Hunter of the Dead

(Complete Warrior variant, p. 42)

The hunter of the dead spends each restless night tracking undead to their lairs and cleansing the land of their foul presence.

Requirements

Base Attack Bonus: +5

Alignment: Any nonevil

Skills: Knowledge (religion) 5 ranks

Special: Able to turn undead.
Special: Scar of Unlife: The character must have lost one level or had an ability score point drained by an undead creature. Even if the loss is later offset by magic, this is the scar of unlife that all hunters of the dead carry.


Hit die

d8

Skill points

2 + Int

Class Features

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Hunters of the dead gain no proficiency with any weapon or armor.

Spells: Beginning at 1st level, a hunter of the dead gains the ability to cast a number of divine spells. To cast a spell, a hunter of the dead must have a Wisdom score of at least 10 + the spell's level, so a hunter of the dead with a Wisdom of 10 or lower cannot cast these spells. Hunter of the dead bonus spells are based on Wisdom, and saving throws against these spells have a DC of 10 + spell level + the hunter of the dead's Wisdom bonus (if any). When the hunter of the dead gets 0 spells per day of a given spell level (for instance, 1st-level spells for a 1st-level hunter of the dead), she gains only the bonus spells she would be entitled to based on her Wisdom score for that spell level.

The hunter of the dead's spell list appears below; she has access to any spell on the list and can freely choose which to prepare. A hunter of the dead prepares and casts spells just as a cleric does (though a hunter of the dead cannot lose a spell to cast a cure spell in its place).

Detect Undead (Sp): At will, a hunter of the dead can use detect undead as if casting the spell of the same name.

Smite Undead (Su): Once per day, a hunter of the dead of 2nd level or higher can attempt to smite undead with one normal melee attack. She adds her Wisdom modifier (if positive) to her attack roll and deals 1 extra point of damage per level. For example, an 8th-level hunter of the dead armed with a longsword would deal 1d8+8 points of damage, plus any additional bonuses for Strength and magical effects that normally apply. If a hunter of the dead accidentally smites a creature that is not undead, the smite has no effect but it is still used up for that day. Note: A paladin/hunter of the dead can both smite evil and smite undead in the same day, potentially against the same target (if it's an evil undead).

Spurn Death's Touch (Ex): A hunter of the dead of 3rd level or higher applies her Wisdom modifier (if positive) as an additional bonus on all saving throws against effects and spells used by undead. This bonus stacks with the Wisdom modifier already applied to Will saves.

True Death (Su): Undead slain by a hunter of the dead of 5th level or higher, either by melee attacks or spells, can never rise again as undead. They are forever destroyed.

Extra Turning: At 6th level, a hunter of the dead receives Extra Turning as a bonus feat. This benefit allows the hunter to turn undead four more times per day than normal. It stacks with any turning ability the character has from another class.

Positive Energy Burst (Su): At the cost of two normal turning attempts, a hunter of the dead of at least 8th level can use a standard action to create a positive energy burst that deals 1d6 points of damage per class level to all undead creatures within 20 feet. Undead are allowed a Reflex save (DC 10 + the hunter's class level + the hunter's Cha modifier) for half damage.

Sealed Life (Su): A 10th level hunter of the dead cannot lose levels due to energy drain effects (although death still results in level loss, as do other level- or experience-draining effects).

Advancement

Spells per Day
Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special 1st 2nd 3rd 4th
1st +1 +2 +0 +0 Detect undead 0
2nd +2 +3 +0 +0 Smite undead 1/day 1
3rd +3 +3 +1 +1 Spurn death's touch 1 0
4th +4 +4 +1 +1 1 1
5th +5 +4 +1 +1 True death 1 1 0
6th +6 +5 +2 +2 Extra Turning, Smite undead 2/day 1 1 1
7th +7 +5 +2 +2 2 1 1 0
8th +8 +6 +2 +2 Positive energy burst 2 1 1 1
9th +9 +6 +3 +3 2 2 1 1
10th +10 +7 +3 +3 Sealed life, Smite undead 3/day 2 2 2 1

Class skills

Skill name Key ability Trained only Armor check penalty
Concentration CON no no
Heal WIS no no
Knowledge (religion) INT yes no
Profession WIS yes no
Ride DEX no no
Search INT no no

Also appears in

  1. Defenders of the Faith: A Guidebook to Clerics and Paladins

Spells for Hunter of the Dead