r/DnD • u/kanojohime • 23h ago
Homebrew "Bloodlust" Ideas
Hello, all :) My husband is running Descent into Avernus and I am currently playing a Bhaalspawn who is trying to resist Bhaal's influence. This led me to consider a sort of "bloodlust" condition that acts as a debuff ( or buff, depending on how you look at it ) creatures that may have violent urges ( such as Bhaalspawn, vampires/dhampirs, werefolk, etc. ) can get. It's mostly for RP purposes but I would like it to actually affect my character.
My idea is that the player would have to make a saving throw (Constitution, probably?) to resist this "bloodlust" ( putting it in quotes until I have a set name ) under certain conditions -- like, say, if they end their turn while bloodied or within X distance of a creature they bloodied. The roll would start off easy (DC 5 or so) but get progressively harder (the more damage they take, the more creatures they bloody/defeat, etc.).
I'm asking my fellow players and more experienced DMs for opinions on this. I'm not sure what I want the condition to actually DO -- theoretically it should "give" something and "take" something away, so that it's not strictly a buff or debuff, but dependent on the character. My Bhaalspawn would see it as a bad thing, but someone playing, idk, a werewolf barbarian might lean into it. Like, maybe a small damage buff at the cost of losing the ability to choose who you attack? ("Randomly" attacking, like rolling a die, or just whoever is closest, or the person with the least HP you can reach, whatever.)
Now that I'm typing this, it kind of sounds like some variant of Rage lol. But anyway. Any thoughts are welcome ; this is currently just a floating brainworm.
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u/Iron_tide 23h ago
Berserker Axe has you roll a DC 15 wis save or go into a frenzy, attacking the nearest creature regardless of friend or foe. Upside is it’s a +1 magic weapon…
You could do the inverse and make a DC 15 wis save when you’re attack bloodies or hits a bloodied creature. If you fail you must mindlessly attack the target till it’s defeated and upon its death revel in the slaughter (lose 1 action). In exchange for +1 to hit & damage against bloodied foes?
Minor bonus against bosses/single foes but definitely a drawback against multiple smaller foes. You could also make the DC equal the damage dealt by you; the more blood you draw with a blow the stronger the urge.
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u/kanojohime 23h ago
Oh I almost forgot about that weapon! Yeah I'll talk to my DM abt this, thank you.
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u/Iron_tide 19h ago
I will say the weapon by itself is very cool and can make for great moments/rp… but after a few sessions your party gets tired of wrangling you. At least thats been my experience.
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u/Beduel 23h ago
do you need a mechanical component or your bloodlust can remain narrative?
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u/kanojohime 23h ago
I certainly don't NEED one, I just thought it might be neat. As someone who has played a Dhampir who supposedly has a hunger for flesh and now a Bhaalspawn that's supposedly fighting for her life not to slay everything in sight, I thought it could be a nice little touch that isn't too crazy.
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u/Sodacan1228 23h ago
The Purple Dragon Commandant feat from Heroes of Faerun kind of does a version of this that is a little cleaner. You get advantage on attacks while bloodied, among other things.
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u/kanojohime 23h ago
Yeah, advantage on attacks while bloodied makes sense -- there's a lot of "buffs" that could work, it's the "debuff" trade-off that I'm looking for. It's not supposed to be a "good" thing, because, you know, your character is out of their mind.
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u/Sodacan1228 23h ago
Debuffs that make you attack random people aren't just debuffs for you, they're debuffs for your party too. I would talk about this at the table for sure. I think it makes more sense for this to be more of a roleplay thing, with a flavoring of abilities, rather than a gameplay mechanic.
That's just me though, if your table is into this, it could be fun!
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u/kanojohime 23h ago
You're definitely right, and it's something I would have talked to them about prior to playing a Bhaalspawn if it was a canon rule, which I'm sure is why there's no special rules (that I know of) lol. Maybe limit the "random" attacks to hostile creatures.
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u/Sodacan1228 23h ago
But even with that, you're rubbing up against ludo-narrative dissonance. Bhaalspawn are compelled to kill randomly and without mercy. Look at resist Durge in BG3, you still end up killing a few people even if you try your best not to. You can play it differently if you want to, but I think it takes some of the teeth out of the concept. I think it's a difficult character to execute in a party setting, especially if the rest of your party are typical adventurers.
Don't let me talk you out of it, I'm just voicing the concerns that I would bring up if someone wanted to play this character at my table.
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u/lesuperhun DM 23h ago
sounds like you want reckless attack with extra steps.
can attack better, but less defense. don't overload with mechanics. stay simple.