Manhunter (Character Kit)

Class Information 	Class Information
Class Requirements 	Thief
Racial Requirements 	Elf (moon, wild, drow), half-elf (moon, wild, drow), dwarf (gold, shield)
Ability Requirements 	Dexterity 13, Intelligence 13, Strength 11
Prime Requisite 	Dexterity, Intelligence, Strength
Aligments 	Any
Social Rank 	Middle class
Hit Die Type 	d6
Attack as 	Rogue
Save as 	Rogue
Advance as 	Thief
Spell Ability? 	No
Exceptional Strength? 	No
Exceptional Constitution?	No
Starting Cash (x10 gp) 	2d6
Proficiencies 	Proficiencies
Weapon Slots 	3
Initial Weapons 	Any one-handed weapons, plus net, any bow, any crossbow, blowgun, or standard thief weapon
Additional WP Slot 	4
Additional Weapons 	Standard thief
Nonproficiency Penalty 	-3
Nonweapon Slots 	3
Additional NWP Slot 	4
Available Categories 	General, Rogue, Warrior
Bonus Proficiencies 	Disguise, information gathering (CTH), tracking (CTH), trailing (CTH)
Recommended Proficiencies	Alertness (CRH), animal handling, animal noise (CTH), animal training, appraising, blacksmithing, blind-fighting, boating (CRH), camouflage (CRH), direction sense, endurance (CTH), fast-talking (CTH), fire-building, gaming, herbalism (CTH), heraldry, hunting (CTH), intimidation (CTH), juggling, jumping, languages (modern), local history, looting (CTH), mountaineering, observation (CTH), reading lips, riding (land-based), rope use, running, set snares, survival (CTH), tumbling, voice mimicry (CTH)
Secondary Skills 	Armorer, gambler, groom, hunter, trapper/furrier, weaponsmith
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==Overview==
A manhunter is often known as a huntsman to elves, a bounty hunter to dwarves, an investigator to gnomes, and a "problem fixer" to halflings. The manhunter is a mercenary justice bringer hired to track down and capture people accused of serious crimes, usually committed against demihumans. Prisoners are returned for trial and punishment.
As the kit name implies, humans are usually the subjects being sought, but others hunted could include renegade nobles, traders, or criminals of any race. The manhunter must himself be convinced of the truth of the charges made against his victim, so he must think like a detective and assemble sufficient evidence while on the hunt to prove the victim's guilt before taking action against him. A manhunter does not act against a subject if there is considerable doubt in his mind as to that person's actual guilt. In extreme cases, the manhunter functions as an assassin, but other punishments may be meted out to the victim if warranted.
Elf manhunters rarely hail from Evermeet but often originate from Evereska (moon elf) or the Tangled Trees in Cormanthor (wild elf). Shield dwarf manhunters originate from any clan stronghold; gold dwarves come from the Great Rift. Half-sea elves, drow, and half-drow come from anywhere in Faerûn the DM determines to be logical.
==Description==
A manhunter has no special appearance, as he is most effective when he confronts his quarry by surprise. He cultivates a "gray" look: very low key, no flash, every bit a normal part of the world that no one would look at twice. Typical disguises include a dock worker, farmer, town guard, street vendor, errand runner, shopkeeper, beggar, and bureaucrat. Some manhunters remain in one disguise or another without rest.
==Roleplaying==
The manhunter can be played as something other than what he is. With the disguise proficiency in use, he could be any sort of adventurer within the bounds of reason. Completion of the mission he takes on is paramount; the DM can tailor any adventure for a group of other characters to fit the manhunter's needs by adding in a secret mission for the manhunter to catch an NPC known to be in the area of the adventure (even in a dungeon).
The manhunter label covers many possible roles, and he can be played in many ways: investigator, detective, bounty hunter, avenger, vigilante, assassin, spy, etc. His borderline-criminal status is important; he is not an authorized law enforcer, and dealings with him are never to be admitted openly.
The manhunter, unlike the cat burglar, must retrieve or deal with a person, not an object. He can even be used to free hostages and punish the hostage takers. He merely loves to hunt thinking beings. He is largely an urban sort but is flexible. He can work in many environments and with many people and groups, from governments to private citizens, from military forces to merchant guilds.
The manhunter is different from an assassin as he has principles and is not completely profit driven. If the manhunter becomes convinced of his assigned victim's innocence, he should consider returning with the victim anyway to accuse those who hired him of deceit, all to be determined later in court. If the victim might be killed on sight upon his return, the manhunter might return alone to sort things out with those who hired him.
Technological and magical devices aiding the capture of victims are often used. Unlike the cat burglar, the manhunter has no time to invent things; he just uses objects as he finds them.
==Special Advantages==
The manhunter at 1st level may choose his three weapon proficiencies from a broad selection including one-handed melee weapons (long sword, footman's mace, hand axe, morning star, etc.); any sort of bow or crossbow; the blowgun; the net; and any sort of standard thief's weapon. Some manhunters choose a trademark weapon they prefer over all others, though others avoid doing this to prevent identifying themselves to potential victims. Each weapon costs only 1 slot. Weapons chosen after 1st level are standard thief weapons.
The manhunter has the backstabbing ability of normal thieves but also has the option to use his attack to knock his victim unconscious with a sharp blow to the back of the head. If he successfully gains surprise over a victim and attacks from behind, the manhunter can strike at his victim's head with a blunt weapon like a club, sword or dagger hilt, or butt of a hafted weapon like a hand axe. Because he strikes only a glancing blow to avoid killing his victim, such an attack does only 1d4 points of damage, which is then multiplied by his backstabbing factor, then added to his Strength bonuses on top of that. He uses this attack only if the victim is not wearing a helmet. (Helmets make noise when struck and provide too much protection.) An unarmored head is AC 10, though bonuses for protective devices may apply. (The victim's Dexterity and shield bonuses do not count, of course.) If he hits, multiply the total damage done by 7 to get the percent chance he knocks the victim unconscious. A 95% knockout chance is the highest score possible. Thus, 3 points of damage done by a 9th-level manhunter of Strength 16 turns into (3 ¥ 4) + 1 = 13 points of knockout damage, which is a (13 ¥ 7) = 91% chance of knocking his victim out cold. The manhunter must then have one hand free to immediately make an attack roll (+4 bonus) to grab his falling victim, if he so chooses.
This knockout attack works only against normal humans, demihumans, or humanoids beings between halfling and ogre size. Creatures smaller than halflings cannot be hit in the right spot to knock them out. Creatures larger than ogres are too big to knock out properly. Certain beings like trolls and doppelgangers cannot be knocked out at all, having no vulnerable spots, and undead, golems, etc. cannot be knocked out as they are not alive. Only the original 1d4 points of damage (unmultiplied), plus the manhunter's Strength bonuses, is done as real damage to the victim. The rest of the "damage" is merely part of a knockout calculation. It is possible to accidentally kill a very low-level victim with this attack, but those are the breaks—so to speak.
The manhunter gains bonuses to his disguise and tracking proficiencies based on his level. From levels 5-8, the manhunter gains a +1 bonus to use these proficiencies; from levels 9-12, +2; from levels 13-16, +3, etc.
The manhunter also gains the knowledge to identify poisons. His chance of successfully identifying a poison's effects (only by examining and brief testing, never testing it on himself or anyone else) is equal to his level (5%, plus his Intelligence, and with a +10 modifier for every slot used on herbalism. Thus, a 4th-level manhunter with an Intelligence of 13 but no herbalism slots has a (4 ¥ 5) + 13 = 33% chance to identify a particular poison. The manhunter does not make poisons or antidotes himself, but he can use nonlethal poisons if they assist in capturing a suspect.
==Special Disadvantages==
A manhunter is regarded as a necessary evil, a way of righting wrongs when other routes have failed to provide satisfaction for an injured party. He is feared and hated by humans, who have a +6 modifier on NPC reaction rolls (toward "hostile") if a manhunter is discovered among them. A manhunter known to have kidnapped and spirited away humans from the jurisdiction of a human realm, even if the charges against the victim warranted such drastic moves, would be regarded very badly by law enforcement and government officials of the kingdom that the captured human called home. Non-evil demihumans have a +3 reaction modifier if they ever discover one, but they would never attack the manhunter if they were not attacked first.
A manhunter often uses paralytic or sleep poisons, which is dangerous not only to himself and his victims but carries stiff penalties in many lands, thanks to popular fears of assassins.
At 10th level, a manhunter gains no followers. He is essentially a loner who may work with allies but not with underlings he doesn't trust. He does not gain an ability to read magical or clerical scrolls, either. A manhunter has little time for reading unless it directly relates to his job; he prefers talking and watching in order to gain information.
The manhunter is also not interested in picking pockets for cash. Thus, the read languages and pick pockets skills are discarded for this kit. All points normally gained for each level are still received, however, which leads to higher scores overall in the remaining thieving skills.
To be able to move quickly, a manhunter never travels with more than light encumbrance (see Table 1, PHB, or optional rules in PHB, chapter 6). He uses or wears nothing that might slow him down if he needs to chase someone or flee attack.