House Rule











[top]Overview

Whether they are simple commoners hunting for their next meal or noblemen that do it for sport, Hunters are common in the wilderness all over Cerilia except in the isolated Elven woods. In the terrain where they have hunted their whole lives, Hunters are as stealthy as a Rogue and as deadly as an Assassin.
This class is based on Hunter class from A Game of Thrones. It is intended as a non-Elven, non-magical alternative to Ranger class.

[top]Adventures

Hunters spend a lot of time in the wilderness which may lead them to many adventures. Nobles and adventurers who expect to travel through wilderness or perform some kind of mission in a similar environment would do well to hire a Hunter into their retinue. Hunters can also be very useful in spying and reconnaissance missions into enemy territory if Scout class is not used or if an agent with this class is not available.

[top]Characteristics

Hunter's greatest strengths are in native terrain, where he is swift, silent and deadly. Hunters are self-sufficient because of their ability to live off the nature. While in their native terrain, they excel both at pursuing their prey and evading pursuit. Since he looses some useful abilities when wearing heavy armor, Hunter is not really able to stand toe to toe with other warriors. His greatest strength lies in ranged combat and surprising the enemy.

[top]Alignment

Hunters may be of any alignment. Solitary men of the wild tend towards Chaotic alignment, but common Hunters that live in settlements and Nobles who hunt for sport may be of any alignment.

[top]Religion

Regular hunters who hunt for food or as a hobby usually choose their patron deity based on their place of origin or on their other class. Hunters truly devoted to life in nature usually worship Erik, although Vos hunters that hunt for the pleasure of killing would rather choose Belinik. Non-Human Hunters worship gods of their own race.

[top]Preferred Class Races/Cultures

Hunters that hunt for food or sport are common among all Human cultures. They are especially frequent in Rjurik where game is far more important food source than in other regions. Nobles who indulge in hunting will usually take only a few levels of Hunter and focus on some other class instead. Similarly, Vos Hunters will usually choose to take more levels in Barbarian or Fighter class. Elves never take levels in Hunter class and use Ranger class instead. Dwarves and Halflings rarely become Hunters.

[top]Other classes

Although they are self-sufficient when it comes to hunting and tracking, Hunters need to work with characters of other classes for larger accomplishments. Similar to the Rogue, Hunters especially need a strong Fighter, Paladin or Barbarian to attract the enemies and soak the damage while the Hunter uses his abilities to deal as much damage as possible from range. Since he lacks healing powers of Ranger, the Hunter needs a Cleric or Druid to stay on his feet when he gets hurt. On the other hand, any party would welcome an addition of a Hunter because of his useful nature-oriented skills and abilities, but adding a Hunter to a party that already has a Ranger would add many redundant capabilities.

[top]Game Rule Information

Hunters have the following game statistics:
Abilities : Dexterity is especially important to Hunters for their stealth, ranged combat and to make up for the lack of strong armor. Strength is also important because there is always a chance Hunter will be engaged in melee and to improve Hunter's athletic skills. Wisdom is also important because it governs the nature-oriented skills.
Alignment: Any
Class Hit Die: d8

[top]Class Skills

The Hunter's class skills (and the key ability for each) are Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Craft (Fletcher) (Int), Craft (Trapmaking) (Int), Disable Device (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowledge (geography) (Int), Knowledge (local) (Int), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Search (Int), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str), and Use Rope (Dex).
Skill Points at 1st Level: (6 + Int bonus) x 4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level : 6 + Int bonus.

[top]Class Features



Hunter
Base Fort Ref Will
Level Attack Bonus Save Save Save Special
1+1+2+2+01st Native Terrain
2+2+3+3+0Quick to Arms, Track
3+3+3+3+1Wilderness Stealth +2
4+4+4+4+1Bonus Feat
5+5+4+4+1Swift Tracker
6+6/+1+5+5+2Weapon Specialization
7+7/+2+5+5+2Endurance, Stalking Strike +1d6
8+8/+3+6+6+22nd Native Terrain
9+9/+4+6+6+3Bonus Feat
10+10/+5+7+7+3Wild Empathy
11+11/+6/+1+7+7+3Improved Wilderness Stealth
12+12/+7/+2+8+8+4Camouflage
13+13/+8/+3+8+8+4Stalking Strike +2d6
14+14/+9/+4+9+9+4Bonus Feat
15+15/+10/+5+9+9+5Wilderness Stealth +4
16+16/+11/+6/+1+10+10+53rd Native Terrain
17+17/+12/+7/+2+10+10+5Hide in Plain Sight
18+18/+13/+8/+3+11+11+6Trackless Step
19+19/+14/+9/+4+11+11+6Bonus Feat
20+20/+15/+10/+5+12+12+6Stalking Strike +3d6


The following are class features of the noble.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: The Hunter is proficient in the use of all simple weapons, as well as the following martial weapons: Handaxe, Longbow, Composite Longbow, Net, Shortbow, Composite Shortbow, Trident. Hunter is proficient with light armor.
Starting Gear: 6d4 x 10 gp worth of equipment
Native Terrain (Ex): At 1st Level, the Hunter may select a region in which he or she has exceptional
experience. The most common region types are: aquatic, cold forest, cold plains, desert,
temperate forest, hills, marshland, mountains, and plains. The character?s ?rst choice should
reasonably coincide with his or her background ? where did the character grow up and learn
to hunt?

When a Hunter is in a chosen region, he or she gains a +2 dodge bonus to AC. Furthermore, the character gains a +2 bonus to any Knowledge (nature), Search, Spot, or Survival checks made within a chosen region. Additionally, when hunting an animal native to the chosen region, the Hunter acts as if he or she had the Improved Critical feat. These bonuses only apply out of doors.

As the Hunter?s experience grows, he or she may select other regions with which he or she has acquired experience during the course of life?s adventures. The Hunter chooses a new Native Terrain region at both 8th and 16th Levels. Each time he or she does so, the Skill and AC bonuses for any previous regions are increased by +1. The selection should be appropriate to the character?s experiences and the campaign.

Quick to Arms (Ex): Hunters train their senses to a keen level of acuity, which allows them to react to danger with surprising speed. At 2nd Level, a Hunter gains a +4 bonus to Initiative rolls as long as he or she is wearing light or no armor. This bonus stacks with the bonus received from Improved Initiative feat or any other bonus to Initiative rolls the Hunter may receive from other sources.
Track: At 2nd level, Hunter gains Track as a bonus feat.
Wilderness Stealth (Ex): The Hunter can become like a ghost when moving through the wilderness. At 3rd level, any time the Hunter is moving through his or her Native Terrain, he or she gains the listed bonus to all Hide and Move Silently checks.

In addition, at 11th Level, the Hunter can move his or her full speed while making Hide and Move Silently checks in any chosen region.
Bonus Feat: At 4th, 9th, 14th, and 19th Level, the Hunter may choose a bonus feat from the following
list: Combat Expertise, Dodge, Far Shot, Greater Manyshot, Improved Initiative, Improved Precise Shot, Manyshot, Mobility, Mounted Archery, Quick Draw, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot, Sharp-Shooting, Shot on the Run
Weapon Specialization At 6th level, Hunter gains Weapon Specialization as a bonus feat.
Endurance: At 7th level, Hunter gains Endurance as a bonus feat.
Stalking Strike (Ex): At 7th Level, a Hunter learns to ambush his or her foes in Native Terrain. Anytime the
Hunter?s target is caught ?at-footed, the Hunter?s attack deals extra damage. The extra damage is +1d6 at 7th Level, +2d6 at 13th Level, and +3d6 at 20th Level. Should the Hunter score a critical hit with a Stalking Strike, this extra damage is not multiplied.

Ranged attacks can only count as Stalking Strikes if the target is within Short Range. The Hunter can?t strike with deadly accuracy from beyond that range.

A Hunter can only Stalking Strike a living creature with a discernible anatomy, and only within the Hunter?s Native Terrain. Any creature that is immune to critical hits is also invulnerable to Stalking Strikes. The Hunter must be able to see the target well enough to pick out a vital spot and must then be able to reach it. The extra damage stacks with similar Special Abilities, such as a Rogue's Sneak Attack.
Wild Empathy (Ex): Just like a Ranger, a Hunter can improve the attitude of an animal at 10th level. This ability functions just like a Diplomacy check to improve the attitude of a person. The Hunter rolls 1d20 and adds his Hunter level and his Charisma modifier to determine the wild empathy check result. The typical domestic animal has a starting attitude of indifferent, while wild animals are usually unfriendly.

To use wild empathy, the Hunter and the animal must be able to study each other, which means that they must be within 30 feet of one another under normal visibility conditions. Generally, influencing an animal in this way takes 1 minute, but, as with influencing people, it might take more or less time.

The Hunter can also use this ability to influence a magical beast with an Intelligence score of 1 or 2, but he takes a -4 penalty on the check.
Camouflage (Ex): Just like a Ranger, a Hunter of 12th level or higher can use the Hide skill in any sort of natural terrain, even if the terrain doesn?t grant cover or concealment.
Hide in Plain Sight (Ex): Just like a Ranger, a Hunter of 17th level or higher can use the Hide skill even while
being observed. The only difference is that Hunter can only use this ability in his or her Native Terrain.
Trackless Step (Ex): At 18th Level, a Hunter learns how to leave no trail in natural surroundings. The Hunter cannot be tracked in his or her Native Terrain, except by another Hunter of equal or higher level. The Hunter can choose to leave a trail if desired.


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