Witch Hunter 0.3

A human locks eyes with his foe, and the rest of the world goes silent. He rushes forwards, shrugging off the mage's attempts to stop him in his tracks, and swings a warhammer that crashes through all his enemy's magical protection.

A dart shoots into a warlock's neck, and a poison courses through his veins, burning away his magic. He reaches for the mystic arcana granted by his patron and finds them missing, and the tiefling hiding in the shadows smiles as she draws her dagger.

A dragonborn in full plate stands tall amidst a barrage of magical fire and lightning. One by one, the spells around them begin to fizzle out, and the last thing the enemy wizard sees is her own bolt of lightning reflecting off their armor and striking her instead.

These three are witch hunters, people who have chosen to hone their bodies and minds into deadly weapons for the purpose of fighting against practitioners of magic. Whether through overwhelming force, debilitating poisons, or sheer force of mind, witch hunters are able to draw on a well of resolve to hit hard and evade or negate a spellcaster's most deadly abilities. Some witch hunters do not do as well as other martial combatants against warriors wielding mundane steel, but they can slay mages that could disintegrate a regular fighter or rogue with just a word and a gesture.

Hit Points

• Hit Dice: 1d8 per witch hunter level
• Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your constitution modifier
• Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your constitution modifier per witch hunter level after 1st

Proficiencies

• Armor: Light and medium armor, shields
• Weapons: Simple and martial weapons
• Tools: Thieves' tools, poisoner's tools

• Saving Throws: Constitution, Intelligence
• Skills: Choose three from Acrobatics, Arcana, Athletics, Insight, Intimidation, Investigation, Medicine, Perception, Religion, Stealth, and Survival.

Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

• (a) a martial weapon and a shield or (b) a martial weapon and two simple weapons
• (a) leather armor or (b) scale mail
• (a) a heavy crossbow and 20 bolts or (b) a blowgun and 10 poison darts
• (a) a burglar's pack, (b) a dungeoneer's pack, or (c) an explorer's pack
• (a) poisoner's tools or (b) thieves' tools

Alternatively, you may start with 4d4 × 10 GP to buy your own equipment.

Multiclassing

Prerequisites. To qualify for multiclassing into the witch hunter class, you must meet these prerequisites: Dexterity and Constitution 13.

Proficiencies. When you multiclass into the witch hunter class, you gain the following proficiencies: Light armor, simple weapons, martial ranged weapons, one tool from the class's tools list.

Battle Trance

At 3rd level, you have meditated deeply on the Slayer's Tenet and gained the ability to enter a battle trance. As an action on your turn, you can expend a point of resolve to focus all your mind on combat with a single target. The world becomes quiet around you, and all you are aware of is yourself and your enemy. While in a battle trance, the following effects apply:

• You cannot directly target anyone but your chosen foe with an attack, spell, or ability.
• When you make a weapon attack against your chosen foe, you have advantage on the attack roll.
• You gain a +3 bonus to your AC and all saving throws, but only against attacks made or spells cast by your chosen foe.
• You are immune to being charmed, frightened, or stunned.

Your battle trance lasts for 1 minute. It ends early if you are knocked unconscious or if your chosen enemy is defeated (knocked unconscious, killed, or incapacitated in such a way that they cannot continue to fight). You can also choose to end your battle trance early as a bonus action.

Unceasing Concentration

Also at 3rd level, if your chosen foe is defeated while you are in a battle trance, you may shift the focus of your trance to any other enemy as a reaction. If you do so, your trance does not end early. In addition, if your trance would end due to the allowed time having passed, you can expend a point of resolve as a bonus action to stay in a battle trance for 1 more minute.

Clash of Fate

Starting at 7th level, others around you without sufficient force of personality cannot interfere in your duel with your chosen foe while you are in a battle trance. If any creature tries to target you or your chosen enemy with an attack or spell, they must make a Charisma saving throw with a DC of 10 + your proficiency bonus. On a failure, they cannot attack or cast the spell, and they lose that action. If a creature succeeds on this saving throw once, they do not need to make it for any subsequent attacks or spells until this battle trance ends.

When you are in a battle trance, as a reaction when your chosen foe attempts to disengage or move out of your reach, you can expend 2 points of resolve to force them to fight you. For the remaining duration of your battle trance, your foe cannot take the Disengage action against you, and when you make an opportunity attack, your foe must make a Strength saving throw with a DC of your attack roll to avoid being knocked prone and unable to escape your range. This includes the triggering action.

Juggernaut

At 10th level, you become nearly unstoppable when focused on an enemy. While in a battle trance, your speed cannot be reduced below 30 feet unless the effect that would do so specifically says that your speed is reduced to 0 or that you cannot move. As a free action at the end of your turn while in a battle trance, you can expend 3 points of resolve and declare an attack you will make against your chosen foe on your next turn. The declaration can be nonverbal, such as glaring and raising a weapon to prepare to strike, but it must be clear to your chosen foe what you are going to do. Until your next turn, any attempts to prevent you from making the attack (such as by charming, grappling, or restraining you) automatically fail. On your next turn, your movement speed is doubled, and if the attack hits, you can maximize the damage dealt.

Stalker's Pursuit

At 3rd level, you have chosen to follow the Stalker's Tenet and hunt from the shadows, tracking your quarry wherever they run and striking when they least expect it to disable and debilitate. You have advantage on any checks made to discern the location of someone you are hunting, as well as any checks made to find evidence of their past presence in a location. In addition, as part of a weapon attack, you can expend 1 point of resolve to focus the blow on a specific body part in order to hinder your foe. On a hit, you deal damage as normal, and you choose one of the following effects to apply:

• Sweep. You target your enemy's legs, knocking them down to their knees. Your target is knocked prone.
• Sprain. You target your enemy's arms, interrupting their movements. On the target's next turn, its first attack has disadvantage and it cannot cast spells that require somatic components.
• Silence. You target your enemy's neck, cutting off speech. On the target's next turn, it cannot speak or cast spells that require verbal components.

Accustomed to the Shadows

At 7th level, you have become an expert in hiding yourself and noticing the secrets of others. You can attempt to hide even when lightly obscured, and enemies have disadvantage on Perception checks made to notice you. You also have advantage on all rolls made when taking the Search action, and can take the Search action as a bonus action.

Expert Envenomator

At 10th level, you have mastered the art of crafting powerful poisons to weaken your foes. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses your proficiency with poisoner's tools. As part of a short or long rest, you can make an Intelligence check with a DC of 18 to craft one of the following poisons. If you have a set of poisoner's tools, you can add your proficiency with poisoner's tools to the roll.

• Lockjoint. The target must pass a Constitution saving throw or have disadvantage on Strength- and Dexterity-based ability checks, saving throws, and weapon attacks for the next hour.
• Mindmelt. The target must pass an Intelligence saving throw or have disadvantage on Intelligence checks and saving throws for the next hour. During this time, in order to cast any spell, the target must pass an Intelligence (Arcana) check with a DC of 5.
• Witchbane. The target must pass a Wisdom saving throw or lose its highest 1d4 spell slots. If the target can cast spells without expending spell slots, such as with a warlock's Mystic Arcanum, uses of those features count as spell slots for the purpose of this poison.

All poisons can be applied to a melee weapon or five pieces of ammunition over the course of one minute. If applied to a melee weapon, the poison has a chance to take effect on the first five attacks made with the weapon. The save DC for all poisons listed here is 12, or 10 + your dexterity bonus if you use a blowgun with poisoned darts. If your target ingests one of these poisons, the save DC becomes 18.

Nothing Left Behind

At 15th level, you have become an expert in both covering your tracks and following the trails of your targets. You leave no trace of your passing, cannot be tracked by magical means, and you can track creatures under the effect of pass without trace or similar effects. If anyone attempts to discern your location or any information about your condition or surroundings through magical means, you are aware of this and can sense the identity of the caster if you know them already. In addition, when you sense that someone is trying to track you, you can expend 3 points of resolve to cause their magic to fail, leaving them completely unaware of your location as if they had not cast the spell. However, they are aware that you caused their magic to fail.

Templar's Fortitude

At 3rd level, you have chosen to follow the Templar's Tenet and live by the principle that you must train your body and mind to resist your targets' spells to better fight them. You gain proficiency with heavy armor, and while you are wearing armor, your AC against incoming spell attacks is increased by 1.

Force of Will

Also at 3rd level, you have honed your mind and personality to empower you in combat. When you roll initiative, you can choose to use your Charisma modifier in place of your Dexterity modifier. If you are wearing armor that lets you add your Dexterity modifier to your AC, you can choose to add your Charisma modifier instead. In addition, when you are targeted by any effect that requires you to make a saving throw, you can expend 1 point of resolve to make a Charisma saving throw in place of the normal saving throw for the effect. You can use your Iron Will feature at the same time as this feature.

Witchbane

At 7th level, your weapon attacks are imbued with a weaker form of the stalker poison known as witchbane. Whenever you hit a target with a weapon attack, the target must make a Wisdom saving throw with a DC of 8 + your proficiency bonus + your charisma modifier. On a failure, the target loses its lowest spell slot. Your own form of witchbane can only drain spell slots of 4th level and lower. As part of a weapon attack, you can expend 3 points of willpower to temporarily sever your target's connection to the Weave. On a hit, if the target fails its wisdom saving throw against your Witchbane effect, it cannot cast spells on its next turn.

Mirrormind

Starting at 10th level, you learn to wear the force of your will like armor to repel incoming spells. When you are hit by a spell attack, roll a d10. On a 9, the spell is reflected and deals no damage. On a 10, the spell is reflected back at its caster, and the caster takes the effect of the spell.

Nullify

At 15th level, you have trained your mind to fully suppress weaker spells. Cantrips cannot be cast within 30 feet of you, and cantrips cast from outside that radius cannot target any object or creature within 30 feet of you. As a reaction when a spell is cast at a target within 30 feet of you, you can expend 4 points of resolve to cause the magic to fizzle out. If the spell is 4th level or lower, it instantly dissipates with no effect. Otherwise, make a Charisma check with a DC of 10 + the spell's level. On a success, the spell dissipates.

Mana Void

At 18th level, your ability to disrupt magic has gone far beyond what any normal templar can do. The range of your Nullify feature expands to 60 feet, and your Witchbane feature always succeeds on a hit. Whenever anyone casts a spell within 60 feet of you, unless you decide otherwise, the spell costs two spell slots. If no other spell slots of the same level are available, the next lowest spell slot is consumed. In addition, you can expend 6 points of resolve as an action to create an antimagic field around yourself. The field reaches for 60 feet in every direction around you, and lasts for 1 minute. You do not need to concentrate on the field to keep it in place, and it does not move with you.

Cantrips

You know two cantrips of your choice from the Forsworn spell list, and can cast them at will. You learn a third Forsworn cantrip of your choice at 10th level.

Spell Slots

You have a number of spell slots you use to cast your spells of 1st level and higher, shown in the Spell Slots column of the Forsworn Spellcasting table. All your slots are the same level, as shown in the Slot Level column. For example, if you were a 7th level Forsworn witch hunter, you would have two 2nd-level spell slots which you could use to cast spells of up to 2nd level. You regain all your expended spell slots at the end of a short or long rest.

Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher

You know all the spells on the Forsworn spell list, but must spend time practicing your spells in order to have them readily available. You can prepare a number of spells equal to your current maximum number of resolve points, and you can change your list of prepared spells during a short or long rest. If you gain maximum resolve by increasing in level, you do not learn an additional spell instantly, but can practice and prepare one additional spell during your next short or long rest.

Spellcasting Ability

As a forsworn witch hunter, you cast spells by using your wits and perception to perfectly mimic other spellcasters. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for your forsworn spells. You use your Wisdom whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability.

Version 0.2 to Version 0.3

• Reworked the Invigoration feature, it now does something completely different
• Added the Wakefulness feature at 9th level
• Renamed Eye for the Arcane II and Eye for the Arcane III to Discern Arcana and Ethereal Sight
• Replaced the 20th level feature Total Invigoration with Endless Stamina
• Reworked spellcasting for the Forsworn Tenet, which now uses spell slots instead of resolve
• Added three spells to the Forsworn spell list (Protection from Good and Evil, Blindness/Deafness, and Magic Circle)
• Removed names for resolve features separate from the class and subclass features that grant them