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Nerdarchy > Player tips  > Player Tips – Adding More Class to Your Class – Blood Hunter
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Player Tips – Adding More Class to Your Class – Blood Hunter

Player Tips - Adding More Class to Your Class - Wizard
To Game or Not to Game?

blood hunterYes I lied last week when I said I was finished .  Sorry about that.  But we received a bunch of comments and requests to do this for Matthew Mercers Blood Hunter class.  Last week we did do the last class in the Players handbook, the Wizard.

So today we are breaking off from the official, PHB classes, and focusing on the awesome class made by Matthew Mercer.  I am sure that most of you know this legendary name in table top RPGs.  If you do not know who he is feel free to search it out.

The Blood Hunter was created and off of the Witch hunter played by Vin Diesel so how many names can we jam into one article?  Now Nerdarchy played a game play testing this class and its three archetypes.  You can check out that video here.

If you are unfamiliar with the class there is a pay what you want copy at the DMs Guild here.  The Blood Hunter goes further than heroes to defeat the evil, they become that which they fight.  The class comes with a stigma and there is some role playing built into the class, but of course you can play it as you see fit.

There are three orders to choose from in this class.  The Order of the Ghost Slayer is the oldest of the orders and focuses their talents on the utter destruction of undead.  The Order of the Profane Soul focus their many talents on spell casting to augment their fighting.  The Order of the Mutant uses its powers of alchemy to make dangerous concoctions out of their own blood to boost their power.

So we have to ask ourselves what does it mean to be a Blood Hunter?  At its core a Blood Hunter has seen fit that they wish to wipe the dark and evil creatures off the face of the world.  It might be because their family was slain by such a creature or almost was.  They may have seen something terrible in person or in a vision that still haunts them.  Maybe they have dreams that foretell catastrophe and death player tipsand they never get proper sleep.

What ever the reason that they have decided to go down this dark and troubling road the important thing to know is they have an aura that unsettles others.  Some people will refuse services to them while others will use their quests to get one over on a Blood Hunter.  Since they have vowed to destroy evil some who would be willing to pay might offer the quest to a Blood Hunter in hopes he will do it for free.

Their focus on their mission at times makes for a lack of patience in some.  While others might be willing to play the long game.  Their manor of going about their mission tells us that they tend towards neutral alignments occasionally dipping into evil.  This process makes it difficult for some clerics and paladins to trust them.

So you have to ask yourself, why have you gone down this dark road?  What do you see or have you seen that makes this road the most favorable for you?  As a player do you see this character dance back and forth across the line of evil, is it a hard and fast line that you will not cross or to complete your mission you have crossed that line never to return?

Player Tips – Adding More Class to Your Class – Backgrounds

Blood Hunters should have a more solid reason for going the road they have then any traditional character class.  I feel that every character should have a fleshed out back story.  Not only to have character goals as well as complications that the DM can draw on or use to link characters together.

Many of these backgrounds will have dramatic changes design in flavor of what a Blood Hunter needs to be able to make the choice to take a potentially fatal concoction to unlock those powers.  So feel free to modify as you see fit or use these as potential plots for you game.

Acolyte – Priests have the ability to talk to the gods and divine the future.  You thought that this was your path.  In guided prayer and meditation you were shown a vision.  It was harsh and brutal.  It was full of death and carnage.  Only though strength could this be prevented and an act like this.  martial training would not be enough, you knew you must walk a different path if you were going to stop this event from happening.

Charlatan – Being a can man has its perks.  Taking advantage of others can be entertaining as long as you are willing to travel when you get caught.  You learned that there are some that make this lifestyle a real challenge.  You conned the wrong person and you were nearly lunch.  The terrifying experience that you barely escaped with your life impacted you heavily.  You spent a long time crying, huddled in pain, fearing that at any moment that maw too large for a face that size was coming for you.  you sought strength to fight back against such creatures.

Criminal – Stealing has a thrill to it, am I wrong?  The adrenaline rush the anticipation of will I get caught.  As long as your prey is those who can afford to help feed those of a lower station where is thematthew mercer harm.  Your skills got you noticed by a local guild.  All was great for a time.  It all changed that one fateful day.  You insisted n seeing the guild master and charged in when he was not to be disturbed.  You had some trifle of a reason to dispute something.  Those details are long since important.  When you saw your master drinking the blood of one of your allies, you fled.  The next several years were a blur.  You spent time hungry and afraid.  You spent more time running hoping to put more distance between you and the last town.  When you met someone capable of teaching you how to defend against such a creature you eagerly accepted.

Entertainer – There is nothing like the roar of the crowd.  The thrill of making the people happy.  If they only knew the dark secrets you did they would never be happy again.  Your performance is a ruse.  You and your fellows travel from town to town and yes, you put on shows.  What those people do not know is the reason you go to some places and skip others is that your troop hunts being of evil.  Your show is nothing more than a facade to travel safely into towns haunted by dark denizens.  Your real goal is to purge the world of that which does not belong here.

Folk Hero – There are heroes and then there are HEROES.  The masses flock to people that they can look up to despite the facts.  For a time you were a hero.  You uncovered a plot as a youth and drove a monster out of your town.  So what?! That monster will only come back under anther guise or just go to another town and hurt others.  You changed nothing, that day.  You strive to be a HERO.  You decided that you want to rid the world of those things, but to properly do so you are willing to pay the price.  Not only of yourself but how others perceive you.  Yes you will never be a hero by their eyes and you can live with that.

Guild Artisan – You strive to be a craftsman.  You stand behind your work.  You always deliver quality at a good price.  You competition seems to be able to offer better work for a cheaper price.   It does not matter how hard you work or how long you work you can not replicate what they are doing.  you stumbled onto their secret they are forging with hellfire and you are curious what impact that will have on the things they have made.  You need to help but how?

Hermit – The world id full of dark secrets.  It does not matter which way you go evil is afoot.  You have decided that a life alone would be better.  You have resigned yourself to this fate.  A wanderer changed all of that for you.  After years of solitude a stranger finds their way to you.  This stranger provides a tempting offer.  Drink a potentially lethal drink and claim the power to stand up against the darkness or die here and now and end it.  What is your choice?

Noble – Life at court, above the masses, is great.  having wealth and power is all one can ask for.  When you find that most of the nobles at court have made compacts with evil powers your world changed.  Some have taken these evils in literally others are just serving.  When they tried to make you sign over as well it was too much.  You sought help to set things right.  Will this power you have found be enough?

Outlander – You ran for a long time.  The monsters are everywhere even in the cities and towns.  It is hard to know who to trust so why trust anyone.  Animals, nature these things operate in facts and truth.  it is not always an easy truth to accept but once you do it is simple enough to live with.

Sage – Being a librarian can be boring, unless you like books.  It is a good thing you do.  Sadly the information you came across in some of those books still haunts you to this day.  Books and books full of the dark denizens of the world you live in.  The matter of fact way that these books were written told the young and impressionable youth that you were that these being have so much power that there is nothing that can be done about it.  So you found another book that taught you how to make your own power and you have sought out a blood hunter so that these beings will not treat you as they did their victims in the books.

Sailor – Life on the sea is simple.  It is routine.  You have the ability to forget.  You have the ability to get away from what is left behind.  But what if it is following you?  What if it is hunting you, but to only kill who you are with?  After the third crew was killed to a man,barely piloting the wreck to shore you seek out one who can help rid you of the curse and the evil that has been following you all your life.

Soldier – You know fighting and war.  You spent time training, but sadly for the enemy you went up against it was not enough.  You enemy summoned a demon to do its bidding against you and your forces were not up to the task.  Of those that survived the fight each went there own way and yours was a path you never foresaw for yourself but it is one you do not doubt.

Urchin – You see many things when you live on the streets of a big city.  You see them because you never have the shelter of a roof over head or a door that you can call your own.  You only have the place you are calling yours, now, until someone bigger, stronger, or has eaten a full meal recently can take from you.  For you this was life and the horrors you were exposed to killed the decent part of your person.  All the was left was vengeance and what is right.  It is more work to put a smile on your face than to fight with the weapon at your side.

So unless you have another class you want me to delve into I will actually wrap this one up for real this time.  Finish with Unlucky, or lucky depending on your viewpoint, number 13.  I hope you have enjoyed my somewhat lengthy series.  Please submit your suggestions for new content you want to see here on the website in the comments below or to nerdarchy @ gmail.com

Thanks for reading and remember: Until Next Time, Stay Nerdy!

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Ted Adams

The nerd is strong in this one. I received my bachelors degree in communication with a specialization in Radio/TV/Film. I have been a table op role player for about 20 years 17 of which with the current group. I have played several itterations of D&D, Mutants and Masterminds 2nd and 3rd editions, Star wars RPG, Shadowrun and World of Darkness. I am an avid fan of books and follow a few authors reading all they write. Favorite author is Jim Butcher I have been an on/off larper for around 15 years even doing a stretch of running my own for a while. I have played a number of Miniature games including Warhammer 40K, Warhammer Fantasy, Heroscape, Mage Knight, Dreamblade and D&D Miniatures. I have practiced with the art of the German long sword with an ARMA group for over 7 years studying the German long sword, sword and buckler, dagger, axe and polearm. By no strecth of the imagination am I an expert but good enough to last longer than the average person if the Zombie apocalypse ever happens. I am an avid fan of board games and dice games with my current favorite being Quarrios.

1 Comment

  • Nubz
    February 2, 2018 at 7:40 pm

    Correction: There is 4 orders. You forgot order of the lycan, which just received an update.

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