projectiles or necrotic whips that leech health from their foes.
Mechanics
Learned. You now treat Sangromancy spells as you would any others when learning them as a mage, costing the normal amount of time and money. When you cast these spells, you no longer take damage equal to the result of hit dice expended as part of their casting.
Contained Exsanguination: If you would be killed by the damage rolled when using "Burning Reserves" or "Extreme Power", your body is less likely to detonate or create an Arcane Storm, limiting the damage to yourself and a small area nearby. If you die in this way, you may be brought back to life by use of a Resurrection spell or greater magic (if a body remains.)
Skilled
A skilled Sangromancer is feared and respected by most, as though they were the high vampires of myth and legend brought to life. They begin to reach into the bodies of others, manipulating their actions or even bringing them back to life, and accessing improbable amounts of their own blood, as though their hearts are now beating more quickly or regenerating their veins as quickly as they can expend their power.
Mechanics
Vigor: You gain a number of D12's that you can use in place of hit dice when casting sangromancy spells or features (dependent on level), and regain these D12's on a long rest.
Controlled Exanguination: If you would be killed by the damge rolled when using "Burning Reserves" or "Extreme Power", you may choose whether you wish to avoid damaging your surroundings and leave your body intact enough to be brought back by Revivify or similar magic, or if you wish to detonate, deliberately turning yourself into a bomb like the First Mages once could, so long ago.
Master
Feared and hated more than almost any other kind of Mage, Sangromancy Masters are capable of horrific acts, such as suddenly stopping a persons' heartbeat from a distance, calling down a rain of burning, acidic blood, and ripping the blood out of a foe's every pore and orifice to use to heal themselves.
The world's most famous Blood Mage, Osera Teráka, uses her "art" to curse a man with corrupted immortality as punishment, forcing their bodies to live on, to suffer and regenerate while impaled and devoured by scavengers, capable of surviving after decapitation and having their heads mounted on spikes.
Mechanics
Unknown.
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