Blood Hunter: The Forbidden Orders
Some paths are best left unwalked. These paths are not for the faint of heart, and catastrophe may come to those who misuse their power. These are the Forbidden Orders.
Deep inside these writings, you may find the cheshire Order of the Grin, the monstrous Order of the Marsh, and even the long forgotten Order of the Unseen. Read along at your own risk.
Order of the Grin
You are filled with a madness that leaves no sanity within you, bringing a cruel smile to your face and causing the shadows around you to bow down to your thoughts. All who walk this path find themselves in contact with the Cheshire Cat: an unusual creature that wanders the planes twisting fate, and causing mischief for some unknown goal. As you learn to walk the planes like it does, that cruel joy within your heart grows ever stronger, granting you powers unseen by mortal men. You are the stalking panther, the hunting lion, and the sly grin that appears even as your form fades away. But in that shadows lies a great beast named the Jabberwocky, a creature that hunts the shadows and the mad. In order to hunt this darkness you must become one with it.
Order of the Grin Quirks
| d8 | Quirk |
|---|---|
| 1 | You constantly feel like grinning no matter the circumstance. |
| 2 | Your eyes are a strange yellow instead of a normal color. |
| 3 | You have an extreme fascination with hats, and are always happy to find a new one. |
| 4 | You tend to use big words, and are often accused of not knowing their meanings. |
| 5 | You are horrible at directions and constantly give the wrong ones. |
| 6 | You have a quick temper, and react at the smallest things. |
| 7 | You tend to tell stories in an over the top manner. |
| 8 | You have a habit of disappearing from the group until something exciting occurs. |
Cheshire Grin
When you choose this path at 3rd level, you gain the power of Cheshire Madness. As a bonus action you can enter into a Cheshire madness, which turns you invisible except for your cheshire grin. When invisible, the opponent has disadvantage on checks on seeing you or attacking you. The effect ends after 1 minute or being hit by an attack from the opponent. Once used once, it cannot be used again until you finish a long rest. At 7th level, you gain one extra use per long rest and the ability to recharge one on a short rest, and at 15th level, you gain a third use.
Ace of Hearts
Starting at the 3rd level, you gain a pool of temporary health d4 dice equal to your blood hunter level. You can apply these to yourself or directly touch creatures your blood hunter level number of times before needing a long rest to reset it.
Down the Rabbit Hole
At 7th level, you learn to journey through terrible shadow, with some help from the white rabbit. You can teleport up to 25 feet to an unoccupied location as a bonus action once per short rest. When using Cheshire Grin, you automatically regain usage of the ability and it increases in range to 40 feet.
Phantom Strike
Starting at 11th level, you learn to control the shadows with the help of the Cheshire Cat. Your unarmed attack damage becomes boosted by 1d6. With the Cheshire Grin activated you gain a 1d8 instead of the 1d6 for your unarmed attacks.
Looming Shadow
Starting at 11th level, you can manipulate the shadows of objects, gaining a special form of telekinesis. This form of telekinesis can only be used if you can see the shadow of the object affected, and works like the cantrip mage hand, except the hand cannot be seen without a successful DC 15 Perception check.
Blood Curse of the Eternal Grin
At the 15th level, you gain the Blood Curse of the Eternal Grin:
As a reaction, you can make all nearby invisible objects able to be seen, and make all nearby spells to be affected by the dispel magic spell.
Amplify. The casters of all spells dispelled are stunned until your next turn.
All that Remains
At 18th level, your connection to the White Rabbit empowers your body with a cheshire energy. You can activate Cheshire Grin as a reaction. When in your Cheshire Madness, you can now use Down the Rabbit Hole an infinite number of times, though using it more times than the amount you have available will cause all uses to be gone after the battle.
Variant Rule: Maddened
Thanks to your time with the Cheshire Madness, you yourself are mad. If you so wish, you can use the madness rules in the Dungeon Master's Guide and give yourself a short term madness while you are in your Cheshire Madness.
Order of the Marsh
Born of the Nexus of All Realities, multiversal power flows through your veins, the swamp from which you came twists you into a guardian of all portals and planes. When ever someone attacks the Nexus, or forces a portal open, the Order of the Marsh will hear it and stop it.
Planar Importance
Your power as a protector of the Nexus makes your death have extreme impact. When you die, one of the following occurs.
| d4 | Planar Effect |
|---|---|
| 1 | Your death causes the Nexus of All Realities to close, and forces other Order members back through. |
| 2 | Your death causes a demon to be forced out of your corpse. |
| 3 | Your body collapses into a new planar portal. |
| 4 | Your body evaporates into a pool of water. |
Appearance
As a member of the Order of the Marsh, your body is slowly consumed by plants as you level up. It may start as just a small vine running up one arm, but over time may evolve into a full suit of armor, or full covering of swampy plants.
Rite of Planes
You gain the Rite of Planes, which changes your rite focus damage to either psychic damage or poison damage. This can be changed during a long rest.
Living Marsh
At 3rd level, your body becomes empowered by the swamp, and gains you spectral arms. These arms usually look like seaweed-like plants. These arms can carry single hand weapons for two weapon fighting, as well as 40 pounds of gear. These arms can be hidden or brought back with a bonus action.
Ethereal Power
At 7th level, you learn to step through the Ethereal Plane. As a bonus action, you can cast the etherealness spell with this feature, without expending a spell slot, but the spell ends at the start of your next current turn.
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Nexus Dodge
At 11th level, your Nexus based powers give you the ability to avoid attacks as they come. Once per short rest, you can cause an attack that would hit to miss instead as a reaction. You also gain advantage in athletics and acrobatics thanks to the portals you manipulate.
Blood Curse of the Nexus
At the 15th level, you gain the Blood Curse of the Nexus:
You gain the ability to teleport enemies and allies. You create a portal in any location within 20 feet, and create a linked portal within 30 feet using a bonus action. This can be used once per long rest, and the portal lasts until removed with a reaction or for 1 minute.
Amplify. Range increases to 30 and 40 feet.
The Protector of the Nexus
At 18th level, you gain increased planar powers. You can use Ethereal Power 3 times a day, and also gain the ability to use it on other teammates. You also gain full immunity to poison and acid, as well as a resistance to non magical slashing, piercing, and bludgeoning damage.
Order of the Unseen
You are always there, a watcher from the darkness of the world. Your powers over the darkness and its inhabitants give you a new life, and empower you down a new path, one which can only lead to despair. Those who begin this journey cannot turn back, so close your eyes and take the journey into the Unseen.
In the Darkness It Thrives
Starting at 3rd level, your time in the dark has given you unforeseen powers. You gain the ability to see when in the dark and become skillful in staying hidden when in it. You gain darkvision for 120 feet, and gain 10 feet of extra walking speed when in the dark or at night.
Variant Rule: Light Sensitivity
As a member of the Order of the Unseen, you thrive in the dark. When you are in direct sunlight, you gain disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.
Unseen Follower
Starting at 3rd Level, you gain a spirit in the shape of a raven that follows you around, using the statblock of a normal raven, but with health equal to 1 + your INT modifier + your proficiency bonus. It will obey your commands, which can be relayed telepathically if you are within 100 feet of it.
When the raven is on your shoulder, you gain a bonus to Perception checks equal to your INT modifier.
When the raven is not on your shoulder, you can see through its eyes, and use it to awaken yourself from sleep.
If the raven dies, it will automatically reappear after a short rest.
Shadow Sneak
Starting at 7th level, you can teleport through the darkness. You can either teleport to a shadow within 20 feet of you, or to your Raven if they are within 100 ft, effectively switching places with the raven. This does not effect your movement, but does require a bonus action to trigger.
You can use this a number of time equal to 1 + your INT modifier per long rest.
Manipulation of the Unseen
Starting at 7th level, you have improved control of the light level nearby. You can cast darkness and light at will without using any spell slots.
Dark Protection
At 11th level, your dark path has given you improved control of your life. You now have advantage on death saving throws and a resistance to necrotic damage.
Blood Curse of the Eternal Night
At 15th level, you gain usage of the Blood Curse of the Eternal Night:
You gain the ability to change what opponents see. As an action, you can force one enemy in sight is forced to make a WIS saving throw against your INT bonus plus 10. If you succeed, the opponent sees you as non moving until the end of your next turn. Otherwise, nothing happens.
Amplify. It automatically succeeds.
Emissary of the Night
At 18th level, your powers over the darkness have exceeded your wildest dreams. Your darkvision increases to 150 feet, and you gain an additional 5 ft to your walking speed at night. You also gain immunity to necrotic damage, as well as the ability to use Shadow Sneak as a reaction.
Credits
- Lots of thanks to RuinSmith_Hlit for helping me balance these ideas
- Credit to my friend @PandaKing for the idea and a lot of the abilities on the Order of the Grin
- Credit to Magic the Gathering Art from Tomasz Jedruszek, that I felt really fit the Order of the Unseen, and made the picture for the document.