History Main / BloodOath

* HarryPotter has the Unbreakable Vow, which is similar to this, this taken to the extreme. Though the thing used to bind the two is magic, rather than blood, if you break it, you die.

*** It should also be noted that "Start of Darkness" depicts taking the Oath much like getting a tattoo. Including the part where Eugene got it while he was smashed and had little recollection of doing so later.

[[AC: Web Comics]]
* Madoc of ''WakeTheSleepers'' accepts a contract through blood on a bounty, as his crazy Assassin culture requires.

* In ''Webcomic/OrderOfTheStick'', a Blood Oath binds not just the oath-taker, but all of their descendants. And if they don't die trying to fulfill the oath, they're denied entry into the afterlife while their children have a go at it.

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Can overlap with CouldntFindAPen, which is any kind of writing in blood. Contrast with HeroicVow. See also {{Geas}}. When someone has broken this vow so thoroughly they become ostracised they're TheOathBreaker.

* In the last season of ''{{Angel}}'', Angel signs a contract from Wolfram and Hart in his own blood. He learns this when the person offering him the pen stabs it into his hand.

* Rowasu of {{Juathuur}} is full of scars because of this trope. [[spoiler: He still breaks the last oath he makes.]]
* In {{The Order of the Stick}}, a Blood Oath binds not just the oath-taker, but all of their descendants. And if they don't die trying to fulfill the oath, they're denied entry into the afterlife while their children have a go at it.

** ''ChangelingTheLost'' has many forms of oaths, and your health or life can be put on the line for them. With heavy costs comes heavy rewards - the more you'll lose if you break the oath, the more benefit you can gain from it.

* In {{Farscape}}, when John needs Scorpius's help to rescue Aeryn, Scorpius first makes him perform a "Scarran blood vow", which involves both of them cutting their fingers and drinking each others' blood and then their own. John is understandably [[{{Squick}} squicked]].

* In the last season of ''{{Angel}} Angel signs a contract from Wolfram and Hart in his own blood. He learns this when the person offering him the pen stabs it into his hand.

* During a famous feud with Jerry Lawler in Memphis, legendarily crazy lumberjack wrestler Jos LeDuc famously took a blood oath (pronounced "oat") swearing he would end Jerry Lawler's career. LeDuc ramped up the {{squick}} factor several notches by using a double-bladed axe and REALLY CUTTING A SCAR INTO HIS OWN ARM!

Can overlap with CouldntFindAPen, which is any kind of writing in blood. Contrast with HeroicVow. When someone has broken this vow so thoroughly they become ostracised they're TheOathBreaker.

** Of course, the specific instance mentioned here (namely, [[spoiler:Eugene Greenhilt's oath against Xykon filtering down to his son Roy]]) is an odd case. The father in question abandoned the oath pretty quickly, only to try to force it on his child when he was getting old. After the child's death, he gets into Heaven while the father is stuck in the "waiting room". When the father gets enraged at this, the angel who made the decree chews out the father for being so careless with a blood oath and points out that the child didn't actually have to take up the oath, but doing so out of free will ''and'' trying his best to fulfill it makes him a better person than the father.

Can overlap with CouldntFindAPen, which covers pacts written (or signed) in blood. Contrast with HeroicVow. When someone has broken this vow so thoroughly they become ostracised they're TheOathBreaker.

** Of course, the specific instance mentioned here (namely, [[spoiler:Eugene Greenhilt's oath against Xyklon filtering down to his son Roy]]) is an odd case. The father in question abandoned the oath pretty quickly, only to try to force it on his child when he was getting old. After the child's death, he gets into Heaven while the father is stuck in the "waiting room". When the father gets enraged at this, the angel who made the decree chews out the father for being so careless with a blood oath and points out that the child didn't actually have to take up the oath, but doing so out of free will ''and'' trying his best to fulfill it makes him a better person than the father.

** Of course, the specific instance mentioned here (namely, [[spoiler:Horace Greenhilt's oath filtering down to his son Roy]]) is an odd case. The father in question dropped the oath pretty quickly, only to try to force his child to pick it up when he was getting old. When the child dies, the heavenly agent assigned to the case points out that the child didn't actually have to take up the oath, but doing so out of free will and doing everything to fulfill it makes the child a better person than the father.

In another, Al cuts his hand open, and simply lets the blood drip to the ground. This is sometimes highlighted by the phrasing of the oath: "If I break my word may the Earth drink my blood!" Then giving the Earth a 'taste' of your blood so that it knows what to look for if you fail to keep your oath. WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic? Sometimes this version is used to swear an oath of vengeance- and making it clear that you mean business.

* [[{{Literature/Doppelganger}} Marie Brennan's ''Doppelganger'' duology]] features a blood-oath as a plot point in both books. The blood is technically used as a focus just to shape the spell, but breaking the oath ''does'' involve bleeding to death through the one wrist cut while swearing the oath, so it still counts.

* ''[[{{Literature/Doppelganger}} Marie Brennan's Doppelganger duology]]'' features a blood-oath as a plot point in both books. The blood is technically used as a focus just to shape the spell, but breaking the oath ''does'' involve bleeding to death through the one wrist cut while swearing the oath, so it still counts.

* Marie Brennan's Doppelganger duology features a blood-oath as a plot point in both books. The blood is technically used as a focus just to shape the spell, but breaking the oath ''does'' involve bleeding to death through the one wrist cut while swearing the oath, so it still counts.

Can overlap with CouldntFindAPen, which covers pacts written (or signed) in blood. Contrast with HeroicVow.