Blood Hunter

As a blood hunter, you gain the following class features.

**Hit Points at Higher Levels:** 1d10 (or 6) + your Constitution modifier per blood hunter level after 1st

#### Proficiencies

**Armor:** Light armor, medium armor, shields
**Weapons:** Simple weapons, martial weapons
**Tools:** Alchemist’s supplies
**Saving Throws:** Strength, Wisdom
**Skills:** Choose two from Athletics, Acrobatics, Arcana, Insight, Investigation, and Survival

#### 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

#### Hunter's Bane

Beginning at 1st level, you have survived the imbibing of the Hunter’s Bane, a poisonous alchemical concoction 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, and Undead, as well as on Intelligence checks to recall information about them. If you are actively tracking one of these creature types, you cannot be surprised by any creatures of that type. You can only be tracking one type of creature at a time.

Upon reaching 11th level, you can flare the internal toxic scars from the ritual, using the pain to give clarity, or promote anger. You can choose to suffer damage equal to your crimson rite damage die to gain advantage on a Wisdom (Insight) check or Charisma (Intimidation) check.

#### Crimson Rite

At 1st level, you learn to invoke a rite of blood magic within your weapon at the cost of your own vitality. Choose to learn one rite from the Primal Rites list below. You cannot change this choice.

As a bonus action, you imbue a single weapon with the elemental energy of a known rite until your next short or long rest. While active, attacks from this weapon deal an additional 1d4 rite damage of the chosen elemental type. Rite damage is considered magical. The rite damage die changes as you gain blood hunter levels, as shown in the crimson rite damage die column of the blood hunter table. Should your weapon leave your grip, the rite fades immediately. An active rite on a weapon thrown fades directly after the attack is complete.

When a crimson rite is activated, you suffer damage equal to your character level, and you reduce your maximum hit points by an amount equal to your character level. These lost maximum hit points return once the rite fades and cannot be restored otherwise. When a rite fades, no hit points are regained as part of the restoring of maximum hit points.

Crimson rite can be used on multiple weapons, costing additional hit point loss. Most weapons can only be subject to a single rite at any given time. Each end of a polearm or quarterstaff is treated as a separate weapon for the purposes of this feature. A rite can be allowed to fade at any time (no action required).

You gain access to an additional Primal Rite at 6th level and 11th level. You may learn an Esoteric Rite at 14th level.

##### **Primal Rites**

Choose from the following:

*Rite of the Flame*, *Rite of the Frozen, Rite of the Storm*

##### **Esoteric Rites**

Choose from the following:

*Rite of the Roar, Rite of the Oracle, Rite of the Dead*

#### 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 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, even if the new roll is a 1 or a 2. 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.

#### Blood Maledict

At 2nd level, you gain the knowledge to further channel, and sacrifice, a part of your vital essence to curse and manipulate your enemies. You gain one blood curse of your choice, detailed in the “blood curses” section. 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 5th, 9th, 13th, 16th, and 20th 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 may choose to amplify the curse by suffering damage equal to a roll of your crimson rite damage die. 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 (DM’s discretion).

You can use this feature once. You regain expended uses when you finish a short or long rest. Beginning at 6th level, you can use your Blood Maledict feature twice between rests, at 11th level you can use it three times between rests, and at 17th level, you can use it four times between rests.

#### Blood Curses

The blood curses are presented in alphabetical order.

##### Blood Curse of Binding

As a bonus action, you can attempt to bind an enemy no more than one size larger than you within 30 feet. The target must succeed on a Strength saving throw (DC equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier) or have their speed be reduced to 0 until the end of your next turn.

*Amplify.* This curse becomes ongoing, and can affect a creature regardless of their size category. At the end of each of its turns, the cursed can make another Strength saving throw. On a success, this curse ends. You can end the curse whenever you like (no action required).

##### Blood Curse of Mutual Suffering

As a bonus action, you can link to a creature within 30 feet for up to a minute, forcing them to share in the pain they inflict upon you. The next time the cursed creature damages you with a weapon attack, this curse deals necrotic damage to the cursed creature equal to half of the damage you suffered. This curse then ends.

*Amplify.* This curse instead deals damage equal to the damage you suffered, and it ignores necrotic resistance.

##### Blood Curse of Purgation

As a bonus action, you can manipulate the vitality of a creature within 60 feet to expunge a corruption in their blood. The target creature can immediately make a saving throw against a poisoned condition afflicting it.

*Amplify.* Your target can instead immediately make a saving throw against one other condition afflicting it. This condition can be blinded, deafened, or paralyzed.

##### Blood Curse of Spell Sunder

When an enemy casts a spell within 60 feet that requires a spell attack roll and targets you, you can use your reaction to rend the spell from the air, imposing disadvantage on the spell attack roll.

*Amplify.* You make a Wisdom ability check. The DC equals 10 + the spell’s level. On a success, the creature’s spell misses you automatically.

##### Blood Curse of the Eyeless

When an enemy who is not immune to blindness within 60 feet makes a weapon attack, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll.

*Amplify.* Following the triggering attack, the affected enemy has disadvantage on the next attack roll they make.

##### Blood Curse of the Fallen Puppet

The moment a creature falls unconscious or dies within 30 feet of you, you can use your reaction to give that creature a final act of aggression. That creature immediately makes a single weapon attack against a target of your choice within its attack range. After the attack, the creature returns to being unconscious or dead.

*Amplify.* You grant a bonus to the attack roll and damage roll of the cursed creature’s attack equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum of 1).

##### Blood Curse of the Fending Rite

When an enemy casts a spell that requires a Dexterity saving throw, you can use your reaction to deflect the spell with your crimson rite. You gain a bonus to the initial saving throw against that spell equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum of 1). This curse is invoked before the saving throw is rolled.

*Amplify.* You grant all allies within 5 feet of you this bonus to their saving throw against the triggering spell as well.

##### Blood Curse of the Marked

As a bonus action, you can mark an enemy within 60 feet. Until the end of your turn, all crimson rite damage you deal to the target is doubled.

*Amplify.* You cause the marked target to also lose resistance to your rite damage type until the beginning of your next turn.

#### Blood Hunter Order

At 3rd level, you commit to an order of blood hunter martial focus. Choose Order of the Mutant, Order of the Ghostslayer, Order of the Profane Soul, or Order of the Lycan, 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.

#### 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.

#### Extra Attack

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

#### Grim Psychometry

When you reach 9th level, you can take 10 minutes to meditate on an object to discern vague details regarding any lingering evil or wicked past surrounding it. Make a Wisdom ability check. Based on the result, the DM may reveal obscure information about dark events that may have previously surrounded the object, or hints toward a sinister purpose. This feature has no effect on objects untouched by evil. An object can only be targeted by this feature once, and future attempts reveal no further details. You cannot use this feature again until you finish a short or long rest.

#### Dark Velocity

Upon reaching 10th level, you beckon the surrounding shadows to grant you unnatural swiftness on the battlefield. You gain darkvision out to 30 feet, or if you have darkvision, extend it out an additional 30 feet. While in dim light or darkness, your speed increases by 10 feet, and attacks of opportunity made against you have disadvantage.

#### Hardened Soul

When you reach 14th level, you can no longer become frightened, and you have advantage on saving throws against magical Charm effects.

#### Sanguine Mastery

Upon becoming 20th level, your ability to harness your pain, and the pain of your foes, is perfected. When you are below one fourth of your current maximum hit points, all of your crimson rite damage dice are maximized.

In addition, when you critically hit with a weapon attack that bears your crimson rite, you regain a use of your Blood Maledict feature.

## Blood Hunter Orders

There are a handful of secretive orders of blood hunters that guard their cryptic techniques and blasphemous 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 ability will the secrets of the order begin to be revealed. Some even wait a few years before they are sure they want to continue down this cursed path. Either or, it’s within these small, enigmatic sects that the real power of a blood hunter is learned.

* Order of the Ghostslayer - The Order of the Ghostslayer is the oldest and most driven of the orders, having rediscovered the secrets of blood magic and refined them for combat against the scourge of undeath. Ghostslayers seek out and study the moment of death, obsessing over the mysteries of the transition.
* Order of the Lycan - The Order of the Lycan is a proud order of blood hunters who  undergo “The Taming”, a ceremonial inflicting of lycanthropy from a senior member. These hunters then use their abilities to harness the power of the monster they harbor without losing themselves to it.
* Order of the Mutant - Over generations of experimentation, a splinter order of blood hunters began to emerge, one that focused on brewing toxic elixirs to modify their capabilities in battle, altering their blood and, over time become something beyond human. They called themselves the Order of the Mutant.
* Order of the Profane Soul - A small sect of blood hunters had finally had enough and delved into this same well of corrupting arcane knowledge, making pacts with lesser evils to better combat the greater. While they may have lost a part of themselves, the power gained far outweighed the price, for even devils now quake when they know they’ve drawn the attention of the Order of the Profane Soul.