Blood Knight

A Warrior Archetype that grows stronger below half hit points, with extra melee damage, healing on a kill, banked damage, weapon resistance and a last stand.

Identity

Blood Knights are Warriors who fight better the more a fight costs them. The training, or whatever was done to Blood Knights during it, reversed the pain response, so injury sharpens them and the harder they are pressed the harder they hit. Commands that field them keep them off garrison duty, because a Blood Knight at peace gets restless in ways that end with somebody explaining a bar to an inspector. Most of the Archetype comes online only below half hit points, where a Knight's melee hits add 1d6.

Features

• L3 Blood in the Water

  While you are below half your hit point maximum, your melee weapon attacks deal an extra 1d6 damage and you have advantage on saving throws against being Frightened. When a creature within your reach damages you with a melee attack, you can use your reaction to make one melee weapon attack against it. You can use this reaction a number of times per short rest equal to your Constitution modifier, to a minimum of once.

• L7 Red Harvest

  When you reduce a creature to 0 hit points with a melee weapon attack, you regain hit points equal to your Warrior level and your walking speed increases by 10 feet until the end of your next turn.

• L11 Banked Damage

  When you take damage from a creature you can see, you bank half of it, rounded down, to a maximum of your Warrior level. The next time you hit that creature with a melee weapon attack before the end of your next turn, the attack deals extra damage equal to the banked amount. Banked damage does not carry over between attacks and does not accumulate.

• L15 Bloodied Resistance

  While you are below half your hit point maximum, you have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage from nonmagical weapons. A single instance of damage that does not exceed your Warrior level cannot reduce you below 1 hit point.

• L18 Last Blood Capstone

  Once per long rest, when you are reduced to 0 hit points, you do not fall Unconscious. You remain standing at 1 hit point for 1 minute. For the duration you cannot regain hit points, damage you take does not drop you, and your melee weapon attacks deal an extra 2d8 damage. When the minute ends you fall Unconscious at 0 hit points and make death saving throws as normal.