Original inspiration was Shadowrun's Aztechnology sourcebook; whether you let players have this style of magic is your own choice.
As prviously mentioned, my current set of blood magic rules for Sandy's Sorcery/RQ; nominally for Red Vadeli, but equally appropriate for Aztecs, Druids, or any other historical bloodletting magical tradition. I'm not 100% happy with them as is, and will happily entertain criticisms, general thoughts, death threats, marriage proposals, and the like. :)
Blood Magic
The Vadeli Art of Blood Magic is generally only taught to Red Vadeli, and then only to those who have reached Adept status by their own efforts.
Blood Magic is in many ways a technique of spell casting; and as such the sorcerer may have to relearn spells he already knows in order to take advantage of this Art. If the caster knows Evoke Fire at 67% and wants to be able to cast the spell using Blood Magic, he will have to relearn the spell (base chance equals current skill / 2, or 34% in this case) before he can use it with Blood Magic. It is possible to know the Blood version of a spell at a higher % than the traditional form.
Blood Magic requires two components.
First, the sorcerer must enchant a dagger or other edged weapon
using the Bloodblade enchantment ritual (see below). This blade
is a permanent "material component" for all subsequent spells
the sorcerer will cast using Blood Magic. The sorcerer's skill
in Blood Magic can never exceed his skill with the weapon in
question; an existing Dagger skill of 35% will serve as the cap
on the sorcerer's skill in Blood Magic, as well.
Second, the caster requires a sentient, physically manifest "donor" who must be within easy reach of the caster. The sorcerer in question must inflict a wound on the donor, who is generally bound, Dominated, or otherwise restrained from fleeing the sorcerer's reach.
The damage inflicted by the wound is added to the Art levels of the spell being cast in whatever way the sorcerer chooses.
[Example: Shazrak the sorcerer cuts his bound slave in the arm
while casting a protective spell. The knife cuts the slave's arm
for 4 points, which gives Shazrak 4 additional points of Art
(Intensity, Force, Multispell, etc.) to add to the spell in
question.]
The caster can choose to inflict less damage than he normally could, as per normal rules for pulled blows, etc. It is important to note that the caster can choose to inflict the wound on HIMSELF, and still gain the beneficial effects of the Blood Magic Art.
If the donor is loses ALL his hitpoints as the result of a single blow (uncommon, but happens occasionally), half his POW is added to the Art levels gained by the caster, and a Blood Spirit is formed by the remaining POW of the victim.
[Example:Genrezel looks out from his tower and sees an angry giant approaching. Expecting trouble, he begins casting, takes his enchanted greatsword, and with a single sweeping blow cleaves the bound slave before him in two!
Besides inflicting 14 points of damage upon the slave (2 more than it had) he gains 6 more points from the slave's POW of 12, to boot! Genrezel's Evoke Lightning 25 Accuracy 4 lashes out from the tower, striking the giant in the abdomen... the giant stalks away, clutching his privates and muttering curses....But there is still the Blood Spirit to be dealt with....]
Blood Spirits
Blood Spirits are a kind of ghost formed when Blood Magic kills a donor. Unlike normal ghosts, Blood Spirits form with a POW equal to (half the original POW of the victim)d4. So in the above example, Genrezel would be facing a Blood Spirit with a POW of 6d4. Like ghosts, they manifest as a scarlet haze, and attack the sorcerer who slew them in spirit combat. If victorious, they generally possess the sorcerer's body and kill themselves.
However, if defeated, the Blood Spirit owes the sorcerer one final service (blood spirits, unlike ghosts, cannot be bound). Once that service is complete, they are free to persue whatever course the afterlife has in store for them.
BloodBlade
Ritual (Enchant)
Exotic (Vadeli)
By means of this spell, the caster creates a blade that can be
used in conjunction with Blood Magic. Additional points of
Intensity beyond the first, if applied, act as a Strengthening
(Armor) enchantment.
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