The Blood Hunter Martial Archetype Marred but resolute, his grimacing face dripping with sweat, a half-orc reddens a finger across his wounds to draw a glowing, ruby glyph in the air. He grips the weightless, completed sigil, twisting it to unleash dark magical energies that fire forward, cursing the stalking behemoth from within its own veins to better even the odds. A mysterious half-elf swathed in a worn cloak and rugged leather armor carefully investigates a grizzly scene off the roadway, her eyes flashing with recognition as she meditates on the remnants of the massacre. The survivor who warily hired her withdraws with a jump as the half-elf suddenly shoots to her feet, sure in the knowledge of the culprit, where it calls home, and how little time there is to find it. Stepping into the lightless chambers of ancient dust and lingering whispers, the halfling’s nose picks up the pungent smell of imminent danger as she hears the scraping of bone and claw on nearby stone. She winces as she runs her blade across her palm, the steel transmuting her blood into glowing runes of powerful magic, her sword suddenly engulfed in arcane flames, eager to brand and burn the flesh of her enemies. Often feared or misunderstood, and driven by an unending drive to destroy the wicked, blood hunters are clever, arcane warriors who have bound their essence to the dark creatures they hunt to better stalk and survive their prey. Armed with the rites of forbidden blood magic and a willingness to sacrifice their own vitality and humanity for the cause, they protect the realms from the shadows, ever vigilant to avoid becoming the same monsters they choose to hunt. Blood Hunter Features Fighter Level Features 3rd Blood Maledict, Crimson Rite, Hunter's Bane 7th Coagulating Ward 10th Grim Psychometry 15th Dark Augmentation 18th Sanguine Mastery Hemocraft Die Table Fighter Level Hemocraft Die 3rd 1d6 10th 1d8 18th 1d10 Crimson Rite Damage Table Damage Type Prerequisite Fighter Level Cold 3rd Fire 3rd Lightning 3rd Necrotic 15th Psychic 15th Thunder 15th Blood Maledict At 3rd level, you gain the ability to channel a part of your vital essence to curse and manipulate creatures through hemocraft magic. You learn two blood curses of your choice. You learn an additional blood curse of your choice at 7th, 10th, 15th, and 18th level. Each time you learn a new blood curse, you may also replace one blood curse you know with a different one. You can use this feature twice. Beginning at 7th level, you can use your Blood Maledict feature three times between rests, at 15th level you can use it four times between rests, and at 18th level, you can use it five times between rests. You regain all expended uses when you finish a short or long rest. If a blood curse has a level requirement, you must be at least that level in this class to learn the blood curse. Certain blood curses may also have additional effects that can only be used if you meet the prerequisite fighter level. A creature cannot be affected by multiple uses of a given blood curse at the same time. If you attempt to use a blood curse on a creature already affected by that blood curse, the first curse's effects end. Blood Curse save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Constitution modifier. Crimson Rite At 3rd level, you learn to invoke a rite of hemocraft that empowers both you and your weaponry. As a bonus action, you can activate a crimson rite on a single weapon that lasts for 1 minute or until you are unconscious. For the duration, weapon attacks with the chosen weapon are considered magical. Once per turn when you make a weapon attack you may have it deal additional damage equal to your one roll of your hemocraft die. You select the type of this from the Crimson Rite Damage Table as you activate your Crimson Rite if you meet the prerequisite fighter level. This damage increases as you gain levels as a fighter, as shown in the Hemocraft Die table. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses of it when you finish a long rest.
Hunter's Bane Beginning at 3rd level, you have survived the Hunter’s Bane, a dangerous, long-guarded ritual that alters your life’s blood, forever binding you to the darkness and honing your senses against it. You have advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks to track fey, fiends, or undead, as well as on Intelligence ability checks to recall information about them. Coagulating Ward At 7th level, you can use hemocraft to slow bloodloss resulting from a devastating blow, lessening the impact upon you. As a reaction when you take damage, you can roll a number of hemocraft dice equal to your Constitition modifier, and reduce the damage by that amount. Once you use this ability, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest. Grim Psychometry When you reach 10th level, you have a supernatural talent for discerning the history surrounding mysterious objects or places touched by evil. When making an Intelligence (History) check to recall information about a darker past surrounding an object you are touching, or a location you are present in, you have advantage on the roll. The information gleaned often leans towards the more sinister influences of the past, and sometimes conveys visions of things previously unknown to the character on higher rolls. Dark Augmentation Upon reaching 15th level, arcane energy suffuses your body, permanently reinforcing your resilience and insidious abilities. You are immune to disease. You have advantage on saving throws against curses, and to avoid or end the charmed and frightened conditions on yourself. You also have advantage on all saving throws made against the Possession ability and similar effects used by creatures such as Ghosts. Whenever you use a feature that deals damage using Hemocraft dice, you can gain temporary hit points equal to the result of one of the Hemocraft dice rolled. You can use your Coagulating Ward feature twice, rather than once, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a short or long rest. Sanguine Mastery Upon reaching 18th level, you hone your control over blood magic, empowering your dark capabilities to their fullest extent. Once per turn, whenever a feature requires you to roll a hemocraft die, you can choose to reroll the die and choose which result to use. Credits Art by Joma Cueto Original Mechanics & Design by Matt Mercer
Blood Curses The blood curses are presented in alphabetical order and level prerequisite. Blood Curse of the Anxious As a bonus action, you harry the body or mind of a creature within you can see 30 feet of you, making them susceptible to forceful influence. Until the end of your next turn, Charisma (Intimidation) checks made against the cursed creature have advantage, and the next Wisdom saving throw the cursed creature makes before this curse ends has disadvantage. Blood Curse of Bloated Agony As a bonus action, you curse a creature that you can see within 30 feet of you, forcing them to make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the creature has disadvantage on Strength and Dexterity ability checks, and suffers necrotic damage equal to your hemocraft die if it makes more than one melee or ranged attack during its turn, for up to 1 minute. The creature can repeat this saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending it on a success. Blood Curse of Binding As a bonus action, you can attempt to bind a creature you can see within 30 feet of you. The target must succeed on a Strength saving throw or have their speed be reduced to 0 and they can’t use reactions for up to 1 minute. At the end of each of its turns, the cursed creature can make another Strength saving throw. On a success, this curse ends. Blood Curse of Exposure When a creature you can see within 30 feet is hit by an attack or spell, you can use your reaction to temporarily weaken their resilience against it. Until the end of the turn, the target loses resistance to the damage types of the triggering attack or spell. At 18th level, the target can instead lose invulnerability to the damage types of the triggering attack or spell, having resistance to them instead until the end of the turn. Blood Curse of the Eyeless When a creature you can see within 30 feet of you makes an attack roll, you can use your reaction to roll one hemocraft die and subtract the number rolled from the creature’s attack roll. You can choose to use this feature after the creature’s roll, but before the DM determines whether the attack roll succeeds. At 15th level, you can instead apply this curse to all of the creature’s attack rolls until the end of the turn. You roll a new hemocraft die for each affected attack. Blood Curse of the Fallen Puppet When a creature you can see within 30 feet of you drops to 0 hit points, you can use your reaction to give that creature a final act of aggression. That creature moves up to half their speed and immediately makes a single weapon attack against a target of your choice within its attack range. At 7th level, the creature also gains a bonus to its attack roll equal to your Constitution modifier. Blood Curse of the Marked As a bonus action, you can mark a creature that you can see within 30 feet of you. The next attack roll you make against the target before the end of your turn has advantage, and the first time you deal damage to that creature before the end of your turn you can roll one hemocraft die and add it to the damage roll. At 7th level, you can instead roll two hemocraft dice and add them to the damage roll. Blood Curse of the Muddled Mind As a bonus action, you curse a creature that you can see within 30 feet of you. That creature has disadvantage on all Constitution saving throws made to maintain concentration of spells until the end of your next turn. In addition, the creature must make an Intelligence saving throw, taking psychic damage equal to one hemocraft die on a failed save, or half as much on a success. At 7th level, the damage increases to two hemocraft dice instead.
Blood Curse of Corrosion Prerequisite: 7th level As a bonus action, a creature you can see within 30 feet of you becomes afflicted with a powerful otherworldly agent. The creature must make a Constitution Saving throw or become poisoned. At the end of each of its turns, the target can make another Constitution saving throw. On a success, the curse ends. While poisoned in this way, the cursed creature suffers necrotic damage equal to four hemocraft dice, and suffers this damage again every time it fails its Constitution saving throw to end this curse at the end of its turn. Blood Curse of the Exorcist Prerequisite: 15th level As a bonus action, you can choose one creature you can see within 30 feet of you that is charmed, frightened, or possessed by the Possession ability and/or similar effects used by creatures such as Ghosts. The target creature is no longer charmed, frightened, or possessed. Additionally, the creature that charmed, frightened, or possessed the target of your curse suffers psychic damage equal to three hemocraft dice and must make a Wisdom saving throw or be stunned until the end of your next turn if it is within 30 feet of you and you can see it. Blood Curse of the Howl Prerequisite: 18th level As an action, you unleash a blood-curdling howl. Each creature of your choice within 30 feet of you that can hear you must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or become frightened of you until the end of your next turn. If they fail their saving throw by 5 or more, they are stunned while frightened in this way. A creature that succeeds on this saving throw is immune to this blood curse for the next 24 hours.