D&Dtools

A bloodhound tracks down wrongdoers and brings them to whatever justice awaits them. Low-level bloodhounds depend on their keen senses and careful training to hunt their targets. As they gain experience, their obsessive determination gives them supernatural abilities that make them nearly unstoppable.

Though some bloodhounds leave calling cards or even brands on their targets, most don’t kill their quarry if they can help it. They prefer instead to subdue their targets and bring them in. For those of good alignment, this practice satisfies some deeply held belief in the cause of justice. For neutral and evil bloodhounds, it ensures a steady stream of income from catching the same targets
over and over when they break out of jail.

Rangers and barbarians make the best bloodhounds, but rogues, bards, druids, and fighters can also excel in this role. Occasionally, a paladin shoulders the mantle, but never for money. Most bloodhounds are human, though elves and half-elves sometimes find this lifestyle satisfying. Some of the best bloodhounds are humanoids such as gnolls, hobgoblins, and bugbears.

Requirements

Class Features

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Bloodhounds are proficient with light armor, shields, and both simple and martial weapons.

Determination (Ex): At 1st level, the character gains an insight bonus equal to his bloodhound level on Gather Information, Spot, and Wilderness Lore checks made to determine the whereabouts of a mark (see below).

Mark (Ex): At 1st level, the character can target, or mark, an individual humanoid foe. To do so, the bloodhound must focus on a foe who is present and visible, or on the depiction or description of one who is not, for 10 minutes. Any interruption ruins the attempt and forces the bloodhound to start the process again. Once this study is complete, that target is called a mark, and the bloodhound receives a variety of advantages against him or her (see below). A bloodhound may have up to one mark per two bloodhound levels (rounded up) at once, but only if all of them are within 30 feet of one another for the duration of the marking process. For example, a 6th-level bloodhound could mark three bugbears in such a group, but not a bugbear on one side of the kingdom and a troll on the other. If a bloodhound chooses a new mark before apprehending an existing one, the latter is unmarked, and the bloodhound loses XP equal to the amount he would have gotten for defeating that creature. The bloodhound can mark an individual once a week.

No Subdual Penalty (Ex): Also at 1st level, the bloodhound can use a melee weapon that deals normal damage to deal subdual damage instead without suffering the usual —4 penalty on his attack roll.

Dead or Alive (Ex): At 2nd level, the bloodhound learns to strike for subdual at just the right moment to avoid killing a mark. Immediately after striking a blow that would reduce a mark from positive to negative hit points, the bloodhound may convert the normal damage dealt by that blow to subdual damage before it takes effect. The bloodhound cannot use this ability while raging or after 1 round has passed.

Fast Tracking: At 2nd level, the bloodhound no longer suffers a —5 penalty on Wilderness Lore checks for tracking while moving at normal speed.

Ready and Waiting (Ex): Also at 2nd level, the bloodhound may, as a free action, designate a particular move-equivalent, standard, or full-round action that a mark who is flat-footed might perform, if the mark actually performs this action within 10 minutes thereafter, the bloodhound can make an attack of opportunity against him or her with a drawn weapon, either melee or ranged. This counts against the bloodhound's attacks of opportunity for that round.

Pacekeeping (Ex): At 3rd level, a bloodhound tracking a mark can raise his own speed by up to +5 feet per bloodhound level, to a maximum value equal to the mark's speed.

Restlessness (Ex): When the bloodhound reaches 3rd level, he gains damage reduction 5/— against subdual damage from a forced march while in pursuit of a mark.

Improved Subdual (Ex): At 4th level, the bloodhound uses his Intelligence bonus on the damage roll for any attack that deals only subdual damage.

Move Like the Wind (Su): At 4th level, the bloodhound ignores armor check penalties on his Move Silently and Hide checks. In addition, he no longer suffers the —5 penalty on those checks when moving at speeds between half and full.

Traceless Track (Su): At 5th level, the bloodhound can track a creature moving under the influence of pass without trace or a similar effect, though he suffers a —10 circumstance penalty on his Wilderness Lore checks.

Shatter (Su): At 5th level, the bloodhound can destroy an object that stands between himself and his mark when the latter is within 100 feet. This ability functions like a shatter spell cast by a sorcerer of the character's bloodhound level.

Ignore Scrying (Ex): At 6th level, the bloodhound gains spell resistance equal to 10 + his bloodhound level against divination spells. This stacks with any other spell resistance he has that includes spells of that school.

Locate Creature (Sp): Once per day, the bloodhound can produce an effect identical to that of a locate creature spell cast by a sorcerer of the bloodhound's character level.

Fracture (Su): At 7th level, the character can use his shatter ability to destroy weight-equivalent portions of larger objects, such as doors and walls, regardless of their construction.

See Invisibility (Su): This ability, gained at 7th level, functions like a see invisibility spell, except that it is constantly in effect and it reveals only marks.

Subdual Resistance: At 8th level, the bloodhound gains damage reduction 20/+3 against subdual damage. Ignore Magical Barriers (Ex): At 9th level, the bloodhound gains spell resistance equal to 15 + his bloodhound level against magical barriers (wall of force, entangle, prismatic wall, and so forth).

Find the Path (Sp): At 10th level, the bloodhound can produce an effect like a find the path spell cast by a druid of the bloodhound's character level. It is usable three times per day.

Advancement