Blood Hunter

When the young man's blindfold was
removed, he found himself in a dimly lit
room surrounded by hooded figures. He
stood in front of a small dais that held a
vial of gleaming crimson liquid. Months of
training had led him to this moment. If he
survived drinking the vial, the Hunter's Bane,
he would never be the same. Becoming more
than human, he would finally have the power
to avenge his family that lay dead all these years.

As the horde of demonic spawn lurched toward
her, the aging half-elf ran her thin blade along her
palm, coating it in her blood. In an instant, the blood
ignited, wreathing her sword in a ghastly blue flame.
She fell upon the horde as a blur of azure fire and cold
steel. The hellspawn would find no mercy from her today.

In the light of the pale moon, an almost feral halfling got down on all fours to sniff the tracks before him. The scent of
goblin was unmistakable, vile rags and rotten meats. With a bestial howl, the halfling grew in size, and wiry gray fur burst forth from his arms and legs. As fast as the wind, the halfling werewolf began another hunt in the light of the full moon.

All of the strange and monstrous warriors described above are Blood Hunters, occult guardians who infect and inoculate their blood with accursed power so they may hunt monsters.

Hit Points

• Hit Dice: 1d12 per Blood Hunter level
• Hit Points at 1st Level: 12 + your Constitution modifier.
• Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d12 (or 7) + 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: Constitution, Charisma
• Skills: Choose two: Athletics, Acrobatics, Arcana, History, Insight, Investigation, Nature, Religion, and Survival

Equipment

As a Blood Hunter you start with the following equipment, along with the equipment granted by your background:

• (a) a martial weapon or (b) two simple weapons
• (a) a light crossbow and 20 bolts or (b) four javelins
• (a) studded leather armor or (b) scale mail armor
• alchemist's supplies and an explorer's pack

Alternately if your group uses the starting wealth rule to purchase equipment, Blood Hunters start with 5d4 x 10 gp.

Quick Build

You can make a Blood Hunter quickly by following these suggestions. First, make Constitution your highest ability score, followed by Strength. Second, choose the Haunted One background. Finally, take the Versatile Fighting Style.

Fighting Style

At 1st level, you learn one Fighting Style from the list at the end of this class. You cannot learn a Fighting Style more than once, even if a feature allows you to learn another. To learn a Fighting Style, you must meet all of its prerequisites.

When you gain a level, you can replace this Fighting Style with another Fighting Style available to the Blood Hunter.

Hunter's Bane

You have survived the Hunter's Bane, a dark alchemical ritual that suffuses your blood with sinister magic, granting you the abilities of a Blood Hunter. At 1st level, you gain the following:

Sinister Insight

The Hunter's Bane has granted you an increased awareness of evil. As a bonus action, you can use this insight to analyze one creature you can see within 30 feet. Make a Constitution ability check using the skill proficiency from the table below that corresponds to its creature type (DC equals 8 + its CR:

Skill	Creature Types
Arcana	Aberrations, Dragons, Monstrosities
Nature	Beasts, Elementals, Oozes, Plants
Religion	Celestials, Fey, Fiends, Undead

    If you succeed on the check, you learn one characteristic of your choice from the table below. If you fail, you can't use this feature on that target again until you finish a long rest, or you damage it with a weapon attack or one of your Blood Rites:

Armor Class	Highest Ability Score
All Special Senses	Lowest Ability Score
Resistances, Immunities, & Vulnerabilities	One Trait or Action from its stat block

    If your choice doesn't apply to that creature, your DM will reveal another characteristic or weakness to you, such as a
    troll's Regeneration being stopped by fire damage.

Blood Rites Known

At 2nd level, you know two Blood Rites of your choice from the list at the end of this class. When you reach certain Blood Hunter levels you learn additional Blood Rites, as shown in the Rites Known column of the Blood Hunter table.

You can invoke each Blood Rite you know once between each short or long rest at no cost. After that, you must make
a Vital Sacrifice (as detailed below) to use that Rite again.

Blood Rites can only be used against creatures with blood. However, when you make a Vital Sacrifice to empower a Rite, you can target any creature, regardless if it has blood or not.

Finally, whenever you gain a level, you can replace a single Blood Rite you know with another Blood Rite of your choice.

Rite Die

Many Blood Rites and class features use your Rite Die, which begins as a d4. At certain levels, the size of this Die grows, as shown in the Rite Die column of the Blood Hunter table.

When you use a Rite Die, always roll it and use the result.

Vital Sacrifice

Some Blood Rites allow you to sacrifice your own life to fuel sinister effects. When you make a Vital Sacrifice, reduce both your maximum and current hit points by your Rite Die. This cannot be lessened in any way. At the end of each long rest, these reductions to your maximum hit points end.

If you have temporary hit points, you can reduce these in place of your current hit points. But you must always reduce your maximum hit points when you make a Vital Sacrifice.

Saving Throws

If a Blood Rite requires a creature to make a saving throw to resist its effects, you use your Rite save DC, as shown below:

You can sear your foes with blood magic. Beginning at 6th
level, you can use Crimson Offering once between each
short or long rest without making a Vital Sacrifice.

Moreover, when you damage a creature with a Crimson Offering weapon, you can place a Crimson Brand upon its
soul. Your Crimson Brand lasts until the creature dies or
you Brand another creature. It can also be removed by a remove curse spell. While your Crimson Brand lasts, you
gain the following benefits against that creature:

• You know its exact direction, so long as you both are
  on the same plane of existence. You are aware if it is
  on a different plane, but not which plane specifically.
• Your Sinister Insight checks against it have advantage.
• Each time it deals damage to you or a creature Friendly
  to you within 15 feet of you, it takes necrotic damage equal to your Rite Die.

Once you place this Brand on a creature, you must finish a short or long rest before you can use it again. When you have no uses left you can make a Vital Sacrifice to use it again.

Dark Augmentation

The dark magic of the Hunter's Bane has evolved, enhancing your physical abilities. Beginning at 10th level, whenever you make an ability check or saving throw using either Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution, you add a Rite Die to the result.

Improved Crimson Offering

You can assault body, mind, and spirit with your blood magic. Beginning at 11th level, when you use Crimson Offering, you can choose necrotic, psychic, or thunder as its damage type.

Vital Control

You have gained a greater measure of control over your blood magic. Also starting at 11th level, whenever you make a Vital Sacrifice, you can roll your Rite Die twice and choose which result to use for your hit point reduction.

Finally, once between each long rest when you would use a Blood Hunter feature that normally requires a Vital Sacrifice, you can use that feature without making the Vital Sacrifice.

When using a feature would require two Vital Sacrifices, like empowering a Blood Rite that you have alreay used, this
    feature only allows you to forgo a single Vital Sacrifice.

Archery

Prerequisite: Dexterity of 13 or higher
You gain a +1 bonus to attack rolls with ranged weapons,
and your attacks with ranged weapons ignore half-cover
and treat three-quarters cover as half cover.

Balanced Fighting

When wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no
other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to your weapon
damage rolls. You can use a shield and still gain the
benefits of this Fighting Style.

Dual Wielding

Prerequisite: Strength or Dexterity of 13 or higher
When you are two-weapon fighting, you can make
your off-hand attack as part of your Attack action
instead of your bonus action. However, when you do
so, you cannot also make an attack with your bonus
action on that turn.

You also add your ability modifier to the damage
of your off-hand attacks when two-weapon fighting.

Featherweight Fighting

Prerequisite: Dexterity of 13, Acrobatics
Whenever you are unarmed or wielding only light
weapons, your walking speed increases by 10 feet
and you gain a +1 bonus to your damage rolls with
light weapons and unarmed strikes.

If you are wearing medium or heavy armor or a
shield, you cannot benefit from this Fighting Style.

Great Weapon Fighting

Prerequisite: Strength of 13 or higher
Whenever you deal damage to a target with a heavy
melee weapon attack, you treat any of the weapon's
damage dice as their average roll if you rolled lower,
as shown here: d4 (2), d6 (3), d8 (4), d10 (5), d12 (6).

Hurler

Prerequisite: Strength or Dexterity of 11
You can draw a single thrown weapon as part of any
ranged attack you make with it, and the range of your
thrown weapon attacks is doubled.

When you are wielding only thrown weapons, you can
make a single ranged attack with a thrown weapon as
a bonus action on each of your turns.

Melee Marksman

Prerequisite: Dexterity of 13 or higher
Having a Hostile creature within 5 feet of you does not impose disadvantage on your ranged weapon attacks, so long as you are also attacking a target within 5 feet.

When you make a ranged weapon attack against a creature within 5 feet, it cannot target you with opportunity attacks for the rest of the turn regardless if you hit or missed your attack.

Polearm Fighting

Prerequisite: Strength and Dexterity of 11 or higher
You gain a +1 bonus to damage rolls with glaives, halberds, pikes, quarterstaffs, and spears so long as you are wielding only that weapon and no shield. When doing so, creatures provoke an opportunity attack from you when they enter or move within your reach with that weapon.

Versatile Fighting

Prerequisite: Strength or Dexterity of 11 or higher
While wielding a single versatile weapon and no shield, you gain a +1 bonus to your attack rolls with that weapon. While doing so, you can use your bonus action to make a grapple or shove attack, or to take the Use an Object action.

Rite of Agony

As a bonus action, you invoke this Rite and one creature you can see within 30 feet to make a Constitution saving throw. On a failure, it has disadvantage on Strength and Dexterity ability checks and saving throws, and each time it makes an attack it takes necrotic damage equal to your Rite Die. This effect ends at the end of your next turn.

Empowered Agony. This Rite's effects last for 1 minute. The affected creature can repeat this saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect early on a success.

Rite of Anxiety

As a bonus action, you invoke this Rite and curse a creature you can see within 30 feet, making it susceptible to influence. For the next minute, any creature that makes an ability check to influence that creature adds your Rite Die to its roll.

Empowered Anxiety. The creature must subtract one Rite Die from the first Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma saving throw it is forced to make before the end of your next turn.

Rite of Binding

As a bonus action, you invoke this Rite and force one Large or smaller creature that you can see within 30 feet to make a Strength saving throw. On a failure, its speed becomes 0 and it cannot take reactions until the end of your next turn.

Empowered Binding. You can target a
creature of any size with this Rite, and
it lasts for 1 minute. Creatures can
repeat this saving throw at the end
end each of their turns, ending
the effects on a success.

Rite of Blindness

When a creature within 30 feet hits with an attack, and you can see both the attacker and the target, you can use your reaction to invoke this Rite. The attacker must subtract your Rite Die from its attack roll, possibly causing it to miss.

Empowered Blindness. The creature subtracts your Rite Die from all attack rolls until the end of its following turn.

Rite of Confusion

As a bonus action, you invoke this Rite to curse one creature you can see within 30 feet that is concentrating on a spell. It must make a Wisdom saving throw, or lose concentration.

Empowered Confusion. The creature must subtract your Rite Die from its Wisdom saving throw to resist this Rite.

Rite of Knowledge

When you learn this Rite you gain knowledge of four Ritual spells. They can be from any spell list, but they must be of a level equal to your Proficiency Bonus or lower. However, to cast these Rituals, you must make a Vital Sacrifice.

Rite of Revelation

When you use Sinister Insight on a creature, you can invoke this Rite to automatically succeed on your ability check.

Empowered Revelation. Choose one damage Immunity the creature has and turn it into Resistance, or one damage Resistance it has and dispel it. This effect lasts for 1 minute.

If the creature has no damage Immunities or Resistances, you learn three Sinister Insight characteristics of your choice.

Rite of Siphoning

As an action, you can invoke this Rite and force one creature you touch to make a Charisma saving throw. On a failed save, it takes necrotic damage equal to twice your
Rite Die, and half as much on a successful
save. You then gain temporary hit points
equal to the necrotic damage dealt.

   Empowered Siphoning. The necrotic
     damage dealt by this Rite is treated as
           its maximum possible value,
                  in place of rolling.

Rite of Decay

Prerequisite: 13th-level Blood Hunter
As an action, you invoke this Rite and choose one creature you can see within 30 feet, attempting to corrupt its blood. It must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or take necrotic damage equal to four times your Rite Die, its speed is halved, and it cannot take reactions.

As an action, it can repeat this saving throw. On a success this effect ends. On a failure, it takes necrotic damage equal to twice your Rite Die and suffers one level of Exhaustion.

Empowered Decay. This Rite ignores necrotic Resistance and treats necrotic Immunity as Resistance. Also, a creature killed by this Rite is reduced to a pile of dust.

Rite of Nightmares

Prerequisite: 13th-level Blood Hunter
As an action, you invoke this Rite and choose a creature you can see within 30 feet and infect its mind with nightmarish phantasms. It must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or it takes psychic damage equal to four times your Rite Die and
it becomes Frightened of you for 1 minute.

The creature repeats this saving throw at the end of each of its turns. On a success, this effect ends, but on a failure, it takes psychic damage equal to twice your Rite Die.

Empowered Nightmares. For the duration, the creature
is also Incapacitated and its speed becomes 0.

Rite of Thralldom

Prerequisite: 13th-level Blood Hunter
As an action, you invoke this Rite and touch a live Humanoid, smearing a drop of your blood on its face. It must succeed on a Charisma saving throw or become enthralled by you for up to 1 minute. This effect ends early if the target is reduced to 0 hit points, or if you use this Blood Rite on another target.

An enthralled Humanoid is Friendly to you and obeys your orders completely. In combat it shares your initiative and acts during your turn. It can move and use its reaction on its own, but it only takes the Dodge action on its turn unless you use your bonus action to command it to take one of the actions from its stat block or another action.

Empowered Thralldom. The target remains enthralled by this Blood Rite for up to 1 hour.

Occult Order

Choose the Occult Order which best represents the training, skill, and sinister blood magic abilities of your Blood Hunter:

Alchemists & Experimentation

The Mutagens included here are the most common examples created by Alchemist Blood Hunters. Talk to your DM about crafting custom Mutagens based on abilities from monsters that you slay or study!

Blasphemous Prayer

3rd-level Order of Heretics feature
You are able to channel divine energies despite your status as a heretic. You gain two Channel Divinity options: Censure the Divine, which is detailed below, and one Channel Divinity of your choice from those available to Cleric Divine Domains at 2nd level. For the second, you use your Blood Hunter level in place of Cleric level and your Rite save DC. You can only use one Channel Divinity option per turn.

You can use each of your Channel Divinities once, and you regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. When you have no uses left, you can make a Vital Sacrifice to use a Channel Divinity options you know again.

Heretical Knowledge

3rd-level Order of Heretics feature
Despite your beliefs, you understand the traditional religious practices, rites, and prayers. You gain the following benefits:

• You gain proficiency in Religion. If already proficient, you add double your proficiency bonus to all Religion checks.
• You learn two Cantrips of your choice from the Cleric
  spell list. Constitution is your spellcasting modifier.
• If you use Sinister Insight to analyze a Celestial,
  Fiend, or Undead, you can add your Rite Die
  to your ability check.

Unholy Restoration

7th-level Order of Heretics feature
You can draw life from one creature and transfer it to another in a dark mockery of divine magic. As an action, you can force a creature you can see within 30 feet to make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, it takes necrotic damage equal to four Rite Dice, or half as much damage on a success. It has disadvantage on its saving throw if you touch it.

Another creature of your choice you can see within 30 feet regains hit points equal to half the necrotic damage dealt.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Constitution modifier (minimum of once), and you regain all uses when you finish a long rest. When you have no uses left, you can make a Vital Sacrifice to use this feature again.

Divine Anathema

13th-level Order of Heretics feature
When you use Censure the Divine you can empower it with
a Vital Sacrifice, forgoing its normal effects to instead force creatures of your choice within 30 feet to make a Charisma saving throw. On a failure, their speed is reduced by 10 feet.

Creatures suffering from this effect must repeat this saving throw at the end of each of their turns. On a failed save, their speed is reduced by an additional 10 feet. On a success, they regain 10 feet of their speed.

This effect ends when a creature's speed returns to normal, or when the speed reduction from this feature equals its total speed, at which point the creature is instantly Petrified.

Celestials and Fiends have disadvantage on saving throws to resist this feature. Once a creature succeeds against this feature it is immune to its effect until the following dawn.

Utmost Transgression

18th-level Order of Heretics feature
You use your occult knowledge to bind denizens of heaven
to your will. As an action, you can cast the conjure celestial ^ll spell, at 5th-level. Constitution is your spellcasting modifier. The Celestial is bound against its will by blasphemous blood
      magic, allowing you to ignore the material component of
            the spell, but its duration is reduced to 1 minute.

                  You can cast this spell between each short or
              long rest at no cost, after which, you must make a
                number of Vital Sacrifices equal to the CR of the
                   Celestial you wish to conjure to cast it again.

Feral Senses

3rd-level Order of the Pale Moon feature
Your lycanthropy heightens your senses. Whenever you make a Perception or Survival check based on your sense of sight, hearing, or smell, you add your Rite Die to your roll.

In addition, if you use Sinister Insight to analyze a Beast, Monstrosity, or a Shapeshifter, add your Rite Die to your roll.

Lycanthropic Curse

3rd-level Order of the Pale Moon feature
You have been infected with a curse based on a Beast of CR 1 or lower. Once chosen, this Beast cannot be changed.

As a bonus action, you can Shift, transforming into a Beast Form or Hybrid Form, both of which are detailed below. You can Shift once per short or long rest at no cost, after which, you must make a Vital Sacrifice to Shift again.

You can remain Shifted for up to 1 hour, but it ends early if you are Incapacitated or if you end it as a bonus action. You can make a Vital Sacrifice to extend the duration by 1 hour.

Lycan Warrior

7th-level Order of the Pale Moon feature
You are able to draw out more power from your curse. While Shifted, your attacks are magical, and you gain Resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from attacks that are non-magical and non-silvered.

When Shifted, you can use Crimson Offering to empower your transformation, applying the benefits to all your natural weapons and unarmed strikes. If you are holding a Crimson Offering weapon when you Shift, you can transfer its benefit to your natural weapons and unarmed strikes.

Feral Prowess

13th-level Order of the Pale Moon feature
Your curse allows you to shrug off minor wounds. When you begin your turn Shifted, and you have less than half your hit points remaining, but at least 1 hit point you regain hit points equal to your Constitution modifier (a minimum of 1).

Lycanthropic Mastery

18th-level Order of the Pale Moon feature
You have mastered your lycanthropic curse. You can Shift at will without making a Vital Sacrifice, and you can remain in your Shifted forms indefinitely.

Finally, while Shifted, you have advantage on attack rolls against creatures marked by Crimson Brand, and you
have advantage on any saving
throws it forces you to
make.

Spectral Nature

3rd-level Order of Salt & Iron feature
You have tainted your soul with ghastly power.
You require half the amount of sleep, food, and
drink for the average member of your race.

Also, you can use a bonus action to enter a
temporary Spectral State, which lasts until the end
of your current turn. While in this state, you are resistant
to all bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from non-magical and non-silvered attacks, and you can move through solid objects and creatures as if they were difficult terrain. If you end your movement inside a creature or object, you are instantly shunted to the nearest unoccupied space, taking 1d10 force damage for every 5 feet you were shunted.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to
your Constitution modifier (minimum of once), and you
regain all uses when you finish a long rest. You can
make a Vital Sacrifice to use this feature again.

At certain levels in this class, the duration of
this Spectral State increases: at 7th-level
(1 minute), 13th-level (1 hour), and
at 18th level (indefinite). You can
end this state as a bonus action.

Warrior of the Dawn

3rd-level Order of Salt & Iron feature
Your blood magic is especially potent when used against the undead. When you use Sinister Insight to analyze Undead, you add your Rite Die to your ability check.

Also, when you use Crimson Offering, you can choose to empower your Crimson Offering with the signature magicks of your Order, granting you the following additional benefits:

• The bonus damage of Crimson Offering is radiant.
• You gain resistance to necrotic damage.
• The weapon sheds bright light in a 30-foot radius.

Curse Specialist

7th-level Order of Salt & Iron feature
Your knowledge and experience with undead enhances the power of your blood magic. You can target any creature with your Blood Rites, even if it does not have blood in its veins.

In addition, at the end of each long rest you can choose one Blood Rite you know. You can invoke that Rite one additional time before you must make a Vital Sacrifice to use it again.

Blood Magic Specialist

3rd-level Order of Undying Thirst feature
Your curse grants you increased control over your blood magic. You learn one additional Blood Rite, but it doesn't count against your number of Blood Rites Known.

Also, your affinity for blood magic increases the size of your Rite Die to a d6. At certain Blood Hunter levels,
your Rite Die increases again: at 5th level it becomes
a d8, at 11th level a d10, and finally a d12 at 17th level.

Finally, whenever you use Crimson Offering, you can
choose for its bonus damage to be necrotic damage.

Vampiric Nature

3rd-level Order of Undying Thirst feature
The ancient disease of your Order has irreparably changed your physiology. Your teeth become Fangs which you can use for unarmed strikes. On hit, your Fangs deal necrotic damage equal to your Rite Die + your Strength modifier.

Moreover, whenever you use Sinister Insight to analyze an Undead creature, you add your Rite Die to your ability check.

Essence Drain

7th-level Order of Undying Thirst feature
You can drain the life from your foes. When you hit a creature with an attack, you can use your bonus action to make a Fang attack against that creature. On hit, your maximum hit points are restored by an amount equal to the damage dealt.

You can restore maximum hit points in this way a number of times equal to your Constitution modifier (a minimum of once), and you regain all uses when you finish a long rest.

Sinister Resilience

7th-level Order of Undying Thirst feature
The life you steal from others invigorates you. Whenever you deal necrotic damage to a creature, you can gain temporary hit points equal to half the necrotic damage dealt.

While these temporary hit points last, you are resistant to necrotic, poison, and all bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from all non-magical and non-silvered attacks.

However, if you take radiant damage, all of your temporary hit points from this feature are immediately dispelled, and the total radiant damage is applied to your normal hit points.

Misty Escape

13th-level Order of Undying Thirst feature
When a creature you can see hits you with an attack, you can use your reaction to turn into a cloud of swirling mist, and the triggering attack automatically misses. You instantly reappear in an unoccupied space you can see within 30 feet.

Once you use this reaction you must finish a short or long rest before you can use it again. When you have no uses left,
    you can make a Vital Sacrifice to use this reaction again.

Order of Witch Knights

Blood Hunters who join the dark Order of Witch Knights are driven by an overwhelming desire to destroy the great evils of the world. Those especially dedicated, those willing to give up anything, are often approached by Eldritch Powers, beings of otherworldly might. These benefactors offer power in return for a fraction of the warrior's soul or unquestioning fealty.

Sanguine Warrior

7th-level Order of Witch Knights feature
You seamlessly weave minor spells with weapon attacks. If you use your action to Cast a Spell, or activate a spell you are concentrating on (such as witch bolt), you can make a single weapon attack as a bonus action on that turn.

When using a Crimson Offering weapon as a spellcasting focus, you can change the damage dealt by any spell you cast to match the damage type of your Crimson Offering weapon.

Bewitched Strikes

13th-level Order of Witch Knights feature
The cursed magic in your blood seeps into your weapons. When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, that creature has disadvantage on the next saving throw it makes against a Blood Rite or spell you cast before the end of your next turn.

    Profane Sacrifice

    18th-level Order of Witch Knights feature
     You can offer the death of your foes to your Eldritch Power
           for enhanced magicks. If a hostile creature dies within
           30 feet of you, you can use your reaction to regain one
         Pact Magic spell slot, or gain temporary hit points equal
        to your Rite Die + your Blood Hunter level.

          Once you use this feature you must finish a short or
        long rest before you can use it again.