Huntsmen

## Origin

The Huntsmen have technically been around since soon after the first Humans were kicked out of The Garden. Since the first time a man picked up a stone tipped spear to defend his family against a creature threatening his family, the Huntsmen have existed. Their purpose has generally been to defend Humans against non-Humans.

## History

For a long time, the Huntsmen, while technically existing by practice, were not an official organization. Small bands of militia came together to defend their villages from marauding creatures. Eventually, in the bronze age, some of these groups began to travel, assisting other villages in return for pay. They became a sort of mercenary force. As time went on, they began to create official camps and strongholds. Thus, the Huntsmen were born. They discovered how best to combat the creatures that they faced, how to exploit their weaknesses.

Today, the mercenary aspect still remains. However, as a point of pride, most Huntsmen and Huntresses work either alone, or with a single partner. Some prefer to settle down in an area, and are often assigned to protect a certain area. However, many are known to travel around. They generally earn their pay by hunting down and eliminating individuals with bounties on their heads. Accepting a bounty is easy enough, but if a Huntsmen or Huntress cannot complete a bounty, they receive a hefty fine, and the bounty returns to the local Huntsmen HQ postings.

## Appearance

Huntsmen and Huntresses are almost always Human. As such, they look like Humans. Two arms, two legs, a face, that sort of stuff. As with mundane Humans, they range from 4.5 to 6.5 feet tall, with individuals above 6 feet being rarer.

These individuals, however, do tend to dress differently. They usually wear lighter, or tougher clothing, carry gadgets and other tools of the trade, as well as their weapon(s) of choice.

## Behavior

Huntsmen and Huntresses generally fall into one of three categories; aggressive, quiet, or jolly. It is almost unheard of to find a skittish individual among their ranks. These individuals just do not survive. The aggressive ones are strong and can power through things, the quiet ones are, honestly, usually scary as hell, and the jolly ones are, well, surprisingly talented. They have to be, otherwise they are dead. Huntsmen and Huntresses tend to come off as rude, the only authority they respect being that of their own organization. This often causes strain between them and the Shadowhunters.

## Abilities

Being Human, Huntsmen and Huntresses do not generally have natural abilities that can rival that of the non-Humans that they face. They generally rely on their skills and experience, as well as powerful gadgets and weapons, to win the day. They rarer, rather extraordinary individuals, the Huntsmasters, are the few who do possess almost inhuman abilities. These abilities can range from exceptional strength, to terrifying speed.

## Weaknesses

Being Human, Huntsmen and Huntresses are rather fragile, as well as generally not having the abilities needed to match non-Humans in direct combat.

## Diet

They are Humans, meaning that they are blessed with the ability to have varied diets. Fruit, meat, vegetables, even things not generally considered food by Humans, such as blood, are edible.

## Life and Death

### Lifespan/Lifestyle

Due to their rather dangerous circumstances, the life expectancy for a Huntsmen or Huntress is actually lower than that of a mundane Human. It is rare for them to live beyond 70 years of age. Live fast, die young, leave behind a beautiful corpse.

### Reproduction

They're Humans. Able to reproduce with most species, and having a rather high fertility rate out of the known species, 50%. This can often get them in trouble, for reasons that probably do not need to be explained.

### Death

As with all Humans, Huntsmen and Huntresses are said to go to either Heaven or Hell, based on how they were in their life, though the general consensus is that most of them are going to Hell. Of course, there is the rare possibility for them to become a Ghost, or even rarer, an Ethereal. When a Huntsmen or Huntress dies, one of two things happens; after they are confirmed dead, all of their funds are returned to the organization, unless otherwise stated in a will. If their is no will, and they have a family, 50% of their funds go to the family, and the other 50% goes to the organization.

## Ranks

Rank E - Desk Jockey - The pencil pushers, the file knights, the nerds. These individuals generally failed to pass their training courses, but were still allowed to be Huntsmen and Huntresses, in the office. Not held in high esteem.

Rank C - Greenhorn - Younger Huntsmen and Huntresses with minor experience, and mediocre combat abilities. They can handle most lesser non-Human threats.

Rank B - Veteran - Experienced individuals who have good combat abilities, and tend to have a response to almost every situation. They are capable of handling all but the most dangerous situations.

Rank A - Huntsmaster - Individuals with almost inhuman abilities, such as blinding speed or exceptional strength. Have a large amount of experience, and are highly regarded among the entire organization.

Rank S - Stratera - Information on these individuals is classified. All that is known, is that they are the answer to the most powerful non-Human threats.