Blood Ritual

Sometimes people have attempted to gain the power of mighty creatures through the ritualistic consumption of their
blood. The method of performing this ritual is a closely guarded secret known only to very select few who have
delved deepest into the darkest corners of magic. This is a risky, evil process that can result in madness, death, or
other unintended negative effects. The process is the same regardless of the chosen creature whose blood is used, but
some aspects of the results vary based on the type of creature’s blood used.

General Information
When determining the results of the attempt, the stat block of the creature is needed for reference by the DM, the
creature type and CR rating are particularly important but additional information may be needed depending on the
specific results. Approximately 1 quart of blood is needed to be effective and it must have been collected and
consumed within minutes of the creature’s death, you get one shot at it. It also requires the use of a fine crystal or
silver chalice worth at least 1000 gp, which is destroyed in the process. When you perform this ritual, several things
happen.

1. You take damage immediately after drinking the blood. The type of damage depends on the type of
creature and the amount depends on the CR of the creature. You take Nd6 damage, where N is the CR
rating of the creature used, minimum 1. Your maximum hit points also decreases by the same amount
until they reach the stage described in #4. For example, a CR 5 demon will deal 5d6 fire damage and
your hit point maximum decreases by the amount of damage dealt.
2. You then becomes incapacitated for the next 24 hours. During this period, you cannot move, take any
kind of action, and is considered paralyzed, poisoned, blinded, and deafened. You also do not gain any
benefits from rest during this time.
3. After you recover from this catatonic state, you take a -4 penalty to all attack rolls, saving throws, and
ability checks. Every time you finish a long rest the penalty is reduced by 1 until it disappears.
4. If you survives this process and period of time, your Constitution Score and Maximum permanently
increase by +2. One other ability score and its ability scores its maximum also increase by +2, based on
the type of creature whose blood was used, whichever option is higher from the creature’s stat block.
(Consult the table below). You will also roll a d20 and add the CR rating of the creature whose blood
was used to determine the effects from the table on the next page.

Type of Blood
Characteristics Based on Type of Blood
Creature Type Damage Type Ability Score Creature Type Damage Type Ability Score
Aberration Force Intelligence or Fiend Fire Strength or Charisma
Wisdom
Celestial Radiant Wisdom or Humanoid Bludgeoning Highest from stat block
Charisma
Dragon Associated w/ type Strength or Lycanthrope Slashing Strength or Dexterity
Dexterity
Elemental* Associated w/ type Strength or Monstrosity Bludgeoning Highest from stat block
Dexterity
Fey Piercing Dexterity or Undead* Necrotic Strength or Dexterity
Charisma
*Many, if not most, creatures of this type may not be suitable for obtaining blood. Those without suitable blood may not be used
for this purpose.
Effect of the Ritual
After the above process is complete, you can now roll a d20 and add the CR rating of the creature whose blood was
used in the ritual to determine the effects of the ritual had on you. Consult the table below to determine the result of
your roll. Note that it is quite possible to accumulate a number of powers from a single ritual, several more than is
listed in any of the results found for any single roll. When it says roll again, keep any results obtained so far and roll
to find any additional powers or effects that will be added.

Effect of the Ritual

Roll Effect Roll Effect
1-10 1 Drawback 26-30 1 Power + Roll Again
11-15 No Effect 31-40 2 Powers
16-20 1 Drawback and 1 Power 40+ 2 Powers + Roll Again
21-25 1 Power

Drawback
The effects of the ritual didn’t come without a cost. Roll a d10 and consult the table below to determine the
drawback you experienced from the ritual.

Drawback
Roll Drawback
1 Blood Rage
2 Draining Effort
3 Indefinite Madness
4 Long-Term Madness
5 Reduced Healing
Roll Drawback
6 Reduced Rest Benefits
7 Short-Term Madness
8 Sunlight Sensitivity
9 Unconscious Awakening
10 Susceptibility to Good

Drawback Descriptions
Blood Rage
When you awaken your abilities you must fight against a blood rage. During this time, every time you begin your
turn you must make a Wisdom saving throw. The DC for this save is 10 + the CR rating of the creature whose blood
was used in the ritual. On a failure, you must use any movement and actions to deal the maximum amount of
possible damage to the nearest creature to you, even if it is one of your allies. This effect persist for the entire
duration and only ends when your powers are no longer active.

Draining Effort
Your powers put immense stress on your body when you use them. After you awaken your powers and when they
become inactive once more, you take Nd6 damage of the type associated with the type of creature whose blood was
used in the ritual, where N is the CR rating of that creature. If this damage doesn’t kill you outright, you fall
unconscious, but stable with 0 hit points.

Indefinite Madness
You gain one Indefinite Madness, as described on page 260 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide. This madness is not
limited to the 1 minute time frame or linked with the use of your powers. It is always active.
 Long-Term Madness
After you awaken your powers and when they become inactive once more, you gain one Long-Term Madness, as
described on page 260 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide. This Madness persists for the described duration or until you
complete a long rest.

Reduced Healing
Every time you would regain hit points the number recovered is reduced by half, rounded up. This effect is not
limited to the 1 minute time frame or linked with the use of your powers. It is always active. If combined with an
effect that would maximize the amount of healing, such as the Improved Healing power described later, the total is
likewise halved from its normal maximum.

Reduced Rest Benefit

When you take a short or long rest, you find it difficult to gain the full recovering effects and it takes longer than it
should. A short rest requires one and a half hours to complete and a long rest now takes you ten hours to complete.
In addition, you can only use 1 hit die to recover hit points during a short rest and recover a number of hit points no
greater than half your hit point maximum during a long rest. This effect is not limited to the 1 minute time frame or
linked with the use of your powers. It is always active.

Short-Term Madness
After you awaken your powers and when they become inactive once more, you gain one Short-Term Madness, as
described on page 259 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide. This Madness persists for the described duration or until you
complete a long rest.

Sunlight Sensitivity
While in sunlight, you have disadvantage on attack rolls, as well as on Perception checks that rely on sight. This
effect is not limited to the 1 minute time frame or linked with the use of your powers. It is always active.

Unconscious Awakening
Your powers cannot be awakened consciously. Instead they become active in response to taking damage. When you
take damage you must make a Wisdom saving throw. The DC of this save is 10 or the total damage taken, whichever
is higher. On a failed save, your powers awaken and remain active for up to 1 minute. You cannot willingly fail this
save. You are also still limited to having your powers activated once per long rest as normal.

Susceptibility to Good
The evil nature of the ritual has left you susceptible to the power of Good. Good creatures who attack you have
advantage on all attacks rolls and the damage they deal bypasses all resistances and immunities you might have to
the damage types they deal. This effect is not limited to the 1 minute time frame or linked with the use of your
powers. It is always active.
Powers
Roll a d100 and consult the table below to determine the power gained. You can activate your powers at will at any
time and the powers remain active for up to 1 minute. The powers gained by the ritual can only be used during the
period they are active, i.e. within a 1 minute time frame, unless otherwise noted. Once you activate your powers,
you cannot do so again until you finish a long rest.

Power Gained from the Ritual (d100)

Roll Power Roll Power Roll Power
01-04 Aspect of Power 37-40 Enhanced Damage 69-72 Pain Drinker
05-08 Aura of Fear 41-44 Enhanced Unarmed Damage 73-76 Quickened Movements
09-12 Aura of Pain 45-48 Epic Boon 77-80 Recovery
13-16 Blood Command 49-52 Ethereal Form 81-84 Regenerative Body
17-20 Blood Power 53-56 Impenetrable Hide 85-88 Resilient Hide
21-24 Blood Sense 57-60 Improved Healing 89-92 Resistance
25-28 Boundless Skill 61-64 Innate Spell 93-96 Ruthless Strikes
29-32 Bull Rush Strike 65-68 Nebulous Form 97-00 Swift Action
33-36 Endless Endurance

Power Descriptions
Aspect of Power
You take on a visible aspect and one or more abilities associated with the creature whose blood was used. Some
examples are given below, but your DM may choose to create his own based on the specific creature used. This
ability is not limited to the normal 1 minute time frame that normally applies. It is always active.
Beholder. You develop a third eye on your forehead, or somewhere else on your body, and are able to
produce a single eye ray from it as an action. The type of ray is determined at the time of the ritual and does
not change after that point. The description of the Beholder’s eye ray on page 28 of the Monster Manual
can be adapted to randomly determine the ray type. You also gain Magic Resistance, which grants
advantage on rolls to resist the effects of spells and magical effects.
Dragon. You become a Half-Dragon. Use the template on page 180 of the Monster Manual.
Fiend. Your eyes glow, you grow horns, and/or you develop some other physical feature associated the
fiend whose blood was used in the ritual. You also gain Resistance to Fire and one or more abilities
possessed by the fiend. For example, if the blood came from a Hell Hound you may gain its Fire Breath
ability or if the blood came from a Barbed Devil you may gain its Barbed Hide, Devil’s Sight, and/or Hurl
Flame abilities. Your DM will decide how many and which abilities you gain if more than one are
available.

Aura of Fear
All creatures who can see you must make a Wisdom saving throw or become frightened of you until your ability is
no longer active. The DC for this check is equal to 10 + your Charisma modifier.

Aura of Pain
All creatures who enter a space, or end their turn, within 5 feet of you takes an amount of damage equal to the CR
rating of the creature whose blood was used.

Blood Command
You can cast the Suggestion Spell at will, without using a spell slot or material components, on a creature that shares
the type belonging to the one whose blood was used in the ritual. The DC they must save against is 8 + your
Charisma bonus + half the CR rating of the creature whose blood was used for the ritual.
 Blood Power
You gain a single ability from the creature whose blood was used, determined by the DM. For example, if the blood
came from a Hell Hound you may gain its Fire Breath ability or if the blood came from a Barbed Devil you may
gain its Barbed Hide, Devil’s Sight, or Hurl Flame ability.

Blood Sense
You are able to sense the presence of any creature bearing the same type as the one whose blood was used, who is
within 1000 feet of you. This does not tell you the specific location, distance, or direction of this creature, it just
gives you the feeling that such a creature is nearby. This ability is not limited to the normal 1 minute time frame that
normally applies. It is always active.

Boundless Skill
You have advantage on your attack rolls.

Bull Rush Strike

You can charge a target when making a melee attack against them by moving at least 15 feet straight toward them.
When you do this the target must make Strength saving throw (DC 10 + your Strength modifier). On a failure, you
automatically hit and deal critical damage and the target is knocked prone. On a success you make the attack as
normal.

Endless Endurance
You have advantage on Athletics and Acrobatics skill checks. Your hit point maximum increases by 1 point per
level, as well as for levels you gain in the future. You also have resistance to poison damage and advantage on
saving throws to resist the effects of poison and disease. Also if damage reduces you to 0 hit points, you must make
a Constitution saving throw with a DC of 5 + the damage taken, unless the damage was from a critical hit or from a
magical attack. On a success, you drop to 1 hit point instead.

Enhanced Damage
When you deal damage you can choose to deal an additional amount of damage equal to the CR rating of the
creature whose blood was used. This damage is of the type associated with that creature’s type, described in the
table on page 1.

Enhanced Unarmed Damage

When you make an unarmed strike you can choose to deal 1d6 damage of the type associated with the blood ritual
performed. If you roll this ability more than once, the damage increases by 1d6 for each additional time after the
first.
 Epic Boon
You randomly gain one of the Epic Boons described on page 232 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide. Roll a d6 to
determine the column to use and roll the indicated die to determine the boon granted using the table below. This
ability is not limited to the normal 1 minute time frame that normally applies. It is always active.

Epic Boon
d6 roll 1-2 3-4 5-6
Roll a d8 Roll a d8 Roll a d10
1 Boon of Combat Prowess 1 Boon of Luck 1 Boon of Skill Proficiency
2 Boon of Dimensional Travel 2 Boon of Magic Resistance 2 Boon of Speed
3 Boon of Fate 3 Boon of Peerless Aim 3 Boon of Spell Mastery
4 Boon of Fortitude 4 Boon of Perfect Health 4 Boon of Spell Recall
5 Boon of High Magic 5 Boon of Planar Travel 5 Boon of the Fire Soul
6 Boon of Immortality 6 Boon of Quick Casting 6 Boon of the Night Spirit
7 Boon of Invincibility 7 Boon of Recovery 7 Boon of the Stormborn
8 Boon of Irresistible Offense 8 Boon of Resilience 8 Boon of the Unfettered
9 Boon of Truesight
0 Boon of Undetectability

Ethereal Form
You can move into the ethereal plane as an action. When you do this you can effectively become invisible and can
move through solid objects. You cannot effect creatures or objects on the material plane in any way and are only
vaguely aware of their location on the material plane. You may return to the material plane at any time as an action.
If you return to a space that is occupied by an object or creature, whether by choice or due to the expiration of the 1
minute active period of your power, you and the object or creature will each take 6d6 bludgeoning damage and you
fall prone in the closest available space.

Impenetrable Hide
You gain a Damage Threshold equal to the CR rating of the creature whose blood was used. (Refer to pages 119 &
247 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide for details on Damage Thresholds)

Improved Healing
When you would roll dice to determine the number of hit points you would recover as the result of a spell or ability,
you automatically use the highest possible value.

Innate Spell
You gain the ability to cast a spell at will, without using a spell slot or material components, the level of the spell is
determined by CR rating of the creature whose blood was used, using the table below. This does not count against
your spells known from any class. The spell-casting ability for the this spell is Charisma, unless your DM deems
another more appropriate. Once you use this ability, you can’t use it again until you finish a short rest. This ability is
not limited to the normal 1 minute time frame that normally applies. It is always active.
Spell Level by Creature CR Rating
CR Rating Spell Level CR Rating Spell Level CR Rating Spell Level
0-1 Cantrip 7-12 3 21 - 29 5
2-3 1 13 - 20 4 30+ 6
4-6 2

Nebulous Form
Attack rolls against you have disadvantage.

Pain Drinker
Whenever you take damage of the type associated with the creature whose blood was used for the ritual, you gain a
number of hit points equal to the damage that would have been dealt, instead of losing that number.

Quickened Movements
You move quicker than normal. You are are treated as though you were under the effects of the haste spell.

Recovery
As a bonus action, you can regain a number of hit points equal to the CR rating of the creature whose blood you
used in the ritual, minimum of 1.

Regenerative Body
At the start of each of your turns, you regain a number of hit points equal to the CR rating of the creature whose
blood was used. You may also add a number equal to the CR rating of that creature when making a saving throw to
remove or resist the effects of poison or disease.

Resilient Hide
As a bonus action you can increase your AC by half the CR rating of the creature whose blood you used for the
ritual, until the start of your next turn.

Resistance
You gain resistance to the damage type associated with the blood used in the ritual that granted it. If you gain this
ability a second time, you have immunity to that damage type instead. This ability is not limited to the normal 1
minute time frame that normally applies. It is always active.

Ruthless Strikes
When you make a melee attack, you infuse your weapon with power, causing it to deal more damage than normal,
for a weapon of that type. The damage type remains the same as that of the normal weapon, but it is now considered
magical for the purposes of bypassing resistance to damage from nonmagical weapons, if it wasn’t already. Use the
table below to determine the new damage for the weapon.

Normal Weapon Damage Enhanced Damage Normal Weapon Damage Enhanced Damage
1 1d2 2d4 2d6
1d2 1d3 1d10 2d8
1d3 1d4 1d12 3d6
1d4 1d6 2d6 3d6
1d6 1d8 2d8 3d8
1d8 2d6 2d10 4d8
 Swift Action
As a bonus action, you can move your turn on the next round of combat to be first on the initiative order. Following
that round of combat, your turn returns to its normal position.