[Felyndiira]

WITCH HUNTER


Artist: Yamaada

"I'm not strong - it's one of the first things that my teacher has taught us, that we are nothing against a witch. That is why I stake so much in my meager knowledge - in preparation, and in my allies; if I am not ready - if there is a single contingency that I have overlooked - my life would be over before the passing of the first night as a hunter."

- Alyssa Viearres, Master Witch Hunter

Countless millennia ago, the magicians and sorcerers of a long-forgotten age first came into contact with the denizens of the lower circles, and exchanged their soul and their humanity in their thirst for power.

These dark aspirants - many of whom were at first small time mages frustrated with their limited potential or seeking a quick and easy path to fame - were inescapably corrupted by the dark forces that they sought to master. Their souls twisted, these witches, as they were collectively named, became a blight upon their homelands. Sometimes, a powerful mage would catch wind of some particularly cruel act and end it with their mastery of magic, but many times it was said that the first witch hunters were mortals of little training who banded together and overwhelmed the delusions of these corrupted mages.

It is said that some of these men and women became especially adept at combating the corrupt sorcery of these so-called "witches", and decided to pass their knowledge down....

[I need to finish this description when I'm not half-asleep]

BECOMING A WITCH HUNTER
How you would normally become a member of this prestige class.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
BAB: +7
Skills: Concentration 8 ranks, Craft [Alchemy] 10 ranks, Knowledge [Arcana] 10 Ranks, Spellcraft 8 Ranks
Feats: Skill Focus (Craft [Alchemy]), Mage Slayer
Special: Must have undergone a major life event that has instilled a hatred of either arcane spellcasters in general, or specific groups of arcane spellcasters of your choosing. The groups may be an actual cabal (for example, "The Mages of the Crimson Lotus") or an abstraction (such as "spellcasters that regularly use their magic for evil"), ("sorcerers"), or ("spellcasters that willingly work with demons").
Special: Must receive training from a single established witch hunter (a "teacher") for at least six weeks.

Class Skills
The Class Name's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disable Device (Int), Hide (Dex), Knowledge [Arcana] (Int), Knowledge [Religion] (Int), Move Silently (Dex), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), Tumble (Dex), Use Magic Device (Cha), and Use Rope (Dex).
Skills Points at Each Level: 6 + int

Hit Dice: d8

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special	Base Hatred	Additional Hatred	Charms Learned
1st	+0	+2	+0	+2	Hatred, Prejudice, Craft Charms	2	10	2 Minor Charms
2nd	+1	+3	+0	+3	Chasing the Target, Secret (First Circle)	5	15	1 Minor Charm
3rd	+2	+3	+1	+3	Pursuit and Rationality	9	20	2 Minor Charms
4th	+3	+4	+1	+4	Faintest of Traces, Secret (Second Circle)	14	25	1 Lesser Charm
5th	+3	+4	+1	+4	Unravel the Secret	20	30	1 Lesser Charm
6th	+4	+5	+2	+5	Turning the Spell, Secret (Third Circle)	26	35	2 Lesser Charms
7th	+5	+5	+2	+5	For Every Eventuality	33	40	1 Greater Charm
8th	+6	+6	+2	+6	Secret (Fourth Circle)	40	45	1 Greater Charm
9th	+6	+6	+3	+6	As a Hound to the Magic	50	50	1 Greater Charm
10th	+7	+7	+3	+7	Secret (Fifth Circle)	60	60	1 Master Charm

Weapon Proficiencies: Witch hunters gain proficiency with all simple and martial weapons. They gain proficiency with all light and medium armors, but no shields.

Hatred (Ex):

Spoiler

My rage flared the moment I caught glimpse of her. She was of no threat - completely docile, and an ally of my teacher no less, but her mere presence was enough for waves of anger to sweep my mind. That stupid smile she is always wearing, innocent and blissful in ignorance - was she was mocking me? Did she not know of the sins that her people have committed? I readied myself for my usual charge, my anger manifesting as a aura of pure scarlet on my left arm; it was only the memory of myself laying on the pavement, winded and helpless with her dagger pointed casually at my neck, that made me hesitate. I did not strike - perhaps out of an apprehension that I had felt for the first time after that incident, but resigned to my weakness and shielded myself with a low-hanging wall, carefully observing her next action and waiting for an opportunity to strike.

"Good." My teacher nodded, and the witch - the girl - removed her grease spell from the training area - that simple spell that I would blindly charge into on every occasion and remove myself from the battlefield. It had made me wonder: what if she had not been an ally, but a corrupt demon-summoner that I must oppose to save yet another common life? What if in place of that grease spell, it had been disintegrate or a symbol of death? I daresay that it was thanks to that simple reminder that I am alive to this day, when many of my allies and peers have already perished. I am no less than thankful for his tutilage.

There was a point in every witch hunter's life when a witch had wronged them; these scattered memories shape themselves into pyres of anger and hatred, and the witch hunter - through intense discipline - has learned to shape his emotions into a power source to fuel their more supernatural abilities. The witch hunter's Base Hatred pool represents his discipline and the maximum hatred that he could fully control; a fledgling hunter can only control a small part of his anger at any given time, while a veteran is typically more apt at bending his rage to his will. A witch hunter needs only a minute of undisturbed introspection to restore all of his base hatred, and can be assumed to begin each encounters with all of his base hatred. In addition, hatred naturally recovers at the rate of 1 per round.

Anger, however, is a human emotion. A witch hunter has an additional hatred pool that represents situational anger that the hunter may utilize, and cannot be recovered through introspection or other natural means. Instead, this pool is can be recovered through other class features or feats, such as the Purpose class feature. Points in this additional pool may be used as hatred points to fuel the demon hunter's abilities and charms, although situational anger is a transient emotion - any hatred points remaining in this pool disappears at sunrise on each day.

Prejudice (Ex):

Spoiler

My arrow had struck true at that moment; I had expected a counterattack then, when the witch had finally realized that I would not be subverted by her honeyed words and lies, but she had only reinforced her own defenses. Oh well, her loss.

"Why are you so intent on attacking me?" She seemed desparate - almost pleading, even, when an ordinary witch would have quickly shown her true colors when she realized that trickery would not win her the fight. Perhaps the realization that I was prepared had dawned upon her, and she is pleading now for her life? No - it must be some other reason. "Do you remember Isolde?" I replied. Those were four words more than someone like her deserved, but for once - just this once - I could

"I see. I...I'm really sorry for your loss." She actually seemed sad; so pathetic, still putting on that silly little act even in this most decisive moment, and that pretense of regret only made my hatred flare brighter in the dusty room. She even pretended to feel regret for her group's actions, as if she still possessed a feeling heart! "However, the members of our order that orchestrated that incident had already been swiftly removed from our ranks. While I understand your loss, the Harper mages are a bastion of good - we..."

"You understand nothing!" It was a mistake to even speak to the witch of her wrongs, and I would quickly correct it. My crimson arrows struck true, cracking with the remnants of my surpressed rage; the witch winced - powerful as she is, it was apparantly the first time that she was struck with such decisive blows that pierced directly through her defenses. Her expression of faux-kindness finally dropped; her words finally revealing her true self and becoming like a tinge of frost to my ears. "Are you are so consumed by your loss that you are turning to such a path of perverse justice? It is unfortunate, but if reason and truth becomes but venom in your ears, I have no choice but to see you a threat to both the youths of my order and to the greater world. I will no longer hold back against you."

In those words I hear only a challenge.

A witch hunter has been wronged by a witch in the past, and now devotes his life to the eradication of the mages that he considers to be a waste of flesh and soul. He may consider the group of arcane spellcasters that allowed him to qualify for this class as "witches" for the sake of his class abilities. In addition, with appropriate in-game justification, he may add additional groups of spellcasters to this list; these additional groups may be an actual group (for example, "Harper Mages") or an abstraction (such as "spellcasters that regularly use their magic for evil"), ("sorcerers"), or ("spellcasters that willingly work with demons"). Once added, groups cannot be removed without explicit DM approval.

Every time he enters combat against a witch, his additional hatred pool is instantly filled by 5 for each level of Witch Hunter that he possesses. A witch hunter that knowingly associate with a witch loses all of his hatred and cannot regain hatred for at least one month after he ceases cooperation with the witch. In addition, the witch hunter gains a +4 to all will saves against someone that he considers a witch, and treats all commands from or in cooperation with a witch while under a a mind-affecting spell as a suicidal order.

Spoiler

DM Notes: It may be tempting for a player of this class to attempt to game the system using some specific combination of features to maximize his advantage and minimize the disadvantages of the class. Remember that prejudice is exactly what it says - it's a irrational and absolute hatred derived from the actions of a group, not a decision that that a character can make objectively and with full control over his sanity. Thus, DMs should not be afraid to reject groups with specific exceptions designed to give the player a universal advantage ("all Red Wizards except those that join my party or are friendly with me" or "all Red Wizards except Sharn Ravenlore"), groups that are outlandishly specific ("all arcane spellcasters that eat pork on Wednesdays and brushes his teeth exactly three times a day"), or are otherwise unfit.

It is possible for a player to "see the light", as you will; irrational hatred, like all other human emotions, can be changed with the circumstances, and a player that has truly realized that his views about a certain group is mistaken should be allowed to remove them from his personal list of "witches". This should not come easily, however; while an explicit atonement spell is not necessary, a character that wishes to abandon one of his hatred should be required to roleplay this out, preferable encountering the group performing actions that is agreeable to the witch hunter and perhaps saving his (and his comrades') lives without regard to his hatred. Even prejudices can change when enough outside force is applied, and a witch hunter overcoming a mistaken belief can be a major story point for any campaign.

Craft Charms (Ex): At first level, the witch hunter learns to use a combination of his Craft [Alchemy] and his Spellcrafting skills to craft special "charms" that he may use to battle against his enemies. Charms are usually non-magical items (and thus do not have an associated XP cost), although the witch hunter can channel his hatred through them to achieve potent supernatural effects. A witch hunter may freely craft and use charms that he has learned, although he may also use charms crafted by another person with a successful Use Magical Device check against the DC of the charm (ignore the non-magical nature of charms for this check).

Secrets (Su): Hunting a witch is not an easy task; mundane preparations - and even the power of their charms - are often rendered obselete under their magical mastery, and as a result, many witch hunters turned to the supernatural to even the odds against an especially powerful witch. At his second level, a witch hunter may learn one secret from the first circle. Every two levels thereafter, a witch hunter gains access to another circle, and may learn a new secret from any circles that he can access.

Chasing the Target (Ex): Witches are powerful creatures. A single hunter who foolishly believes himself able to do battle against every last witch in the world is a hunter seeking a gruelsome fate for himself. At second level, a witch hunter learns to focus the entirety of their hatred against a single witch. As long as he knows the name or appearance of an individual that he believes to be a witch, he may designate that person as his current "target." A witch hunter cannot have more than one target at any given time. However, if a hunter hears of the passing of his original target, if he can confirm that his target is not actually a witch, or if thirty days has elapsed since he last designated his current target, a witch hunter may designate a new "target" in place of the old.

If the target is actually a witch, the witch hunter gains a +2 to all saves against the target, and some of his charms and secrets may gain additional effects when used against the target. If the target is not a witch, this ability has no affect.

Pursuit and Rationality (Ex): Preparation is the life-blood of a witch hunter; with no knowledge of the target of his hunt, a hunter may as well be a blind man throwing himself into a lion's den. At third level, a witch hunter may substitute his diplomancy score for all gather information checks related to his target. A successful gather information check also reveals whether the target is actually a witch (a part of a certain group). In addition, with an additional DC 20 bluff check, the witch hunter automatically avoids suspicion on all successful gather information checks related to his target.

Faintest of Traces (Ex):

Unravel the Secret

Turning the Spell

For Every Eventuality

As a Hound to the Magic

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Name
alignment/Gender/Race/Levels
Init +0, Senses: Listen +, Spot +,
Languages
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AC , touch , flat-footed ()
hp ( HD)
Fort +, Ref +, Will +
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Speed ft. ( squares)
Melee
Base Atk +, Grp +
Atk Options
Combat Gear
Spells Prepared
Supernatural Abilities
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Abilities Str , Dex , Con , Int , Wis , Cha
SQ
Feats
Skills
Possessions