Dark Arts Patch Notes

Races

Mummy

Although the mummy had some powerful racial features, its heavy downsides made the race frustrating to play. In most party compositions, the mummy's inability to be healed outweighed all of the perks given by the race, and made it far to easy for them to be killed, since a healing word couldn't bring them up from 0. So now the race can be healed (at half effectiveness). The damage of rotting fit was also improved to make using them a more viable option. Since enhanced unarmed strikes primarily effect monk builds, and mummy's ability score increases aren't good for monks, there isn't any problem with increasing this damage die.

Rotting Fist: d4 damage die 🡒 d6 damage die. Undead: Count as fully undead 🡒 count as undead and humanoid, healing that normally doesn't effect undead instead heals at half effectiveness.

Detect Balance Analysis Ability Score Increase: +12 - standard ASI Speed: -2 - only 25 speed Darkvision: +3 - standard 60 ft. darkvision Dreadful Glare: +3 - slightly weaker cause fear on a short rest cooldown Rotting Fist: +3 - 1d6 natural weapon (+2) with necrotic damage type (+1) Undead: +9 - vulnerable to anti-undead features (-1), halved healing from most spells (-4), immune to disease (+2), anti-poison (+5), no breathing (+4), no eating/drinking (+1), trance (+2) Notes: This gives a final Detect Balance score of 28, making it similar in strength to elves and dwarves. A lot of the power from being undead is situational, however, with many campaigns deriving little to no benefit from them being immune to disease and not needing to breathe or eat.

Wight

The wight had the same problems as the mummy, so it received the same change to undead.

Undead: Count as fully undead 🡒 count as undead and humanoid, healing that normally doesn't effect undead instead heals at half effectiveness.

Detect Balance Analysis Ability Score Increase: +12 - standard ASI Darkvision: +3 - standard 60 ft. darkvision Drain Life: +6 - having a zombie minion is slightly more powerful than a 2nd level spell 1/day Sunlight Sensivity: -3 Undead: +9 - vulnerable to anti-undead features (-1), halved healing from most spells (-4), immune to disease (+2), anti-poison (+5), no breathing (+4), no eating/drinking (+1), trance (+2) Notes: This gives a final Detect Balance score of 27, again similar in power to elves.

Shadar-kai

The shadar-kai was more balanced than the undead races, but could still use a small power boost, and also more flavorful ribbon features.

Ability Score Increase: Now allows either Intelligence or Charisma to be taken as the secondary increase, instead of only Intelligence. [NEW] Cold of Heart: Cold climate survival ribbon. [NEW] Fatespinner: Reroll a death save 1/long rest.

Detect Balance Analysis Ability Score Increase: +12 - almost standard ASI, choice between only two, like having subraces Darkvision: +4 - 120 ft. darkvision Cold of Heart: +1 - ignore penalties of extreme cold environment. Doomspeaker: +2 - skill proficiency Fatespinner: +2 - reroll death save once/long rest Shadow Jaunt: +6 - half-distance misty step available without an explicit cooldown, but often not at the right time, since misty step is often used to disengage, and you dont need to disengage from a dead enemy. Notes: This gives a final Detect Balance score of 27, again similar in power to elves.

Subclasses

Path of Blood

Many readers were disappointed by the original Path of Blood, so it has been reworked significantly. The original Path of Blood was mechanically a worse zealot, offering damage with a downside too steep for its payoff. The new Path of Blood is still meant to be a barbarian that sacrifices tankiness for damage, but now it does so while offering area damage, rather than single target damage, and it also allows the player greater control over when they want to use their features. With the increased power of the 3rd level feature, the 6th and 10th level features have been changed to both be non-combat features, solidifying the subclass' role as a tracker. Lastly, the 14th level feature has been changed to something more interesting, with more player interaction.

3rd - Bloodbound 🡒 Bloodrage [NEW] Damage: 1d4 + half level necrotic damage on hit 🡒 1d4 + half level necrotic damage in AoE at end of turn. Downside: 1d4 + half level necrotic damage when hit by bloodbound creature 🡒 1d4 + half level necrotic damage dealt to self at end of turn. Balance Notes: This feature is most comparable to the Path of the Storm Herald's desert aura. Compared to that aura, which deals 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 damage at 3rd, 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th levels (respectively), this one deals 3.5, 4.5, 7.5, 9.5, and 12.5 avg damage at those same levels, while also causing its user to take the same amount of damage. Bloodrage also doesn't require a bonus action to use, and is ally friendly. It generally deals approximately double the damage of desert aura, but the downside of losing health yourself should counteract that.

6th - Scent of Blood 🡒 Scent of Death Level: 10th 🡒 6th. Range: you can smell the scent of blood from up to 5 miles away 🡒 you gain the ability to smell the scent of the injured from up to a mile away. Once you get within 1 mile of the source 🡒 Once you get within 1000 feet of the source. Wording: injured enemy 🡒 injured creature.

10th - Sanguine Visions [NEW]

14th - Path of Destruction [NEW] Balance Notes: This feature is most comparable to the Path of the Berserker's Retaliation. While that feature only provides a reaction attack, accessing that reaction attack is far easier, and it should be expected to happen every turn, and can trigger even outside of rage. While path of destruction has a far stronger effect: anti-OA movement, a reaction attack, and spending a hit die - it shouldn't be expected to happen every turn outside of horde scenarios.

College of the Shadowfell

The College of the Shadowfell's 3rd level feature, Shadow Stride, was almost completely outclassed by the College of Glamour's Mantle of Inspiration (MoI). Its only bonus was a 17.5 foot avg speed bonus at 3rd level, increasing to a 32.5 avg speed bonus at 15th level, and that bonus could only be used in dim light or darkness. Compared to MoI's disengage + full speed movement for up to 5 allies + 5-14 temporary hit points for each target, Shadow Stride did comparatively little, with its only upside being that it didn't use up a reaction and activated on the target's turn. Shadow Stride is still weaker than MoI, but now its speed bonus in dim light and darkness is actually significant enough to be useful. Also, Shroud of Darkness was changed to give a bonus to both the bard and the user of bardic inspiration, granting this bard more defensive capabilities and therefore allowing it to better make use of the weapon proficiencies granted at 3rd level. The disadvantage granted by this feature was too consistent (5 full turns of disadvantage per short rest), however, so it was changed to only provide disadvantage to the first attack made against a target.

3rd - Shadow Stride [REMOVED] Activation Limitation: Shadow Stride no longer requires its user to be in dim light or darkness to be activated. [NEW] Secondary Bonus: Causes its user to move twice as fast in dim light or darkness, essentially treating them as reverse difficult terrain for the duration. Wording: you learn how to empower your ally’s movement within shadows and darkness 🡒 you can lace your words with shadow magic to grant an ally unnatural speed.

6th - Shroud of Darkness [REMOVED] Secondary Bonus: Shroud of Darkness no longer grants its user the ability to disengage or hide as a bonus action. [NEW] Twinned: Grants its effect to both the bard and the user of bardic inspiration, rather than just the user. Duration: Now only provides disadvantage to a single attack against each shrouded creature.

Blood Domain [NEW]

Night Domain

The Night Domain was balanced for the most part, and didn't need too many changes. The domain spell and Lunar Radiance changes are just bugfixes, essentially, and moonlight strike was just given a slow so it would have a more general purpose use, rather than only its niche usage.

Domain Spells 1st level: aura of shade 🡒 cause fear. aura of shade used to be a 1st level spell, I changed it to a 2nd level spell a while back without updating this

1st - Lunar Radiance [NEW] Multiclass Abuse Protection: Can now only be used once per turn, to prevent unloading all uses in 1-2 turns with extra attack multiclassing.

6th - Moonlight Strike [NEW] Slow: Now causes the affected target to have their speed reduced by 10 feet for the duration.

Circle of Twilight

The Circle of Twilight had a few core issues with the usability of its features, and particularly lacked any in-combat capabilities. While the subclass' core feature, ritual sacrifice, was mostly fine (it only recieved quality of life improvements), both its in-combat features and higher level features were underpowered. The subclass now gains its first true in-combat feature in Life from Death. Also, Soulseeing wasn't very useful - its usage was so limited that you would need to know that something is hiding from you for you to know to use the feature, and it wasn't any good in combat. Now it still isn't good in combat, but it is more forgiving. Ritualist also wasn't very useful - its first feature is just a ribbon, and its second feature didn't really address any problems that one would have at that level of play. The new ritual sacrifice improvement should allow for some interesting playstyles and solidify this druid as a utility focused one that always has something up its sleeve, while also providing some more much needed combat capability.

2nd - Ritual Sacrifice Time Limit: 1 hour 🡒 8 hours. Clarification: The feature now explicitly states that gentle repose can be used to extend the time limit, rather than leaving that to DM interpretation. Balance Notes: While this feature may look powerful at first glance, there really aren't that many good rituals that this feature gives access to. While the feature is probably better than the ritual caster feat, that feat isn't particularly high-tier and has anti-synergy with druid (considering druid is good at ritual casting already).

2nd - Life from Death [NEW] Balance Notes: Due to the way healing is balanced in 5e, this feature isn't as powerful as it looks. In 5e, it is almost always best to heal a creature as soon as they drop to 0, and never heal before then. While life from death provides ranged healing at the power level of cure wounds without using a full action, the fact that it can only be used when another creature is reduced to 0 makes it far less reliable than Healing Word - in fact, in many situations the healing will become available when it simply isn't needed. One advantage this has over healing word is the fact that it can be used during wild shape, but Circle of Twilight doesn't have a particularly powerful wild shape to begin with.

10th - Soulseeing Uses: wisdom modifier per long rest 🡒 twice per short or long rest. Dead Creature Time Limit: 1 hour 🡒 8 hours. [NEW] Extended Usage: The sight can now be extended to last up to 10 minutes if the druid uses their action each turn.

14th - Ritualist [REMOVED] Ritual Sacrifice Improvement: Ritual Sacrifice is no longer buffed to allow multiple spellcasts per body, and usage of lower CR bodies. [NEW] Ritual Sacrifice Improvement 2 - Electric Boogaloo: Ritual Sacrifice is now buffed to allow certain low-level non-rituals to be cast as rituals Below is a list of official spells that the new ritualist feature can use. While it provides a lot of utility, none of the spells should be too strong for this level. Be careful combining this feature with other homebrew spell supplements, however. animal friendship armor of agathys charm person detect evil and good disguise self expeditious retreat false life fog cloud hex hunter's mark longstrider mage armor protection from evil and good shield of faith silent image snare aid alter self arcane lock barkskin continual flame cordon of arrows darkness darkvision enhance ability flame blade invisibility levitate locate object magic weapon mind spike nystul's magic aura pass without trace protection from poison rope trick see invisibility spider climb spike growth suggestion warding bond web zone of truth

Blood Knight

When I initially released blood knight, a lot of people thought the class was unsatisfying to play, as it got very few spells known and spell slots. To fix this, I improved slot progression, and with this update I am increasing their number of spells known. However, in fixing unsatisfying features, I made the subclass too powerful. To remedy this, I limited spell slot regeneration (now the spellcasting is mostly long-rest based, with the ability to regain a single spell slot on a short rest) and changed blood die progression.

3rd - Blood Well Spell Slot Regeneration: all slots return on short or long rest 🡒 all slots return on long rest, once per day a single slot can be restored during a short rest. Initial # of Blood Dice: 3 🡒 2. Blood Die Progression: upgrades at 7th, 15th, and 18th levels 🡒 upgrades at 7th, 10th, and 15th levels

3rd - Hemomancy Spells Known: 1-4 🡒 2-7.

Way of the Bloodied Fist

Just a few small buffs to the subclass. The damage spell, bloodburn, was removed from the 3rd level feature and replaced with a more utility based spell, blackblood, so the spell remains relevant later on, when a 2nd level pure damage spell would be outdamaged by simply taking the attack action w/ flurry of blows. The "below half of your hit point maximum" requirement was removed from Transfusion, as it was unnecessarily limiting. Dominion of Blood had its duration increased to make it more viable outside of combat, but was changed to use concentration to make it less reliable in combat.

3rd - Sanguine Arts Spells: bloodburn, blood seal, and sanguine rope, cast at lowest level 🡒 blackblood, blood seal, and sanguine rope, cast at 2nd level.

10th - Transfusion [REMOVED] Healing Requirement: Transfusion now always applies its healing, rather than only when you are below half your hit point maximum.

14th - Dominion of Blood [NEW] Concentration: Now requires concentration [NEW] Range: Now has a specified range Time Limit: 1 minute 🡒 1 hour.

Oath of the Grave

The Oath of the Grave has received some small changes, particularly to its channel divinities. It has received a small buff to its first channel divinity, and a more significant change to its second, reducing its power for single target damage but opening up more opportunities for multiple targets and utility. It has also received a change to its capstone that should make the ability less easy to abuse.

3rd - Icy Repose [NEW] Damage: Now deals cold damage to creatures that fail the save. Notes: Since other equivalent paladin channel divinities target multiple creature types, this one can have slightly more power behind it since it solely targets undead.

3rd - Vow of Death 🡒 Restbringer [NEW] On-hit effect: Now causes targets hit to be unable to heal, in addition to preventing them from becoming undead. Cast Time: 1 bonus action 🡒 1 action. Target: targets a creature, causing its effect for your attacks against that creature 🡒 targets your weapon, causing its effect for your attacks with that weapon.

15th - Soul of Demise [NEW] Slow: Marked creatures are now slowed, decreasing their speed by 10 feet. [NEW] Duration Increase: Increases the duration of restbringer to 10 minutes. Wording: Updated to reflect the change from vow of death to restbringer.

20th - Reaper of Winter Health Regain: regain 20 hitpoints when a creature dies 🡒 gain 20 temporary hit points when a creature dies. Notes: Regaining hit points on kill can be problematic when there are a large number of enemies. Since temporary hit points don't stack, there is less possibility of huge healing, but the additional benefit of being able to gain temporary hit points while at full hit points.

Nightstalker

Nightstalker had a few minor usability issues, as well as an overly complex 3rd level feature. While the 3rd level feature is still quite similar, it was split into two features, and the pseudo-spells of the old version were replaced with actual spells. Now the familiar's attacks can be used to proc Hunter's Mark and other features, circumventing some of the anti-synergy that this subclass used to have with the way ranger plays. As the spell-like features were removed, the 7th level feature was changed to activate off of spells instead. Lastly, the 15th level feature was changed to another reaction attack and sentinel-esque ability, improving the subclass' battlefield control.

3rd - Shadow Familiar [REMOVED] Pseudo-Spells: Shadow familiars no longer have spell-slot activated abilities Wording: takes the form of a spectral, untargetable creature 🡒 takes the form of a spectral creature that cannot be targeted or damaged. Movement: familiars move only when attacking 🡒 familiars have a separate movement speed. [NEW] Empowered Attacks: A familiar's attacks benefit from any spells or features that activate on a melee weapon attack, such as Hunter's Mark, Zephyr Strike, or Ensnaring Strike, but not on features that require an actual weapon, like fighting styles. Cat: next attack made against the target 🡒 next attack made against the target by a creature other than you or the cat. Notes: The change to the cat is to make it less easy to grant yourself permanent advantage, which can be abused with the familiar's new capability to benefit from spells and class features, and solidify this choice of familiar as a more supportive one.

3rd - Nightstalker Magic [NEW]

7th - Shadowy Transposition Activation Requirement: activates when the familiar's special action is used 🡒 activates when a Ranger spell is cast.

15th - Midnight Bulwark [NEW]

Shadow

Shadow had a few major usability issues with its severed shadow feature, which made the feature difficult and unrewarding to use. Now that feature should be more impactful, as it can be used to constantly grant sneak attack, as long as the shadow doesn't take damage. While separating from your shadow had to be changed to take an action, so that this new use wouldn't be overpowered, the fact that moving the shadow takes no action should make up for this downside. Overall, the subclass should be somewhat more powerful, though it is also indirectly affected by the nerf to Umbraturgy.

3rd - Severed Shadow [NEW] Sneak Attack Granting: It is now explicitly stated that the shadow can count as an ally for the purpose of granting sneak attack. Activation Times: Separating from your shadow now takes an action, rather than a bonus action. Moving your shadow takes no action, and teleporting to it still takes a bonus action. Separation Cooldown: Severing your shadow can now be done an unlimited number of times, only teleporting has a short rest/long rest cooldown. Wording: Some clarifications, including that the shadow makes saving throws, can trigger opportunity attacks, and that you can reunite with it without teleporting.

Shadow Simulacrum/Master of Shadows Wording: Updated to reflect the changes to severed shadow, no direct changes.

Deathtouched

Deathtouched sorcerer used to be more powerful in the early levels, but then I made the invisibility feature take a minute to use, which severely nerfed the feature. Since the subclass had begun to lack a 1st-level feature that was useful in combat, I have added increased health to improve the power of its earlier levels, and I pushed the upgrade to the invisibility feature from 6th level to 3rd. The 14th level feature was nerfed, as it gave too much defensive power for its level - it should be used for going through walls, not just for quick and easy resistance. It was given a small amount of power back through a speed boost, however.

1st - Ghostly Concealment 🡒 Ghostly Body [NEW] Health Increase: The feature now additionally increases your hit point maximum by 1 per level. Sorcery Point Usage: You can now activate the ability as a bonus action starting at 3rd level, rather than 6th.

6th - Shadowed Presence [REMOVED] Incorporated into Ghostly Body.

18th - Incorporeal Figure [REMOVED] Resistances: The feature no longer grants resistances to most damage types. [NEW] Speed Boost: Now grants a 15 foot speed bonus.

18th - Possession Wording: must succeed on a Charisma saving throw 🡒 must succeed on a Charisma saving throw against your sorcerer spell save DC.

Vampiric Ancestry

The vampiric sorcerer has been changed to better fill its niche as a melee sorcerer, and to better fit its vampiric flavor. The previous iteration of this subclass couldn't function well as a melee combatant without multiclassing or feats, as it lacked the AC to survive in the front lines. Now, with armor proficiency the subclass should be able to hold its own, aided by the additional healing from its new bite feature. Vampiric regeneration was nerfed and the health increase was removed, to give more room for martial power increases, and to disincentivize players from picking the class just to benefit from these powerful defensive features while just playing like a normal backline sorcerer. Lastly, Unholy Thrall was added to make the subclass better fulfill the fantasy of a high level vampiric character.

1st - Martial Prowess [REMOVED] Health Increase: The feature no longer increases your hit point maximum by 1 per level. [NEW] Armor Proficiency: Now grants proficiency in light and medium armor [NEW] Claws: Your charisma-based unarmed strikes now deal slashing damage, but cannot be used with a shield. [NEW] Die Progression: The die progression has now been incorporated into this feature, rather than being stated in the 6th level feature. The die also now progresses to a d10 at 14th level. [NEW] Magic Claws: Claw attacks counting as magical has now been incorporated into this feature, rather than the 6th level feature.

6th - Vampiric Regeneration Temporary Hit Point Gain: half your sorcerer level 🡒 a third of your sorcerer level.

6th - Extra Attack 🡒 Deadly Bite [NEW] Bite: The second attack granted by this feature is now a bite, which deals piercing damage and can be empowered with sorcery points to heal. [REMOVED] Claw Modification: The 6th level modifications to the claws are now incorporated into Martial Prowess.

18th - Unholy Thrall [NEW]

The Archlich

The Archlich had a somewhat strange kit, that I didn't feel truly encompassed the thematics of a lich. So I fully rebuilt the subclass to better fit the theme, with more features that emphasize capturing souls, and a phylactery-like feature. However, I tried to keep the emphasis on defensive features, like before, so that the playstyle of the class wouldn't change too much from before.

1st - Soulkeeper [NEW] Balance Notes: If your first thought was "12 + Dex + Cha AC to a spellcaster? That lets you get 22 AC!" then let me explain. While the feature is powerful, concentration is a huge thing for every caster, and having to choose between this and Hex has to be a competitive decision, even moreso at higher levels when concentration becomes even more important. Also, at the earlier levels, where concentration is less important, this feature is far less powerful. Assuming point buy, this feature will grant 18 AC at level 1, the same amount as a Hexblade with scale mail and a shield. (and a hexblade has a whole other feature at level 1)

6th - Phylactery Ring [NEW] Balance Notes: This feature might also look more powerful than it actually is. The revival is far from guaranteed - while it is expected that soulkeeper will be active most of the time, any time that you are in danger of being reduced to 0 hit points, you are making Constitution saving throws to maintain concentration, and even the damage that reduces you to 0 forces you to first make a concentration check to make sure your phylactery ring activates.

10th - Undying Flesh [NEW] Con Save Proficiency: Now grants proficiency in Constitution saving throws

14th - Souleater [NEW]

Warlock Extras

The Pact of the Cloak has been completely revamped, as the old version was boring, not particularly strong, and didn't really fit into the thematics of Dark Arts. Sanguine Blade and Sanguine Spear were both swapped out, as they weren't particularly well designed. Mirror Blade fulfills a currently unfulfilled niche of the blade lock, two-weapon fighting, and Sanguine Seeker offers a more unique eldritch blast upgrade.

Pact of the Cloak [NEW] Notes: The main part this feature is the object summoning, the armor part is moreso for flavor than mechanics. Since the pact itself doesn't grant proficiency in any armor types, it essentially just halves the weight of your armor (inconsequential in most games), or removes the disadvantage on Dexterity(Stealth) checks if you have proficiency in other armor (less inconsequential, but still not too powerful).

Mantle of the Everlasting [REMOVED] Level Prerequisite: This invocation can now be picked up right at 3rd level. [REMOVED] AC bonus: This invocation no longer grants a 10 + dex + cha AC, as that is too similar to Archlich's new feature. [NEW] Armor Proficiency: Now grants proficiency in medium and heavy armor, allowing your cloak to act as any armor.

Mirror Blade [NEW]

Sanguine Blade [REMOVED]

Sanguine Spear 🡒 Sanguine Seeker [NEW] [REMOVED] Splash Damage: No longer allows you to spend hit points to deal damage to a second target [NEW] On-kill effect: Now allows you to target a secondary target when you kill with eldritch blast.

School of Reawakening

Only changes here are wording improvements

2nd - Conjuration/Necromancy Savant 🡒 Dual Savant

2nd - Reawaken Soul Wording: Clarified the starting CR cap, and improved wording on the CR cap progression.

School of Hemomancy

The School of Hemomancy was just a tad underpowered, and was often less synergistic with hemomancy spells than just the school of necromancy. To amend this, I gave the subclass the additional hit points needed to safely cast hemomancy spells, and later regeneration to further mitigate hemomancy costs. Also, Deepen Wound was changed to work with more than just spell attacks, since most hemomancy spells don't use spell attacks. To mitigate the increased power granted by this change, it can now only activate once per turn per creature.

2nd - Arcane Endurance [NEW] Health Increase: The feature now additionally increases your hit point maximum by 2, then 1 per level. Temporary HP Duration: 1 minute 🡒 1 hour.

6th - Deepen Wound [NEW] All Spells: Now activates on all spells that deal damage, not just spell attacks that hit [NEW] Turn Limit: Now can only damage a creature once per turn

14th - Dance with Death [NEW]

Spells

Animate Blood Cast Time: 1 action 🡒 1 bonus action. Damage: 5d4 6d4. Cast Effect: create droplets 🡒 create and move droplets. Higher Levels Effects: 1d4 per 2 levels 🡒 1d4 per level. Balance Notes: Animate blood is a spell that looks a lot stronger than it is in play. I've seen multiple people claim that the spell is OP, when its actually weaker than most spells of its type in terms of damage. While it can deal 60d4 damage, that number is easily taken out of context. Call Lightning can deal 300d10 damage. It's never going to, but it can. Consider the following comparison of average damage per round: Round Animate Blood Melf's Minute Meteors + Firebolt Call Lightning Spirit Guardians + Sacred Flame 1 15 area 14 area 16.5 area 13.5 area 2 30 area 28 area, 11 single target, 39 total 33 area 27 area, 9 single target, 36 total 3 45 area 42 area, 22 single target, 64 total 49.5 area 40.5 area, 18 single target, 58.5 total 4 60 area 42 area, 33 single target, 75 total 66 area 54 area, 27 single target, 81 total 5 75 area 42 area, 44 single target, 86 total 82.5 area 67.5 area, 36 single target, 103.5 total The pattern continues, with Animate Blood always being behind Call Lighting and Spirit Guardians in single target damage, and only barely getting ahead of Melf's if the fight goes on longer than expected. Its only advantage is its relative stealthiness, and its usage as a scouting tool. As a pure damage tool, the spell is never worth its hp cost.

Aura of Shade Range: 30 feet 🡒 90 feet. Area of Effect: 15-foot cube 🡒 15-foot radius sphere. Invisibility Timing: become invisible at start of turn 🡒 become invisible at end of turn. Balance Notes: Aura of Shade is low-level in-combat invisibility, a counterpart of Invisibility's out of combat utility. Since the aura can't move and is visible, this isn't a good hiding tool, but it is a good way to give advantage to ranged attackers without concentration. The lack of concentration is a double edged sword, however, as the spell can benefit enemies as well as allies. If enemies advance into the aura and somehow force the players out of it, they can use its effect to benefit themselves, and the players can't just drop concentration if this happens.

Banshee's Wail Range (typo fix): 30-foot radius 🡒 20-foot radius. Wording: Now specifies when unconscious creatures wake up if they aren't damaged or shaken awake. [NEW] Deafening: Deafens targets that fail their save for 1 minute. Balance Notes: The new deafening effect provides a slight amount of utility - in combat, deafening doesn't have a huge effect. However, it also prevents chaining this spell with multiple casts, since deafened targets aren't effected.

Blackblood Poison Duration: 1 minute 🡒 1 round. [NEW] On-hit damage: Creatures that hit you in melee range take poison damage immediately Higher Levels Effects: 1d4 temporary hit points per level 🡒 5 temporary hit points per level. Balance Notes: Since the new poison effect triggers on-hit and only lasts until the start of a creature's next turn, this now provides multiattack defense, rather than the more all-encompassing defense it provided before. A creature that only attacks once per round makes no attacks at disadvantage, but its disadvantage on ability checks can still be exploited. However, with these changes the spell now deals significantly more damage.

Bloodburn School: necromancy 🡒 evocation. [NEW] Creature-type Immunity: Constructs, elementals, and undead are now immune to this spell Balance Notes: This spell wasn't changed much. It probably should've been evocation from the beginning, and flavor-wise creatures without blood should've always been immune to this spell.

Bloodcurse Damage: 4d10 per long rest 🡒 3d4 per 8 hours. [NEW] Delayed Effect: The spell doesn't poison its target until after an hour Balance Notes: Delaying the effect makes it more reasonable to have a creature not realize that a spell had been cast on them, making the spell a better fit for its intended stealthy usage. Having the spell deal damage every 8 hours rather than every long rest makes more sense from a flavor perspective, and makes the spell less likely to kill its target the first time the target takes damage, which in turn improves the target's chance of being cured (since a creature might not realize how dangerous the curse it before they start taking damage from it, and therefore not seek to get it cured until after taking the first instance of damage)

Bloodletting [REMOVED] Advantage: The spell no longer grants advantage to its roll if its target is below half health Balance Notes: This spell was probably too powerful, particularly at higher levels and against hordes, where the temporary hit point gain can be expected (and on a crit, that temporary hit point gain can be quite substantial). The advantage-granting wasn't needed to make this spell worth its hit point cost, which becomes increasingly meaningless at higher levels.

Blood Seal Cast Time: 1 action 🡒 1 bonus action. Temporary Hit Points: d8 base 🡒 d10 base. [NEW] Ritual: The spell now has the ritual tag (again) Balance Notes: I nerfed this spell too much. The ritual tag has been re-added to the spell, and its normal casting time is now a bonus action so its still useful when not cast as a ritual.

Bloodsight Hit Point Thresholds: 3/4, 1/2, and 1/4 🡒 1/2 and 1/4. Improved Sight: when below 1/4 hp 🡒 when below 1/2 hp. [NEW] Higher Levels Effects: The spell now improves in duration when higher-level slots are used. Balance Notes: Including the 3/4 threshold was just unnessary bookkeeping, and the sight improvement was made more readily avialable to make the spell more useful. The higher levels effect was added because theres no reason for there not to be one.

Crourwhip Higher Levels Effects: 1d6 damage per level 🡒 1d6 damage per two levels. Balance Notes: Including the 3/4 threshold was just unnessary bookkeeping, and the sight improvement was made more readily avialable to make the spell more useful. The higher levels effect was added because theres no reason for there not to be one.

Danse Macabre 🡒 Memento Mori Notes: The spell recieved no changes, it just needed to be renamed due to the existence of Danse Macabre in Xanathar's Guide to Everything (even though this spell was called that first).

Hemoplague [NEW] Higher Levels Effects: The spell now increases in damage when higher-level slots are used. Balance Notes: Why not.

Inflict Pain [NEW] Higher Levels Effects: The spell now increases in damage when higher-level slots are used. Balance Notes: Why not.

Lacerate Wording: Now specifies that the bolts strike simultaneously Balance Notes: This wording update prevents some abuse, particularly it prevents cleric's potent spellcasting from activating twice with this spell.

Life Thread Damage: d12, no save 🡒 Charisma saving throw or 2d6. [REMOVED]Downside: The cantrip no longer inflicts its damage to the player if the player moves. Balance Notes: While formerly the cantrip had a fairly large downside (the enemy could just shove the player away, forcing them to take the damage instead), there was really no reason for an enemy to know about this, so the DM couldn't exactly take advantage of this downside without metagaming. So I removed the downside and gave the cantrip a save to counteract that buff. With that save added, however, the damage could definitely be increased to 2d6. The cantrip needs to do a significant amount of damage to fit its purpose of forcing the enemy to stand and fight.

Rain of Blood Radius: 30-foot 🡒 45-foot. Balance Notes: Increasing the radius should allow the spell to deal more damage before creatures escape its radius.

Shadow Stride Cast Time: 1 action 🡒 1 bonus action. Duration: 10 minutes 🡒 1 hour. Balance Notes: Far step had too many advantages over this spell, so it deserved a power increase.

Sanguine Rope Higher Levels Effects: 50 pounds per level 🡒 100 pounds per level. Balance Notes: The weight increase wasn't enough to let you pick up most creatures, even when cast at very high levels, so it was increased.

Sanguine Sanctum [NEW] Concentration: Now has a duration that requires concentration. Balance Notes: The spell's powerful defensive capabilities shouldn't be so easily paired with other offensive spells that can be concentrated on while within the sanctum.

Tides of Blood [NEW] Creature Type Requirement: Bodies used cannot be constructs, elementals, or undead. Damage: 4d8 base 🡒 4d6 base. Balance Notes: The creature type requirement is just for flavor. The damage nerf is due to the fact that this spell's cost can be completely removed with just 4 creatures, so its damage shouldn't be too much higher than fireball without spending hit points. (though it should be somewhat higher, since it puts the caster in more danger through requiring them to be closer, and in most situations the cost can only be fully mitigated when a fight is already well underway, which isn't usually the ideal time to use an area blast spell.

Umbraturgy [NEW] Hide in the Shadows: Now has the option of allowing two creatures in darkness to hide as a bonus action. [REMOVED] Stealth in the Dark: No longer has the option of granting advantage on a Dexterity (Stealth) check in darkness. Effect 1 Duration: 1 minute 🡒 1 hour. Balance Notes: This spell used to provide advantage on basically every stealth check made at night or underground, which is too powerful for a cantrip, especially one that rogues get access to. The duration increase allows the spell to match similar cantrips in the duration of its shape-manipulation.

Monsters

There were numerous changes to the monster stat blocks to make them more balanced and fun, a few of them large but most of them insignificant. I doubt anyone would really care enough to read them if I put them here.