Hunter, Monster Slayer

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Overview & Creation

Not all beast can be tamed. Wyrms bring havok from the skies, trolls snatching villages or infestations of ghouls or spectres call for the services of a slayer. Those that survive go on to become folk heros for their deeds at laying low the dark things from beyond the borders of civilisation or from realms other. A slayer is an archetypal adventurer, but a necessary profession in a world of dark creatures. Skilled slayers often can earn a lot of coin taking on contracts to rid a region of a threat.

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Class Features

Lv.3 Slayer

At this level and every three levels thereafter (3rd, 6th , 9th and 12th) the Monster Slayer picks a type of creature; Beast, Ogriod, Wyrm, Guardian, Aberant, Acursed, Wyrath, Wight to practice combat techniques against. Each level thereafter they may add a listed combat technique to their repertoire up to three for each creature type.   Beasts

• Animal Wrestler – The slayer doesn't suffer disadvantage on grapple checks against non-humanoid creatures.
• Staredown – When the slayer makes an intimidation check against beasts they may apply their wisdom modifier as an additional bonus. Successfully intimidated beasts will back off for 1d4 hrs. If you fail the intimidation the beast may make a free attack as a reaction to your staredown.
• Dodge Pounce – When a beast would attempt a grappling attack, the slayer may as a reaction dive to the side at the last moment. Making a dex save against the beasts attack. If successful they land prone and the attack is avoided. If unsuccessful they take half damage and are grappled.

  Ogriods

• Giant Killer – When a large or larger sized creature adjacent within 5ft of you attacks you with a melee or unarmed attack, you may use your reaction to attack that creature after its attack, so long as you can see and react to the creature.
• Up and Close – When within 5ft of a large or larger sized creature, and you take the attack action you may choose to take disadvantage to attempt to trip the larger sized opponent by slashing at its ankles and tendons.
• Steely Nerve – When you ready an action to attack a creature larger than you when it closes to attack, you may gain a +5 on your attack roll and damage. If the attack roll is a critical hit, you may either blind the creature if using a ranged weapon, or leave the creature stunned if using a melee weapon.

  Wyrms

• Bowmans Nerve – When you ready an action to attack a flying creature when it swoops to attack, you may gain +5 on your attack roll and damage. If the attack roll is a critical hit, you also knock the flying creature prone on the ground causing it to take fall damage.
• Wyrm-breath Evasion – You gain a +3 bonus to saves to avoid area of effect damaging effects so long as you can see and react to the threat.
• Avoid Trample – As a reaction to being trampled by a creature larger than yourself, you may make a dexterity save against the trample attack. If successful you dive out of the way landing prone. If not you take half damage.

  Guardians

• Find Totem – When you have encountered a guardian creature, the monster slayer may use their Tracking Sense to intuit the direction of the guardians totem. This is felt as a compass direction that points towards the totems location. If the guardian has no totem this ability lets you know.
• Blade and a Prayer – The monster slayer may gain the benefits of the crusaders battle prayer ability when in an encounter with a known guardian creature.
• You Shalt not Pass – The monster slayer may spend 2 action points to complete a minor ritual of warding against guardian creatures creating a magical barrier up to 20ft square which lasts for 1d4 rounds.

  Aberant

• Guarded Mind – When the monster slayer would gain eldritch madness from a creature, there is a 00-49% chance that they resist this madness.
• Tentacled Grip – When the monster slayer is grappled by a 'tentacle like appendage' they may as part of an attack action, attack up to three times in an attempt to sever the tentacle. If they are successful in dealing enough damage to the tentacle (at GM discretion) the adventurer is released and or the tentacle is severed and no longer of use to the creature.
• Carve out Corruption – When the slayer or ally would be afflicted by a corrupting effect that deals damage overtime or applies condition effects. They may instead choose to spend 2 action points to cut away or draw out the corruption from their flesh, taking 1d6 damage and +1 ongoing bleed damage until the wound is treated to negate the effect (GM discretion applies). As a 10min ritual the slayer can study the effect to determine if this corruption can be negated by this ability or not.

  Acursed

• Curse Breaker – As a reaction when an accursed creatures attacks you or an ally, the monster slayer can espouse a fact about the cursed creatures history or condition to inflict a -10 penalty on that attack. Each fact may only be used once.
• Faiths Protection – The monster slayer gains a +10% bonus to the success of any beseachment that they make during an encounter with a hostile accursed or guardyan creature.
• Accursed Ground – The slayer may undertake a 1min ritual to determine if the area they are currently standing in is affected by any divine blessings, leshenfey awakenings, infernal corruptions, or has been touched by the eldritch and what effects this may have on the party.

  Wyrath

• Ghostwalker – The monster slayer has advantage on save to avoid the effects of haunts or reality bending effects.
• Wraythlight – While the slayer carries a warding lamp lightsource as a reaction to being attacked by a wrayth, the slayer may use the light-source to impose disadvantage on the wrayths attacks for that round.
• Shadowspirit – The slayer has advantage on checks or against the negative effects of nox negating some of the penalties nox gives.

  Wight

• Careful Dispatch – The monster slayer may choose to take disadvantage on their attacks to gains +20% resistance to becoming contaminated from sources of contagion when they attack or kill a creature. This resistance lasts until the beginning of their next turn.
• Corpse Killer – You know how best to exploit the weakness of dead creatures. Wights do not have resistance against damaging attacks you make with piecing or ranged weapons
• Stem the Horde – When you ready an action to prevent any creatures moving through your threatened area, you may attack them even if they have the benefits of the disengage ability, and if you hit their movement is immediately reduced to zero.

 

Lv.4 Poisoned Blades

The monster slayer may apply an oil or substance to their weapons or ammunition as a bonus action.  

Lv.6 Slayers Expertise

Whenever you are fighting a creature type you have all three combat techniques for, you may double your proficiency bonus on attacks against this creature type.  

Lv.9 Trophy Taker

Whenever the slayer would take a trophy from a creature, they may as an action hold this trophy aloft and display it to confer one of the following effects;   Demoralise foes – the slayer makes an contested intimidation check against all creatures of that type present who role a charisma save against the slayer. Those creatures that fail, may not move closer than 30ft to the slayer while they hold the trophy in hand.
  You owe me – the slayer presents the trophy as part of collecting on a quest or reward and may demand that either the monetary reward is increased by up to +50%, or to gain +1 favour with the patron as part of the reward. When demanding additional monetary reward, the slayer makes an intimidate check with advantage against the quest givers charisma save. With a the slayer taking -1 penalty for every +10% reward being asked for.  

Lv.11 Slayers Strike

Whenever you are fighting a creature type that you have all three combat techniques for, you may add your proficiency bonus on the damage you deal to creatures of that type.