Making a "monster hunter"?

[wayne62682]

I have a very interesting idea for a new character in my current campaign, as I'm getting a little bored with my Duskblade (my fault though for making the character an Anakin-wannabe). The idea came about when reading the "Darkhunter" archetype for the Hexblade in PHBII; a grim character fascinated with death and misfortune, with a dark past, who stalks and hunts evil creatures with his baleful powers. Essentially think of The Punisher meets Van Helsing.

I'm still fleshing out the concept and want to develop it further before I really sit down to work on the mechanics (something I neglected to do with the Duskblade and is probably the reason I don't enjoy him), but I'm trying to get an idea at least of what he would be. The campaign is 5th level (although we may end up 6th before I bring him in) and set in Forgotten Realms, specifically the Sword Coast and Baldur's Gate.

Logically I was thinking of Hexblade since that's what gave me the inspiration in the first place, not to mention the "dark hero" aspect, but thematically Ranger is good for favored enemy (however, the woodsy abilities don't fit). So I was thinking one level of Ranger for the favored enemy, then Hexblade. Possibly Occult Slayer, since I like that idea and flavor. The area where I'm torn is that one level of Ranger gives me one favored enemy, and I'm not sure if one will be enough for the concept (there is no overwhelming campaign plot so there's no "common" monster type we face), but taking a few Hexblade levels and then Ranger doesn't seem to fit because he's not "woodsy".

Does anyone have any other suggestions or ideas? Remember that I'm not trying to max out the character or think too hard about the mechanics at the moment; I'm only trying to get a simplified, workable concept to show to my DM. My group only uses "official" 3.5 supplements (DM has expanded this to include Dragon magazine for this campaign, however) but there's a very slim chance I might be able to use 3rd party supplements.

 

[Legildur]

Well, the Dark Hunter PrC from Complete Warrior is an environment specific specialist, but not quite what you are after. Ranger does lead into it quite well though.

If Orcs were the target, then the Darkwood Stalker PrC from the same book would suit well.

There are a heap of other PrCs that either have a specific foe or operating environment. Many of which can be entered at around 5th level. Like these:

The Gnome Giant Slayer PrC, the Hunter of the Dead PrC, the Justciar PrC, the Knight of the Chalice PrC (all from CW), the Bloodhound PrC, Ghost Faced Killer PrC, Highland Stalker PrC, Shadowbane Stalker PrC, Vigilante PrC (all from Complete Adventurer).

There are bound to be others, but I'll leave that as an exercise for you

 

[wayne62682]

Thank you for the input... I assume then that there is no "generic" monster slayer class; all of them seem to focus on one type. I will have to take a look at it and see, although I'm fairly certain at least part of the character will be Hexblade.

 

[Drowbane]

Thank you for the input... I assume then that there is no "generic" monster slayer class; all of them seem to focus on one type. I will have to take a look at it and see, although I'm fairly certain at least part of the character will be Hexblade.

Well there is the Sworn Slayer PrC out of Dragon mag.

 

[wayne62682]

Do you know what issue, perchance? I might have to check it out...

 

[AddizAbeba]

Thank you for the input... I assume then that there is no "generic" monster slayer class; all of them seem to focus on one type. I will have to take a look at it and see, although I'm fairly certain at least part of the character will be Hexblade.

Sorry for sounding anal, but aren't all PCs supposed to be monster slayers? Or are you more looking for for a class that is specifically effective against 'anything which is not a PC-selectable race'?
IOW: What is a monster in your world?

 

[wayne62682]

Specifically, I want a character who uses his own dark powers to kill other creatures more evil than he is, regardless of what they are (hence the comparison to Van Helsing, but I suppose that could be an archetype of any class). I suppose that I don't really need a class to represent that since it wouldn't be focused on a single type of creature, and I was just reading too much into it. Hmm.. now I am having second thoughts, because the concept now seems too generic

 

[rowport]

Hunter of the Dead (Complete Warrior) sounds pretty close to the archtype you have in mind. It is not for *all* classic 'monster' types, but does cover all undead, which would include a lot of the typical classics (vampires, ghosts, etc.). If you did want to focus on a specific monster type not covered by an existing PrC, it might be pretty easy to convert one of the classes for the other monster (like the Darkwood Stalker Orc bonuses, for example, or the Drow-hunter from Underdark (I think?).

The Illithid Hunter from XPH would fit this list as well.

EDIT: I just remembered, there is a PrC in Heroes of Horror that fits *perfectly* with your idea. I think the named is "Corrupted Hero" or something similar, and the gist is that while you are a Neutral character partially corrupted by evil experiences, you hunt those worse than you. The potential problem with that class is that it is based around the Corruption game mechanic, and may be tough to convert without using that mechanic.

 

[iceifur]

Sworn Slayer is from Dragon 324, page 81.

You might also try the Leviathan Hunter (Stormwrack, page 61).

As for a base class for a monster hunter, it's hard to go wrong with Ranger.

 

[wayne62682]

I might have to check Sworn Slayer. Other than that, I think I might mix Ranger and Hexblade (Ranger for the obvious reason, HB because I love the class's flavor and that gives me the "dark past"). However, from what I've read it looks like the Hexblade is seen as pretty weak