Blood Hunter

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Class Features

Hunter's Bane

Beginning at 1st level, you have survived the Hunter’s Bane, a dangerous, long-guarded ritual that alters your life’s blood, forever binding you to the darkness and honing your senses against it. You have advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks to track fey, fiends, or undead, as well as on Intelligence ability checks to recall information about them.   The Hunter’s Bane also empowers your body to control and shape hemocraft magic, using your own blood and life essence to fuel your abilities. Some of your features require your target to make a saving throw to resist the feature’s effects. The saving throw DC is calculated as follows:   Hemocraft save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier.  

Blood Maledict

At 1st level, you gain the ability to channel, and sometimes sacrifice, a part of your vital essence to curse and manipulate creatures through hemocraft magic. You gain one blood curse of your choice, detailed in the “Blood Curses” section at the end of the class description. You learn one additional blood curse of your choice, and you can choose one of the blood curses you know and replace it with another blood curse, at 6th, 10th, 14th, and 18th level.   When you use your Blood Maledict, you choose which curse to invoke. While invoking a blood curse, but before it affects the target, you can choose to amplify the curse by losing a number of hit points equal to one roll of your hemocraft die, as shown in the Hemocraft Die column of the Blood Hunter table. An amplified curse gains an additional effect, noted in the curse’s description. Creatures that do not have blood in their bodies are immune to blood curses, unless you have amplified the curse.   You can use this feature once. Beginning at 6th level, you can use your Blood Maledict feature twice, at 13th level you can use it three times between rests, and at 17th level, you can use it four times between rests. You regain all expended uses when you finish a short or long rest.  

Fighting Style

At 2nd level, you adopt a style of fighting as your specialty. Choose one of the following options. You can’t take a Fighting Style option more than once, even if you later get to choose again.   Archery You gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls you make with ranged weapons.   Dueling When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.   Great Weapon Fighting When you roll a 1 or 2 on a non-rite damage die for an attack you make with a melee weapon that you are wielding with two hands, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll. The weapon must have the two-handed or versatile property for you to gain this benefit.   Two-Weapon Fighting When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.  

Crimson Rite

At 2nd level, you learn to invoke a rite of hemocraft within your weapon at the cost of your own vitality. Choose one rite from the Primal Rites list below to learn.   As a bonus action, you can activate a crimson rite on a single weapon with the elemental energy of a known rite of your choice that lasts until you finish a short or long rest, or if you aren’t holding the weapon at the end of your turn. When you activate a rite, you lose a number of hit points equal to one roll of your hemocraft die, as shown in the Hemocraft Die column of the Blood Hunter table.   For the duration, attacks from this weapon deal an additional 1d4 damage of the chosen rite’s type. This damage is magical, and increases as you gain levels as a blood hunter, as shown in the Hemocraft Die column of the Blood Hunter table. A weapon can only hold a single active rite at a time.   You learn an additional Primal Rite at 7th level, and access to an Esoteric Rite at 14th level.  

Primal Rites

Choose from the following:   Rite of the Flame. Your rite damage is fire damage.   Rite of the Frozen. Your rite damage is cold damage.   Rite of the Storm. Your rite damage is lightning damage.  

Esoteric Rites

Choose from the following:   Rite of the Dead. Your rite damage is necrotic damage.   Rite of the Oracle. Your rite damage is psychic damage.   Rite of the Roar. Your rite damage is thunder damage.    

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.   Using the optional feats rule, you can forgo taking this feature to take a feat of your choice instead.  

Extra Attack

Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.  

Brand of Castigation

At 6th level, whenever you damage a creature with your Crimson Rite feature, you can choose to sear an arcane brand of hemocraft magic into it (requires no action). You always know the direction to the branded creature, and each time the branded creature deals damage to you or a creature you can see within 5 feet of you, the creature takes psychic damage equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of 1 damage).   Your brand lasts until you dismiss it, or you apply a brand to another creature. Your brand counts as a spell for the purposes of dispel magic, and the spell level is equal to half of your blood hunter level (maximum of 9th level spell).   Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.  

Grim Psychometry

When you reach 9th level, you have a supernatural talent for discerning the history surrounding mysterious objects or places touched by evil. When making an Intelligence (History) check to recall information about a darker past surrounding an object you are touching, or a location you are present in, you have advantage on the roll. The information gleaned often leans towards the more sinister influences of the past, and sometimes conveys visions of things previously unknown to the character on higher rolls.  

Dark Augmentation

Upon reaching 10th level, arcane blood magic suffuses your body, permanently reinforcing your resilience. Your speed increases by 5 feet, and whenever you make a Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution saving throw, you gain a bonus to the saving throw equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of +1).  

Brand of Tethering

Starting at 13th level, the psychic damage from your Brand of Castigation increases to twice your Intelligence modifier (minimum of 2 damage).   In addition, a branded creature can’t take the Dash action, and if a creature branded by you attempts to teleport or leave their current plane via ability, spell, or portal, they take 4d6 psychic damage and must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the teleport or plane shift fails.  

Hardened Soul

When you reach 14th level, you have advantage on saving throws against being charmed and frightened.  

Sanguine Mastery

Upon becoming 20th level, you hone your control over blood magic, mitigating your sacrifice and empowering your capability. Once per turn, whenever a blood hunter feature requires you to roll a hemocraft die, you can choose to reroll the die and choose which result to use.   In addition, whenever you score a critical hit with a weapon attack empowered by your Crimson Rite, you regain one expended use of your Blood Maledict feature.

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Starting Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

• (a) a martial weapon or (b) two simple weapons
• (a) a light crossbow and 20 bolts or (b) hand crossbow and 20 bolts
• (a) studded leather armor or (b) scale mail armor
• an explorer’s pack

 

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Subclass Options

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Blood Hunter Orders

There are a handful of secretive orders of blood hunters that guard their cryptic techniques and rituals. One must adhere to one of these orders to even be granted access to the Hunter’s Bane rite that starts their journey, and only once they’ve proven their dedication and ability will the secrets of the order begin to be revealed. It’s within these small, enigmatic sects that the real power of a blood hunter is learned.   At 3rd level, you commit to an order of blood hunter martial focus. Choose Order of the Ghostslayer, Order of the Profane Soul, Order of the Mutant, Order of the Lycan, Order of the Poisoned Blade, or Order of the Warmonger all detailed at the end of the class description. The order you choose grants you features at 3rd level, and again at 7th, 11th, 15th, and 18th level.   Blood Hunter Orders