Faerûnian Prestige Class : Green Hunter
by Eric Haddock, Dragon #294
There have long been rumors of an elite, secretive group operating in the jungles of Chult, near Fort Belurian. Their purpose and leadership has been unclear, except that they wear holy symbols of Thard Harr and perform good deeds near the fort, specializing in finding those lost in the jungle. The Morning Rain, a royal courier vessel from Cormyr, was sent to Fort Belurian with an urgent request for any member, if the order did exist, to assist in locating a person of royal interest lost somewhere in the jungle. Cormyr needed someone who could pass quickly through the undergrowth like a druid, track a man like a ranger, and fend off the monsters in the jungle like a fighter.
There was a response: Lilkinen Tar'rir presented himself as a captain of a new order of scouts. These scouts were the green hunters, and with their help, Lilkinen was able to rescue the lost alchemist. He now remains the primary liaison between the order and the public.
Green hunters seek to serve the cause of good in whatever capacity they can. They're part ranger, druid, and fighter, specializing in thick growth environments like jungles and dense forests. Green hunters are usually druids, but some begin their adventuring careers as rangers. Druids have the close bond with nature that Thard Harr respects, and rangers are predisposed to the more violent aspects of the order, which Thard Harr also respects. However, druids are much more accomplished spellcasters than rangers, so they are sooner able to meet the requirements for joining the order. Dwarves feature prominently in the order, as Thard Harr is a god among them, but non-dwarves are welcome. Regardless of race, those wishing to join the order must pledge their loyalty to Thard Harr.
The order was started by Lilkinen Tar'rir, and he serves as its leader. He has a room of his own at the Drowning Rock, an inn just outside the walls of Fort Belurian, which he uses to interact with the public whenever he needs to. He mostly spends his time in the jungle, training new members.
While the order was founded in Chult and knows that area well, it has sent green hunters off to many parts of the world for a wide variety at purposes. One reason is to have members participate in adventures. Adventuring is a lucrative endeavor that adds substantially to the orders coffers. Player characters who take this prestige class can be members sent on a mission by Lilkinen or green hunters out in the world for the purpose of sending money back home.
Requirements
To qualify to become a Green Hunter, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:
- Alignment: Any good
- Skills: Knowledge (nature) 5 ranks, Survival 5 ranks
- Feats: Track,
- Base Attack Bonus: +4
- Spells: Ability to cast divine spells
- Patron: Thard Harr
Class Skills
The Green Hunter's class skills are Balance, Climb, Concentration, Craft, Heal, Hide, Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge (geography), Knowledge (nature), Listen, Move Silently, Search, Spot, Survival, Swim, and Use Rope.
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.
Class Features
All at the following are class features of the green hunter prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Green hunters are proficient with all martial weapons and with light armor and shields. Druids who became green hunters may use spiked gauntlets without suffering the penalties for using a prohibited weapon.
Spells Per Day: At every other level gained in the green hunter prestige class, the character gains new divine spells per day as if he had also gained a level in a divine spellcasting class he belonged to before adding the prestige class. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained except for an increased effective level of spellcasting If a character had more than one divine spellcasting class before becoming a green hunter, he must decide to which class he adds the new effective level far the purposes of determining spells per day.
Quick Travel (Su): With Thard Harr's divine guidance, green hunters are able to safely and quickly navigate terrain with dense undergrowth. When traveling on foot and in forests, jungles, or swamps dense enough to cause a movement penalty, green hunters of 1st level and higher add 10 to their base speed. The growth does not have to be natural for the Hunter to enjoy this bonus.
Hand of Thard Harr (Ex): In the densest jungle, there is little room to swing swords or use pole arms. Thard Harr's favored weapon, the spiked gauntlet, works well in close quarters.
At 2nd level, a green hunter gains the Weapon Focus (spiked gauntlet) feat.
At 4th level, the green hunter gains the Improved Critical (spiked gauntlet) feat.
At 6th level, the green hunter deals an extra point of damage whenever he deals damage with a spiked gauntlet.
At 8th level, the green hunter wearing a spiked gauntlet can use it to disarm foes without provoking an attack of opportunity. If successful, the green hunter can take the weapon in his gauntleted hand rather than allowing it to fall at his opponent's feet.
At 10th level, the penalties associated with using two spiked gauntlets at once are reduced by 2.
Unerring Pursuit: At 3rd level, the green hunter gets a +10 morale bonus to any Survival skill checks made in any area with undergrowth thick enough to cause a movement penalty, such as a jungle or forest. The bonus is granted whether or not the growth is natural.
Scent (Ex): Beginning at 9th level, a green hunter's senses are so highly attuned that he can utilize the scent ability. This ability allows the green hunter to detect approaching enemies, sniff out hidden foes, and track by sense of smell. He can identify familiar odors just as others do familiar sights.
The green hunter can detect opponents within 30 feet by sense of smell. If the opponent is upwind, the range increases to 60 feet: if downwind, it drops to 15 feet. Strong scents, such as smoke or rotting garbage, can be detected at twice the ranges noted above. Overpowering scents, such as skunk musk or troglodyte stench, can be detected at triple normal range.
When the green hunter detects a scent, the exact location is not revealed - only its presence somewhere within range. He can take a move-equivalent action to note the direction of the scent. If he moves within 5 feet of the source, the green hunter can pinpoint that source.
The green hunter can follow tracks by smell, making a Wisdom check to find or follow a track. The typical DC for a fresh trail is 10 (no matter what kind of surface holds the scent). This DC increases or decreases depending on how strong the quarry's odor is, the number of creatures, and the age of the trail. For each hour that the trail is cold, the DC increases by 2. The ability otherwise follows the rules for the Track feat. A green hunter tracking by scent ignores the effects of surface conditions and poor visibility.
Ferocity (Su): Once per day, a 7th-level green hunter can increase his Strength by +4 points far a number of rounds equal to his green hunter level. When the ferocity ends, the green hunter is fatigued for the duration of that encounter.
Woodland Freedom (Su): The time the green hunter has spent going through dense growth has given him the ability to move through it as easily as if it were not there. The green hunter can move through thorns, briars, overgrown areas, and similar terrain at his normal speed (plus the bonus from quick travel) without suffering damage or other impairment. The green hunter can move through enchanted or magically manipulated plantlife (such as the area of an entangle spell) just as easily, but the woodland freedom ability has no affect on the ability of monstrous plants to hold or attack the green hunter.
| Green Hunter | Hit Die: d8 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CL | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special | Spells per Day |
| 1st | +1 | +2 | +0 | +0 | Quick travel | +1 level of existing class |
| 2nd | +2 | +3 | +0 | +0 | Hand of Thard Harr (Weapon focus) | - |
| 3rd | +3 | +3 | +1 | +1 | Unerring Pursuit | +1 level of existing class |
| 4th | +4 | +4 | +1 | +1 | Hand of Thard Harr (Improve Critical) | - |
| 5th | +5 | +4 | +1 | +1 | Scent | +1 level of existing class |
| 6th | +6 | +5 | +2 | +2 | Hand of Thard Harr (+1 to damage) | - |
| 7th | +7 | +5 | +2 | +2 | Ferocity | +1 level of existing class |
| 8th | +8 | +6 | +2 | +2 | Hand of Thard Harr (Disarm) | - |
| 9th | +9 | +6 | +3 | +3 | Woodland Freedom | +1 level of existing class |
| 10th | +10 | +7 | +3 | +3 | Hand of Thard Harr (Reduced Penalties) | - |
Source: Dragon #294