Sanguinist

The iconic Sanguinist, Vaer.

Blood is the liquid that fuels the world. Whether it be literally or metaphorically, the power of it is undeniable; Still only a select few truly capitalize on its capabilities. Whether it be through intense study, or a natural inclination, you've found a way to use your own life's essence as a conduit for magical power.

Initial Proficiencies

At 1st level, you gain the listed proficiency ranks in the following statistics. You are untrained in anything not listed unless you gain a better proficiency rank in some other way.

Progression of Proficiencies is also shown here alongside on the class table itself.

Perception

Trained in Perception

• 9th Expert in Perception

Saving Throws

Expert in Fortitude

Trained in Reflex

Trained in Will

• 5th Expert in Reflex,
• 7th Expert in Will,
• 15th Master in Fortitude; Critical Success in when getting a result of Success

Skills

Trained in your blood specialization’s given skills

Trained in a number of additional skills equal to 3 plus your Intelligence modifier

• 3rd Can raise a skill to Expert
• 7th Can raise a skill to Master
• 15th Can raise a skill to Legendary

Attacks

Trained in martial weapons

Trained in simple weapons

Trained in unarmed attacks

• 11th Expert in martial weapons
• 11th Expert in simple weapons
• 11th Expert in unarmed attacks

Defenses

Trained in light armor

Trained in medium armor

Trained in unarmored defense

• 13th Expert in light armor
• 13th Expert in medium armor
• 13th Expert in unarmored defense

Spells

Trained in spell attacks and DCs

• 7th Expert in spell attacks and DCs
• 15th Master in spell attacks and DCs
• 19th Legendary in spell attacks and DCs

Class DC

Trained in sanguinist class DC

Class Features

You gain these features as a Sanguinist.

Abilities gained at higher levels list the levels at which you gain them next to the features' names.

Ancestry and Background

In addition to the abilities provided by your class at 1st level, you have the benefits of your selected ancestry and background.

Initial Proficiencies

At 1st level, you gain a number of proficiencies that represent your basic training. These proficiencies are noted at the start of this class.

Blood Specialization

At 1st level, choose your blood specialization, which determines your spellcasting tradition, some skills you become trained in, and a cantrip you gain from your tradition. The list of blood specializations can be found here.

Blood Points

As a sanguinist, you've learnt to extract magical energy from your own lifeblood. Starting 1st level, at the start of every day, through a mixture of bloodletting and ritual, you draw the energy from your blood and convert it into magical power. You gain a number of blood points equal to your level + 1, which you can use for your bloodcasting and various other magical abilities you gain from your class. The amount of blood points you have can never go above the value you start with every day.

Some actions can help you recover lost blood points. When an ability calls for Rejuvenation, you regain 1 blood point, plus an additional blood point for every 5 levels you have beyond the 1st.

Bloodcasting

Whether through study, eldritch revelation, fanatic obsession or through survival, you’ve realized how you can utilize the magical energy you draw out from your blood for spellcasting. You can cast spells using the Cast a Spell activity. (see Casting Spells of the Pathfinder Rules for more information).

At 1st level, you can prepare a 1st-rank spell and five cantrips each morning, however you cast spells of 1st rank and higher very differently from other spellcasters. When you Cast a Spell from your spell slots, you do not expend the spell, rather you use up a number of blood points equal to the spell's rank. You cannot cast a spell if you have less blood points than it costs to cast it.

As you increase in level as a sanguinist, the highest rank of spells you can cast from spell slots increase. This is shown on your Class Features table. At 3rd level, you gain a second spell slot, in which you can prepare a spell that is the second highest-rank you can cast.

Some of your spells require you to attempt a spell attack roll to see how effective they are, or have your enemies roll against your spell DC (typically by attempting a saving throw). Since your key ability is Constitution, your spell attack rolls and spell DCs use your Constitution modifier. Details on calculating these statistics appear in Spell Attack Rolls, found in the Player Core.

Heightening Spells

When you get spell slots of 2nd rank and higher, you can fill those slots with stronger versions of lower-rank spells. This increases the spell’s rank, heightening it to match the spell slot. Many spells have specific improvements when they are heightened to certain ranks. However, if you wish to prepare a lower-rank spell in a spell slot without increasing its rank, you can, deciding the spell's rank when preparing it.

Swapping Spells

Unlike other casters, you can change the spells prepared in your spell slots more freely. When you Refocus, you can change what spells you have prepared in your spell slots. This works just like when you first prepare your spells for the day.

You can also make adjustments in a pinch using the Spell Swap action, allowing you to use your blood points to quickly replace a prepared spell in a spell slot.

Spell Fatigue

Your method of spellcasting has it's own shortcomings. Casting repeatedly is arduous and puts great strain on your body. When you cast from a spell slot more than once, or you cast the same spell from different slots more than once, the blood point cost for the spell slot or for that specific spell increases by one for every subsequent casting until the end of your next turn. This effect is known as spell fatigue. The duration for this effect resets every time you cast from that slot, or cast that specific spell before the effect elapses.

Spell fatigue on a specific slot resets when you reprepare that slot using Spell Swap.

Cantrips

Some of your spells are cantrips. A cantrip is a special type of spell that doesn't use spell slots or blood points to cast. You can cast a cantrip at will, any number of times per day. A cantrip is automatically heightened to half your level rounded up. For example, as a 1st-level sanguinist, your cantrips are 1st-level spells, and as a 5th-level sanguinist, your cantrips are 3rd-level spells.

Learning Spells

At 1st level, you learn two 1st-level spells of your choice and four cantrips of your choice plus one cantrip from your blood specialization. You choose these from the common spells from the tradition corresponding to your blood specialization, or from other spells from that tradition to which you have access.

Each time you gain a level, you add two more spells to your spell collection. These spells can be of any level, up to the highest rank spell slot you have. You can use the Learn a Spell exploration activity to add other spells that you find in your adventures (See Learn a Spell, found in the Player Core).

Sanguine Spells

Sanguine spells are a special type of spell that you've created to work in tandem with your bloodcasting. They are a type of focus spell. It costs 1 Focus Point to cast a focus spell, and you start with a focus pool of 1 Focus Point. You refill your focus pool during your daily preparations, and you can regain 1 Focus Point by spending 10 minutes using the Refocus activity to concentrate and to treat your Scars.

Focus spells are automatically heightened to half your level rounded up, much like cantrips. Focus spells don’t require spell slots, and you can’t cast them using spell slots. Taking feats can give you more focus spells and increase the size of your focus pool, though your focus pool can never hold more than 3 Focus Points. The full rules for focus spells appear in Chapter 7.

You gain the blood fuel focus spell, allowing you to regain blood points by sacrificing your vitality.

Skill Feats - Level 2

At 2nd level and every 2 levels thereafter, you gain a skill feat. Skill feats can be found in Chapter 5 and have the skill trait. You must be trained or better in the corresponding skill to select a skill feat.

Sanguinist Feats - Level 2

At 2nd level and every even-numbered level thereafter, you gain a sanguinist class feat.

General Feats - Level 3

At 3rd level and every 4 levels thereafter, you gain a general feat. General feats are listed in Chapter 5.

Skill Increases - Level 3

At 3rd level and every 2 levels thereafter, you gain a skill increase. You can use this increase either to increase your proficiency rank to trained in one skill you’re untrained in, or to increase your proficiency rank in one skill in which you’re already trained to expert.

At 7th level, you can use skill increases to increase your proficiency rank to master in a skill in which you’re already an expert, and at 15th level, you can use them to increase your proficiency rank to legendary in a skill in which you’re already a master.

Ability Boosts - Level 5

At 5th level and every 5 levels thereafter, you boost four different ability scores. You can use these ability boosts to increase your ability scores above 18. Boosting an ability score increases it by 1 if it’s already 18 or above, or by 2 if it starts out below 18.

Ancestry Feats - Level 5

In addition to the ancestry feat you started with, you gain an ancestry feat at 5th level and every 4 levels thereafter. The list of ancestry feats available to you can be found in your ancestry’s entry in Chapter 2.

Reflex Expertise - Level 5

Your reflexes are lightning fast. Your proficiency rank for Reflex saves increases to expert.

Will Expertise - Level 7

Your mental defenses are an iron fortress. Your proficiency rank for Will saves increases to expert.

Expert Spellcaster - Level 7

Extended practice of blood magic has improved your capabilities. Your proficiency ranks for spell attack rolls and spell DCs increase to expert.

Perception Expertise - Level 9

You remain alert to threats around you. Your proficiency rank for Perception increases to expert.

Weapon Expertise - Level 11

Through a combination of magic and training, you’ve learned how to wield weapons more effectively. You gain expert proficiency in simple and martial weapons and unarmed strikes.

Medium Armor Expertise - Level 13

The flow of magic and your training combine to help you avoid attacks. Your proficiency rank in light and medium armor and unarmored defense increases to expert.

Weapon Specialization - Level 13

You’ve learned how to inflict greater injuries with the weapons you know best. You deal an additional 2 damage with weapons and unarmed attacks in which you are an expert. This damage increases to 3 if you’re a master, and 4 if you’re legendary.

Master Spellcaster - Level 15

You command superlative spellcasting ability. Your proficiency ranks for spell attack rolls and spell DCs increase to master.

Juggernaut - Level 15

Your body is accustomed to physical hardship and resistant to a wide range of ailments. Your proficiency rank for Fortitude saves increases to master. When you roll a success on a Fortitude save, you get a critical success instead.

Unending Bloodwell - Level 19

You become unprecedented at bloodcasting. Once per minute, you can reduce the blood point cost of a spell slot by 1 to a minimum of 0 blood points. This effect stays in place until the spell is cast or until you use Spell Swap.

Legendary Spellcaster - Level 19

You are a consummate spellcaster, with a comprehensive understanding of the art of bloodcasting. Your proficiency ranks for spell attack rolls and spell DCs increase to legendary.