Blood Hunters (Matt Mercer)
Ghostbane Blood Hunter
The process of becoming a blood hunter and steeling oneself against evil can take a blood hunter close to death. The imbibement of the hunter's bane, a ritual sacred to the blood hunters, can induce a state that is indistinguishable, for a moment, from death itself. Many blood hunters embrace this aspect of their identity and seek to untether their souls from their body to fight on past the darkness.
Ghostbane Blood Hunter
Medium humanoid (any), any alignment
- Armor Class 16 (half plate)
- Hit Points 112 (15d8 + 45)
- Speed 30 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 16 (+3) 12 (+1) 16 (+3) 12 (+1) 15 (+2) 11 (+0)
- Skills Insight +6, Intimidation +4, Survival +6
- Senses truesight 60 ft., passive Perception 12
- Languages any one language
- Challenge 9 (5,000 XP)
Beyond Death. When the blood hunter is reduced to 0 hit points, it falls unconscious and its spirit rises from its body. Its spirit is a ghost that replaces its actions with only the Rite Scythe attack. If the blood hunter dies, its spirit also dies, and vice versa. If the spirit reduces a creature to 0 hit points, the blood hunter regains 9 (2d8) hit points. The blood hunter's spirit immediately returns to its body if the blood hunter wakes up by any means.
Hunter's Bane. The blood hunter has advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks to track fey, fiends, and undead, and on Intelligence checks to recall information about them.
Rite Weapon. The blood hunter's rite weapon is its scythe. Its attacks with its rite weapon are magical and deal an additional 4 (1d8) necrotic damage plus 4 (1d8) radiant damage (included in the attack).
Actions
Multiattack. The blood hunter makes three attacks with its rite weapon.
Rite Scythe. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d8 + 3) slashing damage plus 4 (1d8) necrotic damage plus 4 (1d8) radiant damage. If the damage reduces a creature to 0 hit points, the blood hunter regains 9 (2d8) hit points.
Reactions
Blood Curse of the Fallen Puppet. When an ally of the blood hunter is reduced to 0 hit points whiel within 30 feet of it, the blood hunter can give the creature a final act of aggression. Before it falls unconscious or dies, the ally can make one weapon attack against a target of the blood hunter's choice within weapon range.
Profane Blood Hunter
Profane blood hunters make pacts with minor evils, a necessary moral compromise to make in the face of greater threats.
Profane Pacts
The profane blood hunter in this statblock has made a pact with a fiend, such as an erinyes or a barlgura. As a result, its rite weapon deals fire damage and it has resistance to fire damage. For other pacts, you can replace the damage resistance and the damage inflicted by its rite weapon with other types based on the creature it has made its pact with at your discretion. One of its spells might also be swapped for a different spell depending on its pact. Some examples are listed below, none of which affect the blood hunter's challenge rating.
| Patron | Damage | Spell | Replaces ... |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barbed Devil | fire | sword burst | blade ward |
| Green Hag | necrotic | invisibility | fear |
| Ice Devil | cold | frostbite | chill touch |
| Incubus/ Succubus | necrotic | suggestion | hold person |
| Lamia | psychic | calm emotions | earthbind |
| Oni | cold | sleep | charm person |
| Medusa | poison | blindness/deafness | crown of madness |
| Mindflayer | psychic | phantasmal force | ray of enfeeblement |
| Mummy | necrotic | mending | mage hand |
Profane Blood Hunter
Medium humanoid (any), any alignment
- Armor Class 17 (half plate)
- Hit Points 112 (15d8 + 45)
- Speed 30 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 12 (+1) 16 (+3) 16 (+3) 12 (+1) 15 (+2) 11 (+0)
- Skills Insight +5, Intimidation +3, Survival +5
- Damage Resistances fire
- Senses passive Perception 12
- Languages any one language
- Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)
Hunter's Bane. The blood hunter has advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks to track fey, fiends, and undead, and on Intelligence checks to recall information about them.
Rite Weapon. The blood hunter's rite weapon is its longbow. Its attacks with its rite weapon are magical and deal an additional 4 (1d8) fire damage (included in the attack).
Spellcasting. The blood hunter is a 5th-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 13, +5 to hit with spell attacks). It regains its expended spell slots when it finishes a short or long rest. It knows the following warlock spells, and can cast them using its rite weapon as its spellcasting focus:
Cantrips (at will): blade ward, chill touch, mage hand
1st-3rd level (2 3rd-level slots): charm person, crown of madness, earthbind, fear, hold person, ray of enfeeblementActions
Multiattack. The blood hunter can either make two attacks with its rite weapon or cast a cantrip and make one weapon attack.
Dagger. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d4 + 3) piercing damage.
Rite Longbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, range 150/600 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) piercing damage plus 4 (1d8) fire damage. If the damage from this attack reduces a creature to 0 hit points, the blood hunter regains an expended spell slot.
Diabolic Channel. The blood hunter makes one attack with its rite longbow against a creature. If the attack hits, the blood hunter can cast one spell on the target, regardless of the regular rules for range, affecting only that target. If the spell requires an attack roll, it automatically hits. If the spell requires a saving throw, the creature has disadvantage on the first saving throw made against the spell.
Mutant Blood Hunter
Enchanted by the process of mutating their bodies in their hunter's bane ritual, some blood hunters seek out new methods of mutating their bodies to suit their needs, side effects be damned.
Other Mutations
The blood hunter in this statblock has mutated its body in three ways: first, it increased its maximum strength, but reduced its dexterity in the process. Second, it gave itself the ability to regenerate at the cost of its top movement speed. Finally, it allowed itself to ignore being grappled, paralyzed, or restrained, and it chose to ignore any side effects of this mutation using its strange metabolism.
The simplest way to change your blood hunter's mutations is to change its speed to 30 ft., remove its reconstruction trait, and choose one of the following options to replace it. Using these alternatives may affect the difficulty of the blood hunter.
| Mutation | Effect | Side Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Aether | Speed 30 ft., fly 20 ft. | Aether Drain. The blood hunter has disadvantage on ability checks using Strength or Dexterity. |
| Cruelty | Multiattack. The blood hunter makes three attacks with its rite weapon. | Cruel Punishment. The blood hunter has disadvantage on saving throws. |
| Nighteye | Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12 | Sunlight Sensitivity. While in sunlight, the blood hunter has disadvantage on attack rolls, as well as on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight. |
| Rapidity | Speed. 45 ft. | Weak Points. Attacks made against the blood hunter score a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20. |
Since the mutant blood hunter concocts slurries to mutate its body, rather than the mutations being innate, the blood hunter might have one or more of these mutations on its person as potions that can be drunk by other creatures. Refer to the blood hunter class mutagens for examples of how these potions might affect a creature.
The rules for potions you pick up from a defeated mutant blood hunter might be different to those in the class feature to make for more interesting rewards. A creature must be a humanoid of size Small or Medium to be affected by such a potion. The creature both benefits from the effects and suffers from the side effects. The effects and side effects last for 1 minute and are considered to be nonmagical. A creature can discover the effects and side effects of such a potion given one hour of study and a successful DC 20 Intelligence (Alchemist's Tools) or Intelligence (Medicine) check.
Allies fighting alongside the mutant blood hunter might also have some of the mutations active during a fight.
Mutant Blood Hunter
Medium humanoid (any), any alignment
- Armor Class 13 (half plate)
- Hit Points 112 (15d8 + 45)
- Speed 20 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 22 (+6) 6 (-2) 16 (+3) 12 (+1) 15 (+2) 11 (+0)
- Skills Insight +5, Intimidation +3, Survival +5
- Damage Immunities poison
- Condition Immunities grappled, paralyzed, poisoned, restrained
- Senses passive Perception 12
- Languages any one language
- Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)
Blood Curse of the Transfusion. As a bonus action, the blood hunter can heal an allied creature within 30 feet of it by 14 (4d6) hit points. The blood hunter takes damage equal to the hit points regained.
Hunter's Bane. The blood hunter has advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks to track fey, fiends, and undead, and on Intelligence checks to recall information about them.
Reconstruction. The blood hunter regains 5 hit points at the start of its turn as long as it has more than 0 hit points.
Rite Weapon. The blood hunter's rite weapon is its greatsword. Its attacks with its rite weapon are magical and deal an additional 4 (1d8) poison damage (included in the attack).
Actions
Multiattack. The blood hunter makes two attacks with its rite weapon.
Rite Greatsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d6 + 6) slashing damage plus 4 (1d8) poison damage.
Lycan Blood Hunter
Blood hunters that embrace the aspect of the wolf in their rituals are among the most feared and the least trusted of their order. Some turn to the order as penance for atrocities committed while under the influence of the full moon, in an attempt to do enough good in the world to counteract the bad. Others deliberately undergo a ceremony to inflict lycanthropy upon themselves, seduced by the potential it brings them.
Lycan Blood Hunter
Medium humanoid (any), any alignment
- Armor Class 17 (half plate)
- Hit Points 112 (15d8 + 45)
- Speed 40 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 20 (+5) 14 (+2) 16 (+3) 10 (+0) 17 (+3) 8 (-1)
- Skills Insight +6, Intimidation +5, Survival +6
- Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical weapons that aren't silvered
- Senses passive Perception 12
- Languages any one language
- Challenge 6 (2,300 XP)
Hunter's Bane. The blood hunter has advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks to track fey, fiends, and undead, and on Intelligence checks to recall information about them.
Keen Hearing and Smell. The blood hunter has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell.
Lycan Resistance. The blood hunter's damage resistances function only while in its hybrid form.
Feral Desperation. While in hybrid form, the blood hunter has advantage on ability checks and saving throws using Strength, and it has a +2 bonus to melee attack and damage rolls.
Pack Tactics. The blood hunter has advantage on attack rolls against a creature if at least one of its allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally isn’t incapacitated.
Rite Weapon. The blood hunter's rite weapon is its unarmed strike (or Rite Strike). Its attacks with its rite weapon are magical and deal an additional 4 (1d8) slashing damage (included in the attack).
Shapechanger. The blood hunter can use its bonus action to polymorph into a wolf-humanoid hybrid, or back into its true form, which is humanoid. Its statistics are the same in each form. Any equipment it is wearing or carrying isn't transformed. It reverts to its true form if it dies.
Actions
Multiattack. The blood hunter makes two Rite Strikes.
Spear (Humanoid Form Only). Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d6 + 5) piercing damage or 9 (1d8 + 5) piercing damage if wielded with two hands to make a melee attack.
Rite Strike (Hybrid Form Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (2d8 + 7) slashing damage.