Supernatural Hunter

### Distinction

* Humans who possess supernatural abilities to combat vampires as a result of spells cast by witches.

**Supernatural Hunters** and **Huntresses**, also known as **Hunters** for short, are humans who are endowed with supernatural abilities to hunt and kill vampires through magical means. They are considered a supernatural species despite being humans and reside on the Other Side when they die.

## **Powers and Abilities**

* Supernatural Hunter
* Supernatural Huntress

* **Peak Physical Condition:** Supernatural Hunters possess bodily functions that are enhanced to the pinnacle of human conditioning.
	+ **Peak or above Human Strength:** Supernatural Hunters of the Five possess superior strength that makes them stronger than humans, but below that of newborn vampires. That said, they can still hold themselves in a fight, as both Vaughn and Connor were able to fight against Damon's strength (a nearly 200 hundred year old vampire) with the former subduing him by wrestling and snapping his neck. It is unknown if they are stronger than werewolves in human form. While no threat to the Original Vampires, members of the Five are strong enough to combat against Silas. Jeremy was strong enough to fight Elena. Connor, using leverage was able to decapitate a Hybrid with a chain.\*\***Peak Human Speed:** Supernatural Hunters of the Five possess peak-human speed, though it is unknown if they are superhuman. They are shown to be able to draw their weapons quickly and are fast enough to catch vampires by surprise before they can react. Connor Jordan once remarked that he was "faster than the average hunter". Jeremy demonstrated being able to he move very quickly to try and stake Elena. This is also seen when Vaughn tackles Damon, appearing almost from thin air.
	+ **Peak Human Stamina:** Supernatural Hunters of the Five possess peak-human stamina. This is not largely controllable and often occurs as a burst of energy within a Hunter, but they can run for dozens of miles and not lose breath and can physically exert themselves at peak capacity for several hours without resting before showing signs of fatigue. Jeremy mentioned feeling a constant rush of energy, which he shows off in the form of enhanced strength when carrying barrels in each hand easily whereas Matt could barely move one with two hands.
	+ **Peak Human Endurance:** Supernatural Hunters of the Five can endure more physical stress than the average person. They can tolerate large amounts of physical pain such as being shot, stabbed repeatedly, burned with high heat, and beatings than that of an ordinary person. They can remain calm through stressful and painful situations, can tolerate extreme hunger, unbearable thirst and the strong urge to sleep.
	+ **Peak Human Reflexes:** Supernatural Hunters of the Five possess peak-human reflexes. They have demonstrated superior reaction time to those of humans and can dodge offensive attacks, evade strikes from beings with super speed and dodge multiple gunfire with ease, though not fast enough to contend with the Original Vampires.
* **Invulnerable Mind:** Upon activation, a Supernatural Hunter's mind becomes immune to all mental intrusions. This includes an Immortal's advanced psychic powers, compulsion by Vampires, Hybrids and Original Vampires, and Spirit Possession by Witches.

- **Enhanced Strength:** Supernatural Huntresses start off possessing superior strength that makes them stronger than humans but below that of newborn vampires. That said, they are endowed by shamans to grow stronger every time they lose a life. Eventually, their strength appear to be able to match that of even the most ancient vampires in the world as Rayna was able to fight and slaughter many Strix members and even warrant Klaus' wary. Their strength also do not falter with old age, even as an old woman, Rayna was able to restrain Bonnie with one hand while attempting to strangle her.

- **Enhanced Reflexes:** Supernatural Huntresses possess peak-human reflexes. They have demonstrated superior reaction time to those of humans and can dodge offensive attacks and evade strikes from beings with super speed. Rayna was able to wipe out numerous members of the Strix, even catching two of them off guard and immediately killing them. She was also able to shoot several of Julian's vampires, killing them without them even being able to react.

- **Immunity to Magic:** A Supernatural Huntress's body becomes immune to offensive magic directed at them which seemed to be the work of the Tea of Protection. This is proven when Bonnie tried to use telekinesis on Rayna when the latter attempted to kill her, but to no avail. However, this immunity did not prevent Nora and Bonnie from using a locator spell to find her nor did it hinder a Shaman from transferring her life and abilities to Bonnie. In addition, Rayna could not track Stefan when his scar was blocked by the disruption spell placed on St. James Infirmary.
	* **Poisonous Blood:** Supernatural Huntresses possess blood that is poisonous to witches, even those that are immortal such as a witch-vampire hybrid. Pills made from Rayna's blood were able to block a witch's power and if taken daily for a period of time and will eventually kill said witch. This fatal effect on witches appear to come from the Huntress's immunity to witchcraft.

- **Marking:** Supernatural Huntresses possess the ability to mark their victims. Initially, this was done through the Phoenix Sword, allowing Rayna to mark vampires by stabbing them however, it was later revealed that they are also capable of imprinting vampires mentally.
	* **Tracking:** Supernatural Huntresses can sense and track down vampires who have been marked by them.
	* **Link to Victims:** Supernatural Huntresses are linked to the vampires they have marked, giving them an increased urge to find and finish them. This connection can be amplified with concentration, allowing them to see their every move, and feel their every emotion. Once they are down to their last life, anyone still marked by them will die along with them upon their last death.

- **Self-Resurrection:** Supernatural Huntresses possess the ability to continually resurrect from the dead a total of eight times, similar to users of the Gilbert Ring. Moments after their death, their body spontaneously self-combusts only to reborn from the ashes to the age when they received their abilities from the Shamans, akin to a phoenix rising from the ashes. This was achieved through the self-sacrifice of the Eight Shamans who gave their lives to Rayna with their bodies preserved but each of her deaths caused one of them to decay.
	* **Longevity:** In each of their lives, Supernatural Huntresses age at a slower rate compared to humans, affording them an extended lifespan.

## **Weaknesses**

### Supernatural Hunter

* **Broken Neck:** Breaking a supernatural hunter's neck will result in instant death.
* **Decapitation:** Decapitation will result in instant death for a hunter.
* **Heart Extraction:** Ripping a supernatural hunter's heart out will result in instant death.
* **Hunter Instinct:** When awakened, a hunter becomes filled with a supernatural urge to kill vampires. The more vampires a hunter kills, the stronger the urge becomes. This urge is purely based on instinct, and forces a hunter to try to kill a vampire even if he or she does not want to, including family members. However, the instinct can be overcome with hypnotism and precise training to great effect.
* **Magic:** Supernatural Hunters of the five are susceptible to the powers of witchcraft.
* **Mortality:** Despite their enhanced physical attributes, Supernatural Hunters are still human and share many of the same weaknesses as non-supernatural beings (e.g. age, disease, heart-failure, suffocation, etc.)

### Supernatural Huntress

* **Herbs:** Certain herbs, when applied as a paste on the scars, can mask the signal that allows a Supernatural Huntress to find their marked victims.
* **Hunter Instinct:** Supernatural Huntresses appear to suffer from the same supernatural urge to kill vampires. The more vampires they kill, the stronger the urge becomes. This urge is also purely based on instinct and seems to worsen with age and begins to affect the mind. As the desire to kill vampires has had a huge impact on Rayna's mental stability in which she accidentally mistakes a supermarket cashier for a vampire, whom she stakes, leading to her being confined into a secure psychiatric hospital and became old there.
* **Eighth Life:** Supernatural Huntresses only possess a total of eight lives, and would die permanently after expending their eighth life.
* **Mortality:** Despite their enhanced physical attributes, Supernatural Huntresses are still human and shares many of the same weaknesses as non-supernatural beings (e.g. age, decapitation, disease, heart-failure, suffocation, etc.) however the huntress becomes reborn from said death.
* **Victim Connection:** Supernatural Huntresses are connected to the ones they killed using the Phoenix Stone Sword and are sometimes haunted by them; their minds.

## **Tools and Weapons**

Despite being a force to be reckoned with, the capabilities of a supernatural hunters are not comparable to older vampires. As such, they employ to use of numerous skills and weapons to even the playing field.

* White Oak Ash Daggers
* Vervain
	+ Vervain Darts
	+ Vervain Grenades
	+ Vervain Coated Gloves
	+ Vervain Soaked Ropes
* Stake Firing Sniper Rifle
* Bolas Shotgun
* Stake Explosive
* Wooden Bullets
* Werewolf Venom

## Trivia

* Both Hunters and Huntresses were made by magic, however, only the huntress is protected against offensive magic. ???
* The five grow stronger with each vampire kill, as well as to expand their hunter's mark, whereas the huntress grows stronger with each death, rivaling ancient vampires. ???
* Both have hunter instincts to kill a vampire on sight
* If a vampire kills a member of the five, they would experience the hunter's curse which causes hallucinations and torments of their enemies and the hunter that they killed. This would continue to grow until the activation of a potential hunter. The huntress doesn't have this ability if she died at the hands of a vampire.
* It is unknown if a hunter or huntress could be turned into a Vampire. In the case of the Huntress it seems unlikely due to her being immune to magic, and being able to revive upon death. In the case of The Five, it is a little less clear cut since (apart from their Hunter's Mark, and drive to kill Vampires) they appear to have the natural biological processes as that of a human. It is also unknown if they could still inflict the Hunter's Curse on the Vampire that turned them.