I like blood mages, and I think there's empty design space for a non-mundane that doesn't cast spells.
My take is inspired by the 3.5 Warlock, with PF's Ki Pool and Ninja Tricks/Rage Powers.
I'm not putting in too many hard numbers yet, but I'd like to know what people would want a Hemomancer to be capable of.
A Hemomancer makes use of Charisma for save DCs, but his blood pool is based on Con.
Here are the mechanics I'm working on.
Bloodshift is the bread-and-butter offensive skill of the Hemomancer, scaling to do 1d6 per odd level. It has Close Range (30ft + 5ft/2 levels), and can be used as a Push or a Pull. When Pushing, the Hemomancer expels his own blood to strike his foe (a ray, ranged touch attack). On a Pull, the Hemomancer draws the blood of his foe (Fort Save for half damage). You cannot Pull on bloodless creatures.
Blood Pool: Like a Ki Pool. As long as 1 point remains, a Hemomancer restores 1 point whenever a creature fails its save against his Pull (some scaling HD min ala Gunslinger grit so you can't just drain rats).
Blood Shield: Immediate action for 1 point to get short duration temp HP.
Forceful Shift: Free action for 1 point to add Cha to Bloodshift damage for 1min (kind of boring, would prefer something else)
Blood Gift: (These are like Ninja Tricks/Rage Powers/etc, and I'd like more ideas for these. A Hemomancer gets one every even level. Should be split by below level 10 availability, and post 10, but I'm not bothering with that yet)
Blood Blade: Spend a point to imbue a weapon with your blood for a minute, or create a weapon out of your blood (dagger stats). A Blood Blade adds your bloodshift damage to damage dealt, does not function when used by anyone else)
Blood Brothers: Gain benefits of Status on creatures that allow you to mix their blood with theirs (limited amount), can also be used on unwilling creatures that are helpless, they get to save every day.
Greater Blood Brothers: Greater Status
Blood Control: Spend a point to Command, possibly a greater version to Dominate.
Blood from a Stone: Can Pull on bloodless creatures (should they get a bonus to save?)
Blood Price: Reduce Con to increase Blood Pool. Can be taken up to 3 times.
By Will Sustained: Use Cha instead of Con for HP (high prereqs, including Blood Price)
Clot: Spend 1 point to gain fast healing X for a short duration, or spend 2 points to grant it to a nearby target.
Ebb and Flow: Get bonuses for using Push after Pull, and vice-versa
Unstoppable Push: Can spend a point to make a Push work as a line (Reflex for half instead of ranged touch attack)
Sickening Pull: When a creature fails a save vs. Pull, it is sickened for a short duration.
Nauseating Pull: As above but Nausea. May need some balancing factor.
Makes me think of Vladimir from League of Legends, whose powers I really liked. How about an ability where the hemomancer can melt into a puddle or cloud of blood? An ability that can sicken someone or put diseases into their blood?
I would call bloodshifts abilities something other than "pull" and "push" since both of those are game mechanics. How about blood ray and transfusion?
Shouldn't push cost blood points? I would also have pull do significantly less damage than push because it costs nothing and always will do damage.
I am taking heavy inspiration from Vlad, as well as Blood Benders (from Avatar).
I think Gaseous Form would make sense as an option, though it should either have high prereqs, or be unable to Bloodshift while gaseous. I do want to have sicken/nausea as an optional rider on Pulls.
I like Push and Pull (thanks to Sanderson's Mistborn). Players could refer to it as a Bloodpull or Bloodpush to avoid confusion, though I wouldn't expect much to come up since Push and Pull are riders on the natural attacks of some monsters.
On the power scale, I don't think 1d6 per odd level as a standard action is so strong that it needs to be limited in usage or weakened further. The 3.5 Warlock got away with it, and was never considered overpowered.
Why not just call it bloodpush/bloodpull then?
On the power scale, I don't think 1d6 per odd level as a standard action is so strong that it needs to be limited in usage or weakened further. The 3.5 Warlock got away with it, and was never considered overpowered.
This isn't 3rd Edition. Powerful at-will abilities, especially ranged ones dealing significant amounts of typeless damage that require little to no risk, are fairly unheard of in Pathfinder. Gating the ability also allows you to make them more powerful in other ways.
Another thing that few designers seem to not think about when designing at-wills is the roleplay implications. Many designers only think about combat abilities in the context of combat, but don't think about the consequences the abilities have for roleplay and dramatic situations. For example, you can disarm a fighter, take a wizard's spellbook away, or gag a sorcerer. What can a GM do to make a scenario dramatic for a hemomancer?
While this is personal preference, I like it when classes have clear limitations and weaknesses. It makes players have to play around their class's limitations and enables the GM to create dramatic situations. Overall, it makes a class more fun, but that's my opinion.
In the same vein, put him in anti-magic cuffs? You could say the same thing about a Witch after all, which has powerful incapacitation abilities at will. I'll be honest, I rarely see DMs pull the "you're naked in a dungeon" thing for longer than 10mins. Some classes ARE always ready, such as the Witch, Monk, and Sorcerer (with appropriate Silent/Still metamagic).
Pathfinder has less ridiculous spells (for the most part) than 3.5, but otherwise it's still very much on the same power scale, perhaps higher. A consistent 1d6 per odd level doesn't win any DPR olympics, even against comparable touch attack classes (Gunslinger, Alchemist) while at the same time also being close range.
Compare it to bombs. An alchemist gets a limited (but generous) amount a day, and they also deal splash damage (very effective vs. swarms). And it's only a third of the Alchemist at best. There's also the Mutagen and the Extracts (effectively 6th level casting).
(in my edition) the Hemomancer's main feature is Push/Pull, if you ever run out, you're left with nothing.
I do appreciate the feedback, I just think we have different ideas of balance. Which is fine. I'm more interested in other abilities you'd expect a Hemomancer to have, such as the gaseous form you suggested.