Spells of Blood & Kinship

An excerpt from a book of shadows, the tome of a wizard falling into Darkness:

"Blood is Life. We feel it inside ourselves, we drink it from others, we taste it in the air. Blood is a source of power and holds secrets within it. It carries history and connects dynasties. Blood gives a person a flavour, a scent, that you can follow in the dark. Blood binds people together..."

Blood magic has a lot of potential applications. Blood carries heredity, connecting family members. Blood carries life energy. Blood can be used to identify a person. Blood can tell a story. Here are some spells that centre around blood and heredity.

Blood Branding

Level 1 transmutation

Components: V, S, M (a quill dipped in blood)

Casting time: 1 action

Range: 60 feet

Duration: until dispelled

Description: When you cast this spell on a person they are marked with a sigil in their flesh. More than that, anyone they are closely related to must also save versus this spell or be similarly marked. The subject’s grandparents, parents, siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews, children, and even grandchildren are all affected by this spell. You can choose to place the mark on the chest, face, back, or hand of the subject, and all of their close relations will be similarly branded. Each mark is blood red and shows the relationship of the victim with the subject the spell was cast upon. You may decide what the sigil looks like.

Detect Blood

Level 1 divination (ritual)

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Components: V, S, M (a yew leaf)

Duration: Concentration

Description: For the duration, you can sense the presence and location of exposed blood or other bodily fluids such as saliva and tears within 30 feet of you, allowing you to follow trails of blood or find stains from other fluids. You can also identify the blood type and species of the fluids you detect. Even non-visible remnants of fluids that have been washed or wiped seem to visibly glow for you, revealing their location. The spell can penetrate most barriers, but it is blocked by 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt.

Family Tree

Level 3 divination

Components: V, S, M (a cup of the subject’s blood as ink and a quill)

Casting time: 1 minute

Range: touch

Duration: instantaneous

Description: When you cast this spell on a target it draws the image of a tree with branches and leaves depicting the entire family tree of the target going back 10 generations on whatever surface you wish, such as a wall or large sheet of parchment. It shows the name, sex, and race of each blood relation of the subject, and whether or not each relative is alive or dead. If the subject has descendants, it shows all children and grandchildren who have been born of the subject’s blood.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, the genealogy of the subject is traced another 2 generations back per added spell level.

Blood Curse

Level 5 necromancy

Components: V, S, M (a rune wand stained with the victim’s blood)

Casting time: 1 action

Range: touch

Duration: until dispelled

Description: The victim of this curse shares all damage suffered from attacks with his or her family. Any time the subject of this spell takes any kind of damage, the living parents, siblings, or children of the subject must save or also take that same amount of damage as the victim. Grandparents, first cousins, grandchildren, nieces and nephews of the victim must save versus the spell or take half damage. Relatives of the victim who have successfully saved once do not need to resist the spell again. You can affect a total number of biological relatives to the victim equal to your level x2, with closer relatives being affected first. If the target has no living relatives close enough to qualify, this spell is wasted.

Summon the Bloody

Level 5 conjuration

Components: V, S

Casting time: 1 standard action

Range: touch

Target: 1 corpse

Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour

Saving Throw: None

Spell Resistance: No

Description: This spell summons anyone who has touched the blood of a deceased person to appear next to the body, and reveals the stains of the dead person's blood on the part of his or her body that touched the corpse. The conjured people who touched the corpse cannot leave the presence of the body until the spell ends.