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RANGER ARCHETYPE: Rokugan Monster Hunter

More Oriental Adventures. Other roles that this class covers are phantom hunter, emerald and jade magistrate (in particular the later).

ROKUGAN MONSTER HUNTER

The monster hunters – or more colloquially witch hunters – combine magical training with combat expertise to battle the spiritual forces of evil in the world. Ghosts and other evil spirits, demons and oni, and practitioners of the maho (blood magic) are the witch hunters’ sworn enemies. They have strong ties to the Crab Clan. When you select this class you pick the type of hunter you will be which determines the choices for each class ability – witch hunter, jade magistrate or phantom hunter.

BANE OF EVIL

Starting at 3rd level, when you choose this ranger archetype, you can cast detect evil and good at will, without expending a spell slot. When you cast the spell in this way, it only detects aberrations, fiends, and undead, but it also detects creatures infected with taint. You also gain proficiency with Intelligence (Investigation).

Also at 3rd level, you gain one of the following features of your choice.

  • Witch Hunter (Tsukai-Sagasu). You focus on hunting down tainted individuals, in particular, blood-benders or other practitioners of blood magic collectively known as maho-tsukai. Your dedicated foe are tainted creatures. You have advantage on tracking and investigating these individuals and do an extra 1 damage per level of taint the target has on attacks against tainted. You may use this feature no more than once per turn.
  • Jade Magistrate. You focus on hunting magic users – both arcane and divine. Your dedicated foe are arcane and divine spellcasters. You have advantage on tracking and investigating these individuals and do an extra die of damage on attacks against them or 1 damage per level of taint the target has (whichever is higher). You may use this feature no more than once per turn. When you reach 18th level, you can roll two additional weapon damage dice instead of one. You may also add shukenja spells to your spell list.
  • Phantom Hunter (Yorei-Ryoushi).  You focus on hunting spirits and undead generally. Your dedicated foe are spirits and undead. You have advantage on tracking and investigating these creatures and do an extra die of damage on attacks against undead and spirit creatures. You may use this feature no more than once per turn. When you reach 18th level, you can roll two additional weapon damage dice instead of one and your critical hits can banish spirits back to the Spirit World (acts as the banishment spell).

Once you reach 7th level, whenever you successfully hit your favoured enemy, you ignore all resistances the creature has for the rest of your turn.

METTLE

Also at 3rd level, when you are subjected to an effect that allows you to make a Constitution saving throw to take only half damage, you instead take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw, and only half damage if you fail.

STRENGTH OF PURPOSE

At 7th level, you gain one of the following features of your choice.

  • Kami’s Grace. You can add your Intelligence modifier to all saving throws.
  • For the Empire! You have advantage on any saving throw or skill check against anything (including spells) that tries to sway you from your duty.
  • Ghost Touch. Whenever you successfully hit your dedicated foe, you ignore all resistances the creature has for the rest of your turn.

COURAGEOUS

At 11th level, you gain one of the following features of your choice:

  • Fearless. You can no longer be frightened. Additionally, whenever a creature attempts to frighten you, until the end of the encounter, your attacks are made with advantage against the creature that attempted to frighten you.
  • Relentless Hunter. If you are in an encounter with your dedicated foe and drop to zero hit points you may instead continue fighting until your favoured enemy has been vanquished.  You immedielty die when this happens. The only thing that can kill you otherwise is massive damage from your favoured enemy.
  • Steadfast. You are immune to enchantment effects that come from your dedicated foe.

RESIST EVIL
At 15th level, you gain one of the following features of your choice.

  • Divine Hunter. You have advantage on saving throws against spells cast by your favoured enemy and dedicated foe.
  • The Clouds Part. When an attacker that you can see hits you with an attack, you can use your reaction to halve the attack’s damage against you.
  • Heaven’s Speed. When you are subjected to an effect, such as a celestial dragon’s fiery breath or an Oni’s lightning bolt, that allows you to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, you instead take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw, and only half damage if you fail.

 


All Oriental Adventure rangers add the following spell to their spell-list:

THE ARROWS FLIGHT
1stlevel transmutation
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch (50 arrows or other projectiles, all of which must be in contact with one another during the spell’s casting)
Components: V, S
Duration: 1 hour

 

For the duration of this spell, the affected missiles have their range increment doubled. Missiles that are separated from the other missiles targeted by this spell (other than by being fired) lose their enchantment.

WHISPERS OF THE LAND
1stlevel evocation
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60 ft.
Components: V, S, F (Focus: A bit of hair, a few drops of blood, or an article of clothing worn by the target within the last month.
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour

 

A spell often used by Jade Magistrates and other officers of the law, whispers of the land allows you to track a target wherever he may be, revealing any footprint, any object touched, any piece of evidence that has been disturbed by the person in question. All such traces become readily visible if you focus upon an area, as follows.

  • 1st round: You know whether or not the target has been in the area within the last 24 hours.
  • 2nd Round: Footprints and items touched by the target in the last 24 hours seem to glow when you look at them.
  • 3rd Round: You know exactly how long it has been since the target was last in the area.

This powerful tracking spell has certain inherent limitations. Due to the intense concentration required by this spell, you may not travel faster than a walk. If the target swims across a river or other swiftly moving body of water, the trail is ruined, like the
water he has touched quickly flows out of range. The trail might still be taken up on the other side, and footsteps on the bottom of the river or stream will still be revealed. If used in an area strong in the Taint, there is a cumulative 10%/chance per hour that the trail will instead lead you to some powerful Shadowlands monster rather than your intended quarry.

Posted in 5e, Adventurer's Vault, Class, Oriental Adventures

3 Comments

  1. solomani

    Reworked the class to cover more Legend of Five Ring archetypes in the monster hunter category but that do no justify their own archetype. Also added the Arrow’s Flight spell.

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