Blood Hunter is Broken | Dungeons and Dragons 5e Guide

[@Godzilla763]

Slight thing i wanted to ask regarding the lycans bloodlust, where did you get that they loose concentration? I'm asking genuinely cause Im playing a blood hunter lycan sorcerer rn and the only thing I remember it saying about concentration spells is that if you are concentrating on a spell, then you fail the save for blood lust.

[@ConstructedChaos]

You are ABSOLUTELY RIGHT! I completely misread that part of the feature and I appreciate you catching that! I'll try to trim around it so that I don't trip anyone up but I'll pin your comment in the meantime. Thanks again!!

[@Godzilla763]

@ConstructedChaos Alrighty, thank you kindly. Sorry if i came off as rude, I didn't mean to call you out or anything. I just wanted to make sure I was playing my character right.

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@Godzilla763 Oh, no I didn't take it as rude at all! I really appreciate you bringing it to my attention. There are a lot of rules here so I'm bound to miss something no matter how many times I look it over!

[@cyanideytcuriousseadoggo]

@@ConstructedChaosit also says that you automatically fail the save with any condition that makes it impossible for your character to concentrate on a spell like entering Rage with a Multiclass into Barbarian.

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@cyanideytcuriousseadoggo yep! I think that’s what tripped up my tired eyes when I was scripting for this video haha

[@indigo_tribe]

Also remember that there is no requirement to harm yourself physically to activate your crimson rite. It says necrotic damage. That can easily be internal

[@ConstructedChaos]

You’re absolutely right! I hadn’t considered that as much just because of the evocative imagery of conjuring magic from your very blood. Very badass either way!

[@indigo_tribe]

My character currently is a ghostslayer blood hunter that thinks he is just a special paladin. He thinks that the pain he feels inside is him paying a tithe to his god for the power.

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@indigo_tribe that’s some cool flavor!! I’m sure that’s fun to RP through!

[@indigo_tribe]

@@ConstructedChaos it is! Especially with the hunter's bane senses and skill check advantage to recall info and track "evil"

[@woutvanostaden1299]

Ghostslayer can be made in a way that in terms of sustainable high damage a paladin could learn a thing or 2. A lot of people also underestimate the staying power of the mutant. I mean getting regeneration at lvl 7 is quite something. (As a 7th lvl spell it's unattainable for most martials beast barbarian is hard to justify {though reconstruction elixer does stack with beast} 11 lvls of of lycanthrope bloodhunter or dhampirs bite {you could do all 3 reconstruction, beast and be a dhampir})

[@BCBpwns]

As a genie profane soul im sorry to say the flying speed is a number of ROUNDS not hours

[@ConstructedChaos]

Ah you are absolutely right! I must’ve misread that. I’ll pin your comment here to make sure other people aren’t tripped up by that!

[@jacobyullman5005]

I just wanna point out that the newest version of the Blood Hunter's Crimson Rite feature doesn't require you to be holding the weapon for the Rite to remain active. Instead, the Crimson Rite states that it remains active on the weapon until you finish a short or long rest, but other creatures cannot benefit from the Rite. This means that now Crimson Rites can actually work on thrown weapons, and you can don't have to worry about keeping hold of the weapon to maintain the Rite, allowing you to activate a Crimson Rite at the beggining of the day and safely sheathe the weapon until you need to use it. That also means that Two-Weapon Fighting is more viable for Blood Hunters, since they don't have to spend two turns prepping their weapons before they can actually use their bonus action attack, instead preemptively activating Rites on both weapons immediately after resting.

[@ConstructedChaos]

That’s an interesting detail! Where is that update published? I was going off of DNDBeyond and assumed that was the most up to date.

[@jacobyullman5005]

@@ConstructedChaos It should be the same update that changed the Hemocraft modifier to be Intelligence OR Wisdom. From DNDBeyond. "Also at 2nd level, you learn to invoke a rite of hemocraft that infuses your weapon strikes with elemental energy. As a bonus action, you can activate any rite you know on one weapon you’re holding. The effect of the rite lasts until you finish a short or long rest. When you activate a rite, you take necrotic damage equal to one roll of your hemocraft die. This damage can’t be reduced in any way. While the rite is in effect, attacks you make with this weapon are magical, and deal extra damage equal to your hemocraft die of the type determined by the chosen rite. A weapon can hold only one active rite at a time. Other creatures can’t gain the benefit of your rite." No where in the feature does it say you have to be holding the weapon to maintain the Rite anymore. It only says that it lasts until you finish a short or long rest, that a weapon can on only hold one active Rite at a time, and that other creatures cannot benefit from your Rite. You only need to be holding the weapon to ACTIVATE the Rite, not to maintain it like in older versions.

[@johnpliego9438]

My dm allowed me to use it on my crossbow since there’s nothing saying it can’t be. So I was just shooting off radiant damage arrows like a mad man

[@jacobyullman5005]

I know some people rag on the Profane Soul subclass, and maybe rightfully so, but I did recently create one of my favorite villains I've ever made, and I did it with the help of the Profane Soul. In my Eberron campaign I've added some homebrew lore to implement Blood Hunter orders, and that led me to create a villain who made a pact with Bel Shalor (sort of). Essentially he's a Hobgoblin, Forge Adept Artificer lvl.4 (from Kieth Baker's 3rd party book Exploring Eberron), multiclassed with a Profane Soul Blood Hunter lvl.6 (Fiend Patron), and wielding a Flame Tongue Greatsword as his "Ghall'Shaarat" (Goblin for "Mighty Blade", gives it a +1). With the Rite of Flame active on his Flame Tongue, he does 5d6+5 damage on a hit and can reroll 1's and 2's on any of those dice. Should be fun for the party to eventually meet him. XD

[@ConstructedChaos]

That sounds like a really fun and flavorful build! I do honestly like the profane soul but it does feel like multiclassing into warlock could get you a better result if you don't care about having a low spell save DC / spell attack mod.

[@AllThingsFascinate]

@@ConstructedChaos I think straight Warlock would actually be better in every way haha. That's actually kind of how I feel about Blood Hunter in general. I want it to be cool, and I like some of the ideas, but mechanically, the execution just feels so poor.

[@costanzafaust]

I have a character concept for a Warforged Profane Soul using Fiend Patron, it was originally created by a cult as an offering to some fiendish lord to be used in the Blood War. However something went wrong with the ritual to activate the construct, though it does not remember the details of exactly how it became self-aware or escaped its creators. I picture a fiendish looking design with red metal plates and black horns, with a scent of burnt citronella. I would play the hemocraft stuff as if the blood was more like fuel for the rite of flame and such. I even took Armor of Agathys as a 'coolant' to provide temp hp to absorb the ritual 😀

[@ConstructedChaos]

I absolutely love this concept! The Armor of Agathys "coolant" is a really nice touch too!

[@knightghaleon]

I've had to change up the Profane Soul's abilities a bit. It needed some eldritch envocations so I made a couple homebrew ones. I also made it so that you could choose each patron ability as opposed to being locked into one. I treat the subclass like someone who makes many deals with different patrons for different favors like a Constantine or Dresden type character. The envocations were things like adding your hemocraft modifier to cantrip damage, allowing you to increase a cantrip like Booming blade instead of Eldritch blast.

[@ConstructedChaos]

I like those changes and I completely agree that the eldritch invocations are a big part of what makes warlock so appealing as a class in general.

[@knightghaleon]

@@ConstructedChaos given that the subclass was supposed to be something like a warlock, and still deals with patrons, I figured some of the warlock abilities should be included. I get why Mercer didn’t want to directly use them for his own class but if the subclass is going to be flavored like a warlock, it needs some of the things that give warlock its flavor and customization.

[@deantitus9734]

I kinda feel bad for Tallesin Jaffe who played Mollymauk Tealeaf(Ghostslayer) in campaign two of Critical Role!! He got to level 6 before a Blood Maledict knocked him unconscious and a boss character promptly killed him outright!! I think that it would have been interesting to see how far it would have gone!!

[@ConstructedChaos]

Yeaaaaahhh I watched that too and it was pretty painful to witness. I am enjoying Travis' blood hunter in the 3rd campaign, though.

[@ElocNodnarb]

@@ConstructedChaos NGL it was pretty funny when Chetney took level 7 Bloodhunter and everyone made a big deal about it as if he was throwing shade at Molly. It was all good natured of course.

[@GenoKiller7]

i dont feel bad lol, that was on him lol

[@RoninXDarknight]

Nice break down. People need to remember that the reason a lot of MM's classes/subclasses are so broken or unbalanced is because he designs them with his players in mind: either to go up against them or else help further the character they're putting together. Keeping that in mind explains a lot of the design choices. The order of the mutant, for example, is literally designed to allow players to play as a Witcher...with all the pluses and minuses that entails. Definitely agree though...not a class for a new player at all because there is a lot to keep track of. I do wish that it would get updated to simplify things a bit though because it's a really cool concept.

[@ConstructedChaos]

I think this is actually even the "updated" version from Mercer. I love the risk and reward of the mutant. I just feel like some of the mutagens shouldn't have a downside. Just some of them haha.

[@cyanideytcuriousseadoggo]

@@ConstructedChaos About this class I like it for one reason. It’s built on the idea of asking the player “How much do you want your character to commit self harm for power?” It straight up uses HP as a resource for more than taking hits but as a price to add a damage type to a weapon or but a blood curse(Ow the edge) on extra edgy steroids and meth if the name wasn’t enough edge already in this class.

[@PiroMunkie]

Blood Hunter is one of the few CR creations that I think is mostly fine. It does fall into the common homebrew trap of being extremely feature-dense, but none of the features are honestly too crazy. I think one of the biggest oversights is the fact that blood rite doesn't have a real duration or end when the weapon is stowed similar to a Flame Tongue weapon, so you can activate them first thing after a rest while you're safe which feels antithetical to the risk-reward structure of the class. Especially if you're just dipping 1-3 levels into Blood Hunter the self-damage from Crimson Rite is basically negligible. Lycan and Ghostslayer are easily the two best subclasses. Even if you're not in an undead-heavy campaign, the ability for Ghostslayer to do Radiant damage to overcome the common Fire/Cold/Lightning resistances, Necrotic damage resistance, and the ability to use blood curses on creatures that don't have blood is already very good. Mutant is a subclass I wish so much was better. So many of the Mutagens don't actually add as much as Mercer probably thinks they did. In my opinion the 18th-level feature that allows you to hot-swap mutagens should have been baked in to the core mechanics of the subclass at level 3. I could have sworn I typed up a rework of the subclass once but I must have deleted it or forgot to save. Profane Soul is probably the most balanced as it's effectively a Warlock version of an Eldritch Knight Fighter.

[@erikwilliams1562]

Right, DMs cry in Chronorgist

[@ConstructedChaos]

I absolutely agree with everything you've said here. I went in expecting chronurgy wizard pt 2 and found a really well balanced class with lots and bells and whistles that can be a bit overwhelming to pilot if you aren't ready.

[@floofzykitty5072]

Order of Mutant is good, it just has bad features. A class having bad features doesn't necessarily mean it's weak or that the strong features are diminished. Plenty of strong classes are carried by having one really good feature, and for Mutant that's Celerity. On a CBE + Sharp Shooter Mutant, that extra 5% to hit goes a long way. There are also many ways to circumvent the downsides of Celerity, especially with party composition. You can give up CBE for Lucky to turn the disadvantage into Elven Accuracy advantage on Wis saves. Hexblade is similar where it basically only has one amazing feature and the rest are mid at best.

[@AllThingsFascinate]

The problem is that the class is just terrible. All of the features are weak and there is no out of combat utility at all. Profane soul is just worse than Warlock in every way. The chassis just doesn't bring enough.

[@Finnegaust]

I've been playing a Fairy Profane Soul (Hexblade) for the past 2 years in my home game. Definitely one of my favorite classes and characters

[@ConstructedChaos]

Nice!! I definitely don't see that many fairies in games and a fairy blood hunter is even more of an interesting combo!

[@Finnegaust]

@ConstructedChaos fairy is kinda an underappreciated race. Their not crazy op or whatever, but they do afford you some great built in buffs and some decent spells

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@Finnegaust yeah! I played a fairy rogue not too long ago and really enjoyed it.

[@Finnegaust]

@@ConstructedChaos what was your characters name, mine was Marlon Na'Vi

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@Finnegaust I like that-it’s pretty original! Mine was Wynvaris. Just a first name since it was for a one-shot haha

[@miracleknight7758]

I'm starting a Blood Hunter character for my session this weekend. This sounds like a fun class to play.

[@ConstructedChaos]

It definitely is if you’ve got experience playing before!

[@christaylor9929]

Slight correction, regarding the Bloodlust of the Lycan subclass. In the video, you said "if you start your turn without maximum hit points", but the text on your screen (and on D&DBeyond) says "If you start your turn with fewer hit points than half your hit point maximum" which is considerably different. 🙂 Otherwise, a wonderful video! Keep up the great work!

[@ConstructedChaos]

Thank you for that!! What's funny is that I think that's what my script said too but I think I just misspoke. Having to do that any time you get hurt would be wild (and probably pretty fun haha)

[@EnjoyerEldritch]

As a little nitpick as someone who is playing a Blood Hunter rn, you can target creatures with a Blood Curses without Blood as long as you amplify it's effect, meaning you can go any of the Subclasses and be effective against anyone with different Blood Curses. Plus, Blood Curse of Binding is the GOAT, cause if you have someone who can just shove someone affected with it, they become prone with 0 movement and no reactions. Easiest combo to do with a group to just start making enemies into chunks of meat.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Ah! You are absolutely right. I'm not sure how I missed that but thanks for chiming in!

[@chrisg8989]

This should be called "What is the Blood Hunter" not the Blood Hunter is broken. But still very informative.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Haha that’s fair enough. It’s part of a series of guides focusing on the brightest spots of each class to illustrate that any class can be “broken” but I’m definitely switching off of this naming convention with my next batch of guides. It definitely hasn’t conveyed the message that I intended at the outset.

[@mickmcgrath8099]

Speaking of all the awesome multiclass potential at the end. If you go with intelligence as the hemocraft modifier, and multiclass with artificer, there are some pretty cool things you can pull off. Currently toying with either a 17 or 18 lv BH Ghostslayer with a 2 or 3 level artificer (depends whether the 18th level Ghost Slayer feature or the artificer subclass is more important to you). Ultimately creates a Van Helsing type character in my mind. Especially with the artificer dip allowing for a repeating crossbow, or potentially some kind of firearm dealing radiant damage from the blood maledict.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Artificer definitely wasn't my first thought but I am starting to see a lot of potential there. Great suggestion!

[@mickmcgrath8099]

@@ConstructedChaos Or maybe an armorer, dealing out blood maledict damage through a particularly gnarly set of gauntlets 🤔

[@mimimized]

hehe this is exactly what I’m crafting up for right now. good to know im not entirely insane for going the artificer/Bh route lol

[@woutvanostaden1299]

Bloodcurse of the fallen puppet also works when allies drop. 😮😊

[@ConstructedChaos]

Yep!! It sure does!!

[@vladimirserpov6773]

Yep. Used it on our barbarian once, when he was knocked out by a boss-enemy. And got a crit on an utterly bewildered enemy - the table roared :D Good times!

[@cyanideytcuriousseadoggo]

@@vladimirserpov6773Sheesh. What a way to tell the Barb that you’re not done and continue to FUCK EM UP!

[@basementmadetapes]

I love that 9th level ability as a ribbon. I don’t love it as the only thing a blood hunter gets. It’s terribly weak. Tenth level is awesome tho and it sets my character up as a saving throw nightmare for the DM when I multiclass war mage. With shield master my dex saves will have a +18 bonus. Not bad for a 12 score in dex

[@ConstructedChaos]

That boost to saving throws at 10th level is definitely a great one! And I don’t dislike the 9th level. I just felt like it could have been one sentence instead of two paragraphs haha.

[@basementmadetapes]

@@ConstructedChaos yeah. It’s gotta ton of story potential but nothing sticky mechanics-wise. I’ve made the most of it but I do wish it was a little heavier

[@vladimirserpov6773]

Playing Profane Soul BH for more than 2 years. Fey Patron is a supreme pick for range-build blood hunter, especially when your DM loves invisibility and actively uses cover. On lvl 3 one gets the ability to highlight target and outright deny it advantage of cover for your whole team to gun them down. Lvl 7 - Blur spell, and that one saved my halfling's neck more than once. Crossbow expert + hand crossbow + crimson rite + hex damage = major burst damage, just make sure to start the crimson rite up before battle when possible. Access to warlock spells really helps to mitigate some drawbacks this class faces, so it's not all about Hex - for example, I really love using Borrowed Knowledge, making character a bit more successful in their daily life outside combat :) The previous patron was Celestial. Healing with a hemocraft die is very helpful during early levels, when dropping into 0 HP is very common. And during lower levels your Save DC for blood maledict abilities is probably pretty low, so in most cases it's a better trade-off to rise someone from unconsciousness, than gamble at cursing your opponent. As both a player and a DM I sincerely don't feel this class being broken. It's niche and requires proper tuning to squeeze the right output.

[@ConstructedChaos]

That sounds like a really fun and flavorful build! I can definitely see your experience as a DM shining through on this one. That said, this is the last video in a series of guides that attempt to showcase that ANY class can be broken in an effort to remove the stigma against certain character options. I am looking to move away from this naming convention with my next batch of guides to avoid confusion in the future!

[@Bard766]

For the Order of the Lycan the wisdom saves don’t start until half your maximum HP, not just less then your max. I feel like that’s a pretty important detail that should be mentioned.

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@Bard766 yep! I actually misread that AND the bit about concentration. I think I pinned a comment clearing that up as well. My apologies!

[@floofzykitty5072]

Order of Mutant is extremely underrated because the downsides are not difficult to mitigate. For example, going a Dex Mutant, you can get Lucky and you save one charge for if you are forced to make a Wis save and it will turn that Disadvantage into Elven Accuracy super advantage. You can also go Resilient: Wis later as a later tier feat choice.

[@ConstructedChaos]

I understand what you're getting at but the fact that the downsides are even there is baffling to me. Other subclasses get more for less.

[@floofzykitty5072]

@ConstructedChaos Purely from a DPR perspective, Order of Mutant is the best subclass with obviously Ghostslayer at level 11 and beyond being pretty close. Obviously this doesn't always work out in practice because Wis saves are both very common and the most debilitating. However, it's not really honest to say that it's a bad subclass. It has bad features, but so does every other blood hunter. Most blood curses are not even worth the action economy. If Order of Mutant had no downsides then it would simply be the best blood hunter for ranged DPR builds. There wouldn't even be a reason to play Ghostslayer except in an undead heavy campaign.

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@floofzykitty5072 I don't think I said it was a bad subclass. I just don't think it's the best. I'm curious how you arrived at it being at the top of the totem pole with regards to DPR.

[@joshuaquigley8579]

I'm getting really excited to play my Order of the Lycan 7 / Echo Knight 3 build. I play in a once monthly game in which a group of knights, chosen at random from a roster, protect the realm. I can't wait to see how the speed, ferocity, and damage of the Order of the Lycan pairs with the Echo Knight and its mobility around the battlefield and additional damage potential. My previous Gunslinger was tempted by a magical contract that promised the thing he most wanted in the world. It just so happened that the thing he most wanted in the world was to discover what had happened to his wife 30 years prior when she was abducted from under his nose. My gunslinger is now an NPC, hell-bent on finding his wife. I've left what her fate has been in my DMs hands, and am excited to watch it play out. The Bloodhunter / Fighter is the son of my Gunslinger and his missing wife. He was stolen from his home by powerful slavers and twisted into a Lycan by a cruel Archmage. Into his skin is twisted an arcane Leash that could be yanked tight on him at any moment. He's currently visiting the kingdom his father was a knight of, looking to trade information of powerful artifacts of creation for assistance in removing his arcane Leash. He has no knowledge that his father was a knight of the kingdom he is currently courting for a favor

[@TheScreamingMime]

I played a mutant/ battle smith, boosting my intelligence and using it for weapon attacks.

[@cookiekrabby3112]

Love this combo and build from Colby of D4!

[@ConstructedChaos]

Hell yeah! I love the battle smith in general and mutant does feel like a better version of the alchemist at the very least haha

[@Levyathyn]

One of my repeat side story characters in a friend's custom world is a Mutagen Hunter. I hand-rolled stats (of course) and got a LOT of min-max potential, with some good rolls and some very low rolls. So I considered my options, thought about what would be the most fun, and decided to go with even more min-maxed, extreme polar opposite stats. In the end, I made him a bestial Cajun mutant, a deceptively sharp and cunning alchemist from a big swamp family of mad scientists who, himself, also happened to be a big semi-aquatic muscle monster who could breathe underwater, climb like a monkey, and wielded a massive curved chef's cleaver. He also had armor just bolted onto him, because why not. Pretty fun class; the build was fairly OP, but I really leaned into both my strengths and weaknesses, so definitely not unbalanced.

[@ConstructedChaos]

As a Cajun myself, I absolutely approve haha.

[@Levyathyn]

@@ConstructedChaos I didn't build this character off the back of Resident Evil 7, I had plenty of inspiration growing up. But the idea of a big family of swamp abominations was definitely in the back of my mind.

[@JoshYinkey]

I played an order of the lycan bloodhunter/bear totem barbarian that was a tortle and themed the hybrid transformation as a psuedo-dragonturtle. I didn't even use weapons, just unarmed strikes, crimson rite, and brute strength. The character was nigh unkillable and, at one point, even got into a boxing match with one of the demon princes. I ended up retiring the character because it was giving my DM too much trouble.

[@ConstructedChaos]

I LOVE the flavor here! Tortles are one of my favorite race options in general and combining that with the lycan is really neat conceptually!

[@JoshYinkey]

@ConstructedChaos My party happened to have a potion of giant size that I drank to fight a homebrew version Graz'zt that was CR30. In my mind, I was imagining my character as a kaiju. It was awesome.

[@dj_izaco8435]

I had an idea for a profane soul blood hunter with the undead patron, where his patron was the ghosts of his dead family members. He has ghosts in his blood, literally.

[@deannekellogg8514]

I've never played one due to the complexity. It's definitely for an experienced player and seems like a lot of fun. Maybe one day... the Goliath sounded pretty amazing

[@ConstructedChaos]

I definitely recommend trying it out once you feel up to it!

[@ticozayas6430]

Played a lycan blood hunter all the way to lvl 20, while i love the character i was playing with a previous version of the subclass that required both int and wis so depending if u went str or dex, you needed 4 stats to be decent bc u couldnt ignore con bc of the self harm mechanics, and no one wants to mollymauk themselves... that might not be a problem if ur rolling stats but if ur using standard or point buy u then become spread out too thin and are mediocre at everything. The newer version that lets u pick either or is so much better, and I'd love another go at it down the line, bc the flavor of being a werecreature is as they say my jam, lol. In the werewolves vs vampires argument I always pick I werewolves :))) Edit: i also believe that the hemocraft di should go.all the way to a d12, in my game my dm let me advance it to a d10 instead of d8 and it still felt less than Edit 2: it was also a very item starved campaign so i was pretty bare bones at lvl 20 with only a +1 breastplate armor and my claws and a mask that let me go invis once a day i got at like lvl 6, granted, if better items were in the campaign it might not have felt so soft, but being bare bones it sure did... Long story short, I still had fun despite the jank and item stingyness from the dm, the potential is there to be great!

[@ConstructedChaos]

Oh wow! I actually wasn't aware of the differences compared to the original class. That does sound like a nightmare to manage all of those stats!

[@Feypresence]

Another great video!!! Love this series

[@ConstructedChaos]

Thanks so much, friend! I’m glad you enjoyed it 😊

[@oniminikui]

Order of the Lycan with Remarkable Recovery is amazing!

[@ConstructedChaos]

The Lycan really just feels like a barbarian with better flavor and mechanics!

[@oniminikui]

@@ConstructedChaos Whole-heartedly agree!

[@thesistersofbattle]

I have tried and failed to make a Blood Hunter I actually want to use for anything other than a One-Shot. I don't know what it is, but the mechanics just get boring to me when I think about using them as a daily driver.

[@ConstructedChaos]

I think that’s pretty fair depending on the subclass you pick. It suffers from the classic martial problem of not having a ton of versatility in combat. BUT, a lot can be done with flavor to compensate, I’d say.

[@thesistersofbattle]

@@ConstructedChaos Probably exactly the case. My issue is it is like a food I really enjoyed, but don't want seconds from. It might be because I would play the same base character every time with this class whereas I can see many different approaches on an RP level for other classes.

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@thesistersofbattle I definitely get that! I think this has been a problem with 5e for a while but I’m excited about many of the changes that they seem to be implementing in the next edition with more options for martials.

[@TheScreamingMime]

​@@ConstructedChaosI mean, either armorer or battle smith let's you use intelligence to attack, and mutant blood hunter let's you boost your intelligence above 20, so you can definitely make something cool. I made a guy that likes to get high and build stuff, it's simple yet effective.

[@wanderergrim]

For those who are not much of a fan of Critical Role can't deny that they hugely helped with the popularity/recurrence of more people playing DnD with help from Dimension 20 also.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Oh absolutely. CR is still one of my favorite streaming games and I think they're owed a lot of the credit that Stranger Things is given.

[@Grymreefer]

Great video 🎉

[@ConstructedChaos]

Thanks man!! I was surprised to see how many people wanted it but I was happy to wrap up this series one more time haha

[@zechariahsanders8273]

Why would I choose a gith, human, Goliath, or etc? I thought we all moved passed that and to the way better flat +1 +2 bonus?

[@ConstructedChaos]

I absolutely agree with you and most of my guides do also mention that fact. I'll probably take this species selection part of the guide out of future guides but I've been doing these for a while so I wanted to keep this one consistent.

[@BlazeLycan]

"Thematically; Blood Hunters tend to be what happens when a Warlock and a Fighter have a baby... but maybe a Ranger was the **milk-man**." Jesus, you just killed people. x)

[@ConstructedChaos]

Hahaha I can't just make a class guide without throwing a few jokes in there

[@cookiekrabby3112]

How would your Hemocraft DC be +4 or +5 at level 10? It makes much more sense to max your main attack stat first 🤔

[@ConstructedChaos]

You would have had two feats / ASI's at that point. I don't think it's unreasonable to assume you'd have an 18 INT or WIS.

[@ronjimzhang4013]

@@ConstructedChaos depends on the table and feats.

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@ronjimzhang4013 sure, but it isn’t unreasonable.

[@ronjimzhang4013]

@@ConstructedChaos would maxing con not be more favourable? Especially due to the extra self damage you tend to inflict even more if you're built for melee. When you're ranged you'll probably want to pick up sharpshooter and crossbow expert, which dont grant improvement to dex at all. You'd probably be sitting at 18/20 dex 14/15 con and 14/15 int or wisdom. Most curses and the brand of castation are not much stronger with a high casting score either. I could see a Battlemaster multiclass work though.

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@ronjimzhang4013 I like this build idea a lot! But I do still think that having a better int/wis will give you more mileage. The hemocraft damage isn't all that bad and you can empower your weapon(s) at the start of the day when there's time to heal up before an actual combat anyway.

[@darkstars212]

Recently just built a blood wearangelwolf is there any advice any of you can give? I have high dex,con,wis chose dual fighter, tavern brawler for buffs too. How should I proceed or add help 😭😭😭🥺

[@Jedicode3]

I mixed this with eldiitrch knight shadowblade so devastating

[@ConstructedChaos]

Devastating AND flavorful! I love the good old E. Knight.

[@njfernandes87]

Didn't get what's broken about it though...

[@ConstructedChaos]

Hey, friend! No worries! I did make note of a few elements in the blood hunter's feature list that felt overpowered to me. But, largely, this is the last video in a series of guides that attempt to showcase that ANY class can be broken in an effort to remove the stigma against certain character options. That said, I am looking to move away from this naming convention with my next batch of guides to avoid confusion in the future!

[@c-really-h1859]

I love the implication that when the warlock is partners with a fighter but cheats on him with a ranger, all 3 are somehow involved in the conception

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@c-really-h1859 Jesus was a carpenter. 😜

[@c-really-h1859]

@@ConstructedChaos So who's god in this situation, the fighter?

[@gaelofariandel6747]

My only gripe (especially as a DM) is that you HAVE to have someone who fully understands the class & subclass, otherwise it's a drag.

[@ConstructedChaos]

That's totally fair, yeah. Luckily, it's integration on DNDBeyond can make it a little easier for players to manage but there are a lot of resources to juggle either way.

[@vladimirserpov6773]

It's not just BH class. Same applies to spellcasters. The number of times players struggle with their own character's spells is waaay to high

[@indigo_tribe]

I love this class. So much flavor here!

[@ConstructedChaos]

Absolutely! And I have to give it to them: it’s quite balanced and well-designed. Maybe just a little too wordy at times and perhaps too reliant on short resting for most of your resources.

[@indigo_tribe]

​@@ConstructedChaoscompletely agree. Matt has a "way" with words. But that "way" is definitely the scenic route. I also love that since you are adding damage to weapons and can have the rite active essentially all the time, you are way less reliant on those types of magic weapons. You ARE the magic weapon!

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@indigo_tribe absolutely!! And I think a lot can be said about beefing up your damage output with two weapon fighting and feats like poke arm master. Lots to play with here!

[@indigo_tribe]

@@ConstructedChaos sadly it has been stated that the pommel strike from pole arm master doesn't get the benefit of rites for some reason. (My dms have always just said that it does)

[@woutvanostaden1299]

Shifter is a nice race for bloodhunters with their temp hp (heroism is also a spell they would enjoy) and tavern brawler is hilarious, doing lightning damage with porkchops. 😊😂😂😂

[@alexanderjamesaustin]

Yo I'd love to know where that thumbnail art comes from

[@ConstructedChaos]

I actually don't remember the exact source but I can tell you that I only use art from published D&D books so it's from one of those! haha

[@oliverm376]

“Order of the mutant” ah yes, finally a Witcher subclass

[@ConstructedChaos]

It's frustrating because I LOVE the flavor and the idea of the subclass. It just feels like there are better options mechanically that can be reflavored to fit almost as well.

[@oliverm376]

@@ConstructedChaos true. A lot of the options seem underpowered, and most subclasses get at least some abilities for free that don’t have such a high cost

[@mezmerr4951]

0:57 my dm is actually allergic to blood...

[@ConstructedChaos]

Really? That sounds hella inconvenient!

[@Red_Mag3]

Sure, but have you heard about Echo Knights...

[@ConstructedChaos]

Oh have I ever haha. Most of their homebrew subclasses are so cracked

[@woutvanostaden1299]

I love combining echo knight while inside an Otilukes resilient sphere. I can manifest an echo outside the sphere and fight with it, but they can't hurt me. 😊😊😊😅😂

[@brettchew3771]

I have a Ghostslayer/Blood Hunter multi class going right now, and it is BRUTAL. Half-Drow ancestry for innate spellcasting. Magic Initiate (Warlock) for Green-Flame Blade, Toll the Dead, and Hex. Two-Weapon Fighting and the Rite of the Storm/Rite of the Dawn combo. My DM has asked me if I'd be okay with her using the build for a BBEG in a different campaign she's running. I'm not saying no. 😈

[@paraschauhan1603]

Does emotional damage to yourself count? If so, then I might be a Blood Hunter IRL.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Haha someone else pointed out that necrotic damage could be internal damage. So… uh…. You’re a blood hunter, harry

[@wildrabbit2237]

With all few respect, there were quite a few mistakes in this video. Personally, like all of Matthew’s player content, I think Blood Hunter was a great idea that’s been over balanced to the point of being ok at best.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Hey friend, welcome to the channel! What mistakes did you find? I’d be happy to pin a comment with corrections if I missed anything. There’s a lot here so I’m bound to mess up somewhere!

[@wildrabbit2237]

@@ConstructedChaos After reading the comments it looks like the ones I caught have already been brought up. More just commenting on the general state of Mercer's homebrew player content being overbalanced

[@iduno3592]

I... Don't see where the "BROKEN" part of this comes in, it is decent yes, but I don't know if I'd say broken. Soo just clickbait then?

[@ConstructedChaos]

Hey friend! Welcome to the channel! I started this series of guides in order to showcase that any class can be “broken” in an effort to remove the stigma surrounding certain options. I did cover a few broken features in the guide to that effect. You may have just missed it. Either way, this is the last video of the series and I will be getting away from this naming convention on the next batch to avoid the misunderstanding about clickbait. Thanks for your input and happy adventuring!

[@BlastMagicianYGO]

Base crimson rite is only magical itself, it doesn't affect the weapon damage, also I guess we'll just ignore that the " not much" the blood hunter gets as a capstone is better than 75% of the tripe the actual DND classes get.

[@ConstructedChaos]

The ability literally states that "While the rite is in effect, attacks you make with this weapon are magical..." If that is meant to mean that only the extra damage is magical, that's a terrible way to word it.

[@g0lddustt29]

Eh. It's really not as great of a class as you make it out to be, especially at lower levels where losing HP for any reason is a big deal - even one of the Critical Role's players have shown this. It's also very mechanically clunky by 5e design standards, it feels like a Pathfinder class or something.

[@ConstructedChaos]

I still think that trade off for so much extra damage early on is worthwhile but I did touch on the clunkiness a bit at the end. It really just felt like it could have been simplified a lot.

[@Rabidconscience]

Well yeah, most homebrew classes are broken

[@ConstructedChaos]

Haha thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying the antics and happy adventuring!

[@StalfosGamer]

Yhea sorry. Have to put a dislike on it as there is some wrong information about the class. Especially lychan. Which is what i came for in the first place.

[@ConstructedChaos]

Totally understandable! I pinned a comment with corrections just to make sure I didn’t confuse anyone. I wish I could do more! Happy adventuring!

[@user-hd1ul6od2x]

Blood Hunter is the only class that requires you to spend health to do things - and those things are worse than spells. It is a class that is worse than martials AND casters, and being worse than martials is hilarious, because martials suck.

[@ConstructedChaos]

TBF, you aren't spending that much health to do this stuff and the extra damage you get does out-leverage other martials and some casters early on because you only have to pay the price one time.

[@user-hd1ul6od2x]

@@ConstructedChaos yes, but the fact you're spending health at all makes them worse than martials. Like martials, they also get outclassed by casters of any kind, even bards, by roughly level 3, in terms of sheer utility. It's also why people are mistaken about martials being resourceless while casters rely on having resources - since martials are in close proximity to the enemy (since they're kinda built for this, examples being the barbarian and the paladin, although pallies are half-casters), they get damaged more and deal less damage if the GM doesn't give them magic weapons. Because martials also rely on Str & Dex for attacks, they are less incentivised to have high wis, int and cha, which is what you use to resist effects that take you out of the fight, like hypnotic pattern. You could literally defeat a party of martial characters by casting hypnotic pattern on them and then taking their weapons and armour away, then gutting them. Casters could either counterspell or resist it better. The only systems that can fix this are 1st edition AD&D and the Adventurer Conqueror King System.

[@ConstructedChaos]

​@@user-hd1ul6od2x That's absolutely a fair assessment because casters are certainly great in terms of utility. But caster resources and hitpoints are still a weakness until a bit later than level 3 if your DM is running more than one combat per adventuring day.

[@user-hd1ul6od2x]

@@ConstructedChaos did you forget cantrips are a thing? If you're playing a wizard, you'd just need to rope trick away and shoot fire bolts and rays of frost, and that's it.

[@ConstructedChaos]

@@user-hd1ul6od2x No, of course I didn't haha. Cantrips are markedly worse than a blood hunter attacking twice and dealing crimson rite damage on top of weapon damage.