As a hunter, you are among the pinnacle of slayers, the only game that can sate your appetite... The mighty dinosaur. Skilled in the art of tracking down and slaying these reptilian beasts, you employ different tactics different tactics than other hunters. Your quarry includes creatures of the fiercest variety, from the deadly efficiency and pack tactics of raptors, to the sheer size and strength of the brontosaurus, your skills have been finely honed for your targets. Perhaps you choose dinosaurs because the work is rewarding. Or maybe it's the thrill of the hunt alone that drives you. It could be possible that you have a score to settle or a village to protect. But in any case, you have embraced your inner apex predator.
- Skill Proficiencies: Dinosaur Hunters exemplify the skills with which they are proficient. You have proficiency with the Survival skill, if you are already proficient with Survival, as detailed in the rules for backgrounds, "if a character would gain the same proficiency from two different sources, he or she can choose a different proficiency of the same kind (skill or tool) instead:. You also have proficiency with one other skill from the following: Animal Handling, Athletics, Investigation, Nature, or Stealth.
- Tool Proficiencies: Tracking and hunting dinosaurs is difficult enough as is, you are proficient with one tool of your choice. Your tools may be custom suited to the type of creature you hunt. I.e.: If your preferred prey is the deadly velociraptor, and you choose leatherworker's tools, your tools would be designed for raptor hide as opposed to say deer or bear hides.
- Languages: None.
- Equipment: Your savage lifestyle affords you few material things, save for what you require to hunt. You have the following equipment: A Martial Weapon of your choice, two daggers or two simple weapons, a longbow and a quiver of 20 arrows, an Explorer's Pack or a Monster Hunter's Pack, a Rain Catcher, A two-person tent, 4 hunting traps, an Animal Companion, and a belt pouch containing 5 GP.
Your Animal Companion must be of 1/8 CR or lower and can only be a Beast of Medium or Small. Your companion has the same initiative as you and unless you use your Action to command it, it takes the Dodge action. A beast can only perform simple commands based on its intelligence. Your companion has a number of Hit Points equal to 2 × Your Level, or its own Hit Points which ever is higher, its AC is equal to your Proficiency Bonus + Your Animal Handling Skill. If its AC would be lower use the creature's stat block instead. If your companion is reduced to 0 Hit Points, you may expend ONE of your Death Saving Throw attempts to stabilize it. You may only acquire a new companion by spending 12 hours bonding to a new creature that fits the requirements and is friendly to you.
Hunting prehistoric beasts is your passion, any will do for a hunt, but over time you have developed a particular favorite. You do your best to hunt this kind of beast first, with cousins and variants being your second choice.
| d12 | Favored Prey |
|---|---|
| 1 | Brontos |
| 2 | Raptors |
| 3 | Rexes |
| 4 | Spinos |
| 5 | Dire Bears |
| 6 | Mammoths |
| 7 | Pteranodons |
| 8 | Argentavis |
| 9 | Terror Birds |
| 10 | Megalodons |
| 11 | Plesiosaurs |
| 12 | Electrophorus |
You can craft basic small or tiny items such as arrows, darts, needles, simple weapons, fire starters, and nets in the wilderness with materials found in the area without the use of crafting tools. (though having tools and Proficiency with tools makes this process faster)
The type of environment and terrain will affect how long it takes to search for basic materials such as, wood, bamboo, clay, and usable stones. Or complex materials such as leather, furs, or sinew which may require you to go hunting and changes depending the creature.
Each time you scavenge a creature's carcass, you can find at least one piece of harvestable material unless the creature has become otherwise mutilated or destroyed in some way. The size of the creature will also affect the amount of harvestable materials. Larger items such as armors, shields, and large traps, made from creatures hides or leathers, exoskeletal or skeletal plating, and stones will require you to have proficiency with the appropriate tools.
All of theses crafting processes will affect the time it takes according to their complexity, size, rarity of required materials, and required activities to obtain the required materials. Items that are rushed will take half of the time to create, but will break after a day or so of use or one use, depending on the item. Items may be given appropriate states for when built out of standard materials for that item, and may also be sold in accordance with the value of the materials used and quality of the items.
You have advantage on survival checks when it comes to dinosaurs you have hunted before. Work with your DM to create a small list of dinosaurs you have hunted in the past and how many you have slain to help determine your knowledge of improvising weapons from their remains.
Suggested Characteristics
Dinosaur Hunters exhibit odd characteristics in comparison to other hunters, they can appear more feral and savage than others, even may share some traits with the beasts they hunt.
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | Every day I am breathing is a good day. I have a joviality that is hard to bring down. |
| 2 | I measure my self-worth by the number of creatures I have killed. I have/ do not have high self-worth. |
| 3 | I am plagued by nightmares of what I have lost. I tend to push people away and seek solitude. |
| 4 | I will seek any opportunity and take any chance to feel the thrill I feel when I am hunting. Even if it runs me afoul of the law. |
| 5 | Hunting is my duty but it does not define me. I am defined by my honor and duty to all who face evil. |
| 6 | I use every part of a creature i have killed. Why waste good resources? |
| 7 | I enjoy my life in the wilds away from the complex constructs of civilization. |
| 8 | When it comes to dinosaurs, I will never let someone else win the discussion. |
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Honor. I always offer a chance for a fair fight, even to dinosaurs. (Lawful) |
| 2 | People. If what I hunt will get others hurt, it isn't worth it. (Good) |
| 3 | Impudence. Silly nobles and their tin toy soldiers will not keep me from my quarry. (Chaotic) |
| 4 | Apathy. I don't like or dislike killing, it's just something I do. (Neutral) |
| 5 | Ambitious. I wish to move on to bigger, more dangerous game. (Any) |
| 6 | Unscrupulous. I will do anything to anybody if it takes me closer to destroying my target. (Evil) |
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | I feel a kinship with other hunters, even if they do not hunt my kind of prey. |
| 2 | I have a tattoo/ marking on a part of my body to depict what I hunt. I rub it whenever I feel nervous or afraid. |
| 3 | The people closest to me are my anchor to this life. I am allowed to be overprotective of them. |
| 4 | I feel a call to explore the wider world, and to find that special something I've not yet hunted. |
| 5 | I've been away from society so long I prefer the company of beasts and nature. |
| 6 | The wilderness where I reside has been invaded by a great dinosaur. I must find a way to drive it back or destroy it. |
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | I get bored of hunting my normal prey and think of hunting something smarter, maybe even humanoid. |
| 2 | I secretly crave violence and just use hunting as an excuse to exact it. |
| 3 | I’m so accustomed to eating what I kill that I would eat a monster, or even a person, without a second thought. |
| 4 | I am incredibly gullible, I cannot identify liars of any sort, and often refuse to accept that anyone would do such a thing. |
| 5 | I don't like city folk, and I make that as evident as possible. |
| 6 | When I have a bad feeling about something, I expect people to shut up and listen. |
Contacts
You may create a list with your DM of contacts you may gave met in your past with which you traded supplies or trophies with. Perhaps you were part of a Dinosaur Hunting Guild, and still know some old allies in certain locales.
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