Bloodletting Wand

Bloodletting Wand January 18, 2024

Wand, very-rare, requires attunement

dnd dnd-5e tier-2 tier-3 tier-4

Wand at the ready, Yumonn winced as her hand tightened around the barbed grip of the wand. Blood squeezed out from between her fingers, bubbling and then disappearing, leaving behind only thin wisps of smoke. The price she was about to pay would pale in comparison to the alternative, and she began the final incantation.

The wand features a grip dotted with razor-sharp spikes. While it can be safely used to cast spells, the wielder can choose to grip the wand tightly, causing it to absorb some of their blood and infuse their next spell with blood magic.

When using the wand as their spellcasting focus a spellcaster can choose to enhance their next spell at the expense of their own life force. When doing so, they suffer 2d6 necrotic damage and their max hp is also reduced by that amount until a long rest. When casting their next damage-dealing spell, they can add 4d6 necrotic damage.

If the wielder is brought to 0 hp by using the wand in this way, they instantly die and their soul becomes absorbed into the wand. To bring back an adventurer who died in this manner, the wand must first be destroyed before the player can be resurrected. Any attempt to resurrect the adventurer without first freeing their soul will cause the attempt to fail.

Alternate image of Bloodletting Wand

DM Notes

If the players discover that the item is cursed, or have another reason to get rid of it, destroying the wand can become a quest. Maybe a friendly NPC has succumbed to the allure of power that the wand provides but is slowly killing themselves as they use it. To destroy the wand, Dispel Magic at 5th level can be cast, or a powerful being can be bargained with. In the wrong hands, the wand may have disastrous consequences.

Attribution

This work includes material taken from the System Reference Document 5.1 (“SRD 5.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC and available at https://dnd.wizards.com/resources/systems-reference-document. The SRD 5.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.