As a Halloween gift to all the Critters, D&D players, and generally awesome people out there, I release into the wild my custom Dungeon & Dragons 5th Edition class, the Witch Hunter! This was inspired by both my love of the The Witcher series of books and games, and the custom character I made for Vin Diesel in preparation for our D&Diesel game session to promote his upcoming film The Last Witch Hunter. Coming home, I looked at the basic abilities I made up for his character Kaulder and saw potential to build a full class option… and kinda became temporarily obsessed with fleshing it out. I enjoyed the whole process immensely, and all the community feedback I received to aid in balancing out my original design was greatly appreciated. Thank you all!
The Witch Hunter is designed to play as a second-line combat class (more damage and utility than tanking) that can use its own health as a resource. Single weapon combat makes for a fun, focused bit of balance and survivability, where dual-wielding with dual-Blood Rite becomes a dangerous trade for extra damage. Throw in the Crossbow Expert feat for a fun Melee + Hand crossbow or dual-hand crossbow build. (Diablo III Demon Hunter much?). Dark Velocity allows you to move between multiple foes with better confidence, and Rune of Binding can help control the battlefield briefly, even enabling a good initial hit on the target for you or an ally. From there, the choice of Orders can make for three very different play styles. Order of the Ghostslayer helps you capture, survive, and slay some of the most dangerous undead in the realm; while the Order of the Profane Soul brings some limited Warlock flavor to your game, adding some new defensive and offensive benefits. If mystical powers aren’t your thing, there’s also the Order of the Mutant, where some research, knowledge, and tracking can help you tailor your defense (and offense) to a specific looming threat. Rolled high on an Intelligence check to recall a barbed devil’s attack method and learned it’s all piercing-based? Prepare a Piercing Resistance mutagen! Many options at your disposal!
I do wish to remind you folks that this Class is NOT extensively play-tested. There may be balance issues, unclear aspects, etc. The good news is you and your DM are welcome to alter/tweak any elements of it you wish for your own game! That’s the cool thing about Tabletop RPGs: You can customize them to be whatever you want!
Anyway, I hope you enjoy my little brainchild, and roll for initiative!
–Matthew Mercer
Check out Matt’s absolutely amazing Witch Hunter Class by downloading the PDF below.
Check out Matthew’s amazing DM skills on Critical Role every Thursday at 7pm on Geek & Sundry’s Twtch channel!
Image credit: Matthew Mercer
Feature Image credit: Geek & Sundry