Martial Archetype
Notes from the Palm: A little bit late for the release of the new Netflix series, this is for all those people who want to play one of the Castlevania series many Belmonts in 5e, but who just don’t want to be paladin. Remember folks, not all who hunt monsters are holy; oftentimes, they aren’t even nice.
Sanctified Hunter
Undead, fiends, and other beasts that stalk the night have terrorized mankind for thousands of years. While the destruction of such beasts is usuallyleft to clerics, paladins, and other holy men, there are a rare breed that refuse to lay down and allow the creatures of the night to walk over them. Less like knightly orders than families, Sanctified Hunters pass down from one generation to another the tricks and techniques for destroying their evil foes.
Bonus Proficiecies
When you take this subclass at 3rd level, you gain proficiency in the battle cross (described below).
Sanctified Arms
Starting at 3rd level, you are granted a mystical blessing, allowing your weapons to strike true against creatures of the night. Weapons you wield are treated as magical for the purposes of overcoming damage resistance and immunity, and when you deal damage to an aberration, fiend, shapeshifter, or undead with a dagger, handaxe, battle cross, or holy water, you deal additional radiant damage equal to your Wisdom modifier.
As well, you can form a mystical bond with a battle cross by performing a short ceremony; this ceremony lasts 1 hour and can be performed during a short or long rest. Once this bond is formed, you can use a bonus action to summon your battle cross to your hand, so long as you and it are on the same plane of existence. Should your battle cross be destroyed,you can forge a bond with a new one by performing the ceremony again with a new battle cross.
Hunter’s Sense
Starting at 3rd level,you can use your action to focus your awareness on the region around you. For 1 minute, you can sense whether the following types of creatures are present within 1 mile of you: aberrations, fiends, shapeshifter, and undead. This ability doesn’t reveal the creatures’ exact location or number, but it will reveal the general direction the creatures’ are in. While using this ability, you also have advantage on skill checks made to spot hidden doors, false walls, and similar disguised natural and artificial architecture
Hunter’s Step
By 7th level, you learn to perform incredible physical stunts and acrobatic feats. You gain Proficiency in the Acrobatics and Athletics skills (if you were not proficient in them before), and you can add twice your proficiency bonus to all checks made using those skills. In addition, whenever you make a long jump or high jump, your maximum jump distance is doubled and you no longer require 10 feet of movement prior to making a jump.
Sanctified Heart
At 10th level, you are granted a set of powerful protective blessings. You become resistant to necrotic damage, your hit point maximum can no longer be reduced, and if you are slain, your body cannot be animated as an undead by any spell of 8th level or lower.
Weapons of Light
Starting at 15th level, you learn to channel greater holy energy into your weapons. As an action, you can cast elemental weaponwithout using a spell slot. When you cast this spell in this way, you can choose for the target weapon to deal radiant damage instead of the normal damage types allowed by the spell. Once you use this ability, you must finish a short or long rest before you can do so again.
Holy Cross
When you reach 18th level, you can unleash a tremendous blast of holy energy, decimating evil around you. As an action, you can force all creatures of your choice within a 20-foot radius to make a Wisdom saving throw (DC equals 8 + your proficiency modifier + your Wisdom modifier). On a failed save, a creature takes 10d12 points of radiant damage, or half as much on a successful save. Once you use this ability, you must finish a long rest before you can do so again.
New Exotic Weapon
The following exotic weapon is available to all characters:
Weapon | Cost | Damage | Weight | Properties |
Battle Cross | 50 gp | 1d8 slashing | 6 lb. | Finesse, Light, Returning, Thrown (20/60) |
New Weapon Property
Returning. When you throw this weapon, you can make a DC 15 Athletics check. If you succeed, the weapon returns to your hand at the end of your turn.
Battle Cross. A unique throwing weapon carried almost exclusively by Sanctified Hunters, a battle cross is a 4-pronged, equilateral cross forged of mithral or silver, with sharp blades affixed to the ends of the arms. A skilled user can ricochet the cross around the battlefield, decimating his foes with its razor edge. Due to the odd balance of the weapon, melee attacks made with a battle cross suffer from disadvantage.
New Magic Item
This item is important to sanctified heroes and the Belmont family.
Vampire Killer
Weapon (whip), legendary (requires attunement)
This deceptively light and flexible weapon less resembles a whip than an over-long flail: 15 feet of mithral chain at the end of a cross-shaped handle, with an adamantine censer ball capping the business end. Passed down through the Belmont family for generations, it is the ultimate weapon against undead, especially vampires.
You gain +3 to your attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon. When you strike an undead creature with it, it takes an additional 2d10 radiant damage; if that creature is a vampire or vampire spawn, it takes an additional 3d10 damageinstead.
While wielding vampire killer, you have advantage on all saving throws to resist spells and abilities used by vampires or vampire spawn.
New Feats
These feats are available to characters of all classes.
Master Thrower
Prerequisite: Dexterity 13
You are an expert in using thrown weapons. You gain the following benefits:
- When you take the Attack action on your turn, you can use a bonus action to make a ranged attack with a thrown weapon.
- When you make a ranged weapon attack, you can draw the weapon as part of the attack. You can draw any number of weapons in this fashion each round.
- The short and long ranges of your thrown weapons doubles.
Whip Master
Prerequisite: Dexterity 13, whip proficiency
You have cultivated incredible skill with this esoteric weapon. You gain the following benefits:
- While you are using a whip, its damage die increases to 1d8, and its reach is increased by 5 feet.
- While wielding a whip, you can use the shove action against any creature within reach of your whip.
- As a bonus action while you are holding a whip, you pull an object weighing under 10 lb. to your hand from up to 10 feet away.