Blood Bliss Vial

Traveler’s Vial of the Crimson Order

This thick glass vial contains a dark crimson liquid that slowly twists inside. An adhesive tag etched with a rune of blood magic seals the liquid, stabilizing whatever acceptable blood is added to the solution. When fresh blood is collected, the vial warms slightly in the hand as the enchantment captures a fragment of the fallen creature’s vitality.

Among the many rituals of the Crimson Order, few are as practical as creating Blood Bliss. While the Sanguis ruling class typically sustains itself through the Vida Culling blood tax, long campaigns and distant expeditions often take them far from the structured tithe of Nephistrad. War rarely waits for ceremonies, and the Crimson Order has always believed that preparation is the truest form of devotion.
To address this, the Crimson Order’s hematurgists developed Blood Bliss, a blood-preserving solution capable of stabilizing the life essence of freshly spilled blood. When harvested from the recently fallen, the mixture captures a fragment of vitality and suspends it within the vial for later use. Essentially, the potion allows a Sanguis traveler to carry a small reserve of life when proper tithes cannot be collected.
Within the Crimson Order, Blood Bliss is regarded as a field necessity rather than a luxury, with those who can afford its cost often carrying the vial when traveling the Nevermore Expanse. The Vein of Unity describes the practice as sacred efficiency. According to their doctrine, blood spilled in conflict has already been claimed by fate, and preserving its vitality prevents waste. Critics outside the Crimson Order are less charitable in their interpretation, claiming the vials expose the true hunger of the Sanguis and their dependence on others’ life essence.
Regardless of the moral debate beyond the walls of Nephistrad, one thing is certain. When a Sanguis knight uncorks a vial of Blood Bliss on the battlefield, the scent of iron fills the air, and the fallen rise once more in service to the Crimson Order. Not as soldiers, but as sustenance.

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Blood Bliss Vial

Wondrous Item, Rare

Harvest Vitality

When a Beast or Humanoid creature has died within the last 10 minutes, you can use a Utilize action to collect its blood with this glass vial. When harvested, Blood Bliss collects one Hit Point Dice from the creature. The stored Hit Die uses the same die size as the creature’s Hit Die, such as a d8 from a Guard or a d10 from a Brown Bear.
Blood Bliss can store up to 2 Hit Dice at a time. If blood from a different creature is harvested, the vial’s stored Hit Dice immediately change to match the Hit Die size of the most recently harvested creature. Blood stored within the vial remains viable for 14 days, after which the alchemical mixture loses its potency and the liquid becomes inert.
A creature can only have its vitality harvested by Blood Bliss once per day, and the vial can harvest vitality no more than twice per day.

Drink your Harvest

As a Bonus Action, you can drink the filtered blood from Blood Bliss or administer it to another creature within 5 feet of yourself. The creature that drinks rolls all stored Hit Die and regains Hit Points equal to the total rolled. This healing does not add your Constitution modifier.

Item type

Magical

Current Location

Nevermore Expanse

Rarity

Rare, Very Rare and Legendary

Weight

0.5 lb

by A.E. Coggon

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Blood Bliss Variants

More potent versions of Blood Bliss exist, refined by Crimson Order alchemists to carry greater reserves of vitality.
The Rare version of the vial can store up to 2 Hit Dice. A Very Rare Blood Bliss vial can store up to 4 Hit Dice, and a Legendary version can store up to 6 Hit Dice. Aside from their increased capacity, these higher rarity vials function in the same manner, including collection speed.