Blood Hunter: Order of Pestilence
Some blood hunters are more ostracised than others, and the Order of Pestilence exemplifies this example. A few unfortunate souls who survive the Hunter’s Bane find their blood infected with every malady under the sun - a result of their body becoming more vulnerable to mundane and magical disease over the course of the harrowing ritual.
These blood hunters use their tainted blood to weaken foes using a variety of diseases and ailments. Despite the multitude of afflictions within them, the blood hunter isn’t weakened in the slightest as body and disease live in grotesque coexistence. The blood hunter serves as a warm, living host for these diseases to multiply. The diseases in return act as sickening biological weapons the blood hunter uses to eliminate their prey.
All blood hunters of this order become hideously disfigured in some way thanks to the variety of diseases that fester inside it. As such, all are shunned from communities and very few ever work together. You choose the nature of your disfigurement or roll on the Physical Deformity table.
Physical Deformity
d6 |
|
|---|---|
| 1 | Your body is dotted with pustules that throb and burst at the slightest touches. |
| 2 | You have extensive scarring all over your body, and your skin has a rough patchwork texture. |
| 3 | Your nails constantly fall off causing intermittent bleeding, and you are down to your last few teeth. |
| 4 | You often bleed from your tearducts and hair follicles, leaving your eyes and scalp red. |
| 5 | Your skin is an unhealthy shade of yellow and you emit a constant foul odor. |
| 6 | Your veins are an ugly a dark gray and your wounds never fully heal properly. |
Festering Body
3rd-level Order of Pestilence feature
You are immune to disease, and you gain resistance to poison damage, as well as advantage on saving throws to avoid or end the poisoned condition.
At 7th level, you gain immunity to poison damage and the poisoned condition.
Rite of Malady
3rd-level Order of Pestilence feature
You conduct a unique rite with your diseased body; you know the Rite of Malady which doesn't count against the number of rites you know. When you activate the Rite of Malady, the extra damage dealt by your rite is poison damage.
Additionally, while this rite is active, you can use the following abilities below. When you do, you take necrotic damage equal to a roll of your Hemocraft die, which can't be reduced in any way.
Rotting Proximity. When you take the Attack action on your turn, you can replace one of your attacks to emit a foul stench which lasts until the start of your next turn. Whenever a creature of your choice starts its turn within a number of feet equal to five times your Hemocraft modifier (minimum of 5 feet) or first enters this area, you can force it to succeed on a Constitution saving throw or take necrotic damage equal to your Hemocraft die.
Poison Blood. When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can force it to make a Constitution saving throw, and if the saving throw fails, the target is poisoned until the start of your next turn.
Terrible Lethargy. As a bonus action, you can choose a creature you can see within 30 feet of you that is poisoned. As long as the creature is poisoned, it must roll a Hemocraft die whenever it makes a Strength or Constitution saving throw, and subtract the number rolled from the saving throw.
Sudden Infection
7th-level Order of Pestilence feature
Your diseases flare unexpectedly. At the start of your turn, you begin festering the diseases in your body (as if concentrating on a spell), which you can do for up to 1 minute. During this time, you count how many times you have rolled a Hemocraft die to inflict damage on yourself, which are called infection charges. As long as you are concentrating, you can continue to accumulate infection charges. If your concentration is broken early, any remaining infection charges are lost.
When you hit a creature while concentrating on this effect with an attack roll, you can roll a number of Hemocraft dice up to the number of infection charges you have. You deal additional necrotic damage to the target equal to the total number rolled, and you regain the same number of hit points. You can also deal this damage when a creature you can see within 30 feet of you damages you with an attack or harmful spell, using your reaction to do so.
You can deal this damage a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest (you don't expend a use of this feature if you didn't use the infection charges).
Deadlier Maladies
11th-level Order of Pestilence feature
The abilities from your Rite of Malady feature gain additional benefits as your diseases evolve further. Each ability can also be amplified; you use the rules for amplifying a curse from your Blood Maledict feature to do so.
Rotting Proximity. A creature that fails its saving throw must use its reaction to take the Dash action and move as far away from you as possible by the safest available route. If it can't move, it falls prone instead. When you amplify this ability, the creature takes damage equal to two of your Hemocraft dice on a failed save, and half as much damage on a successful one.
Poison Blood. The creature is now poisoned for 1 minute. It can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success. When you amplify this ability, you ignore the creature’s immunity to the poisoned condition and this immunity is suppressed for the duration it is poisoned. Additionally, the creature takes poison damage equal to your Hemocraft die at the start of each of its turns, and it can’t regain any hit points while poisoned in this way.
Terrible Lethargy. The creature’s speed is halved whilst it is poisoned. When you amplify this ability, its weapon attacks also deal half damage.
Contagious Touch
15th-level Order of Pestilence feature
You infect others with frightening ease. You can cast the contagion spell without a spell slot or material components (the spell’s spellcasting ability is your Hemocraft modifier). When you cast the spell, you can make a weapon attack as a bonus action. You can also choose to amplify the spell, following the rules for amplifying a curse from your Blood Maledict feature. When you do, you ignore the creature’s immunity to the poisoned condition. This lasts until the creature is no longer poisoned by the spell.
Once you use this feature, you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest, unless you take damage equal to a roll of your Hemocraft die to cast it again.
Incubating Plague
18th-level Order of Pestilence feature
The diseases you spread can lay dormant before killing its host. While you are concentrating to maintain your Sudden Infection feature, you can use a bonus action to stop concentrating and note the number of infection charges you have. You store these infection charges indefinitely, and it lasts until you begin concentrating on a new instance of Sudden Infection or until you die.
Afterward, while you have infection charges stored in this way, you can use an action to force a creature that is branded by your Brand of Castigation, or a creature you can see within 30 feet of you that is poisoned, to make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, you roll a number of Hemocraft dice equal to the number of infection charges you have, and the creature takes necrotic damage equal to the number rolled. On a successful save, it takes half damage. You also regain hit points equal to the damage dealt (dealing damage in this way does not take up a use of Sudden Infection).
Credits
- "Order of Pestilence" is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC.
- "Blood Hunter" class is created by Matthew Mercer.
- MtG - Morgul-Knife Wound by Axel Sauerwald & Virulent Plague by Johann Bodin
- Created by /u/Stuffies_12 (Stuffies12#7807)