I’m working on a homebrew Fighter subclass, and I need help with the capstone. I want it to be called Dead or Alive, but I don’t know what it should do. It should be non-magical, but powerful enough to be the capstone. Any ideas?
The subclass is for bounty hunters, and I thought it would be a cool name for the capstone, but now I find myself unable to think of a fitting ability.
"Dead or Alive" is an ultimatum. So an ability that is very much "it was either him or me" should fit. Something like when you perceive an enemy to be close to death and you want to land a final killing blow. So maybe:
Once per round when you make a melee attack roll you may choose to sacrifice a number of Hit Points up to your Fighter level. If that melee attack roll hits, you deal extra damage to that target equal to the number of HP you sacrificed. If that hit kills the target, you regain those HP. If it doesn't, you don't.
When the Bounty Hunter presented it to the wanted person as “dead or alive, you’re coming with me” it was an ultimatum. Prior to that it was a list of conditions that would meet the terms of the contract sufficient to receive payment.
The vast majority of the time bounties were only paid if the individual was brought in alive. Most of the rest of the time only bringing them in alive would meet the required condition to receive full payment, if the individual were brought in dead they Bounty Hunter would only receive partial payment for only partially fulfilling the contract. That’s because most of those contracts were put out for the apprehension and delivery of wanted criminals or debtors. Corpses can neither stand trial nor pay debts.
For a bounty to be offered at full price if the individual was brought in either “dead or alive,” it meant that whoever had put the price on that person’s head cared more about removing that person from the population than anything else. For example, if some judge somewhere decided the individual was such a danger to the public and completely unrepentant and unremitting, they might issue a “dead or alive” on an individual. Or if the Pinkertons were fed up and were willing to let someone else catch the individual by any means rather than risk their reputation by the person not getting caught at all, a “dead or alive” might get offered.
Sometimes though, a criminal had robbed enough banks and stage coaches that it disrupted business enough for people with very deep pockets to actually take personal interest. If the criminal’s exploits were famous enough that they had become folk heroes of a sort “legends in their own time” as it were, then the population at large would often rather aid them than turn them in, then the criminals would be even harder to apprehend. That meant the system that typically would have dealt with such criminals had started to break down in their case. Usually the various warrants out for their arrest that would be enough to convince most outlaws to see what the weather was like south of the border. But if they were still around and still robbing banks and coaches… then the system had broken down, and that’s bad for business. That’s often when some of the money from those deep pockets would end up in an envelope in a judges hand somewhere who would then issue a “dead or alive” for the individual. At that point any further loss money or reputation would have been interfering with more important things than trials. Important things like building the railroads, and then major government contracts would have been at risk. Lots of the times those bounties were basically just legal assassinations because “the law” has already failed. But I digress.
The subclass is for bounty hunters, and I thought it would be a cool name for the capstone, but now I find myself unable to think of a fitting ability.
Well, since it’s your project, then how do you perceive the concept of “dead or alive” as it would relate to the rest of the subclass? Do you see it from the wanted individual’s perspective of an ultimatum, from the contractor’s perspective as a list of acceptable conditions to meet the contract, or as something else? Like, is your Bounty Hunter:
The shoot-first and not bother asking questions type?
The see it as “a contract is a contract” type?
The agent of law & order type?
The “in it for the paycheck” type?
Some other type entirely?
I ask because that would point me towards this being the type of feature that would:
Apply a “mark” of some sort to a target creature. (Like the Cavalier’s Unwavering Mark/Hunter’s Mark type of thing, but on ‘roids.)
Give them an implacability that would let them keep going until the job is done… perhaps even if it kills them…? (Like the Barbarian’s Relentless Rage/the Half-Orc’s Relentless Endurance, but on ‘roids.)
Give them a super special action that would severely affect a target if it didn’t kill them outright. (Like the Open Hand’s Quivering Palm/the Fiend Warlock’s Hurl Through Hell.)
I’ll be putting the subclass on my homebrew thread, Recovered From the Archives, with the capstone up for discussion. Some of the things you mentioned were actually already part of it! Come see if you want to continue discussing.
I’m working on a homebrew Fighter subclass, and I need help with the capstone. I want it to be called Dead or Alive, but I don’t know what it should do. It should be non-magical, but powerful enough to be the capstone. Any ideas?
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My homebrew stuff:
Spells, Monsters, Magic Items, Feats, Subclasses.
I am an Archfey, but nobody seems to notice.
Extended Signature
I usually work the other way ‘round and name ‘em after I make ‘em. Why that specific name? Maybe more info might illicit helpful ideas.
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The subclass is for bounty hunters, and I thought it would be a cool name for the capstone, but now I find myself unable to think of a fitting ability.
Come participate in the Competition of the Finest Brews, Edition XXVIII?
My homebrew stuff:
Spells, Monsters, Magic Items, Feats, Subclasses.
I am an Archfey, but nobody seems to notice.
Extended Signature
"Dead or Alive" is an ultimatum. So an ability that is very much "it was either him or me" should fit. Something like when you perceive an enemy to be close to death and you want to land a final killing blow. So maybe:
Once per round when you make a melee attack roll you may choose to sacrifice a number of Hit Points up to your Fighter level. If that melee attack roll hits, you deal extra damage to that target equal to the number of HP you sacrificed. If that hit kills the target, you regain those HP. If it doesn't, you don't.
Just a thought.
Anzio Faro. Protector Aasimar light cleric. Lvl 18.
Viktor Gavriil. White dragonborn grave cleric. Lvl 20.
Ikram Sahir ibn-Malik al-Sayyid Ra'ad. Brass dragonborn draconic sorcerer Lvl 9. Fire elemental devil.
Wrangler of cats.
Seems cool.
Come participate in the Competition of the Finest Brews, Edition XXVIII?
My homebrew stuff:
Spells, Monsters, Magic Items, Feats, Subclasses.
I am an Archfey, but nobody seems to notice.
Extended Signature
When the Bounty Hunter presented it to the wanted person as “dead or alive, you’re coming with me” it was an ultimatum. Prior to that it was a list of conditions that would meet the terms of the contract sufficient to receive payment.
The vast majority of the time bounties were only paid if the individual was brought in alive. Most of the rest of the time only bringing them in alive would meet the required condition to receive full payment, if the individual were brought in dead they Bounty Hunter would only receive partial payment for only partially fulfilling the contract. That’s because most of those contracts were put out for the apprehension and delivery of wanted criminals or debtors. Corpses can neither stand trial nor pay debts.
For a bounty to be offered at full price if the individual was brought in either “dead or alive,” it meant that whoever had put the price on that person’s head cared more about removing that person from the population than anything else. For example, if some judge somewhere decided the individual was such a danger to the public and completely unrepentant and unremitting, they might issue a “dead or alive” on an individual. Or if the Pinkertons were fed up and were willing to let someone else catch the individual by any means rather than risk their reputation by the person not getting caught at all, a “dead or alive” might get offered.
Sometimes though, a criminal had robbed enough banks and stage coaches that it disrupted business enough for people with very deep pockets to actually take personal interest. If the criminal’s exploits were famous enough that they had become folk heroes of a sort “legends in their own time” as it were, then the population at large would often rather aid them than turn them in, then the criminals would be even harder to apprehend. That meant the system that typically would have dealt with such criminals had started to break down in their case. Usually the various warrants out for their arrest that would be enough to convince most outlaws to see what the weather was like south of the border. But if they were still around and still robbing banks and coaches… then the system had broken down, and that’s bad for business. That’s often when some of the money from those deep pockets would end up in an envelope in a judges hand somewhere who would then issue a “dead or alive” for the individual. At that point any further loss money or reputation would have been interfering with more important things than trials. Important things like building the railroads, and then major government contracts would have been at risk. Lots of the times those bounties were basically just legal assassinations because “the law” has already failed. But I digress.
Well, since it’s your project, then how do you perceive the concept of “dead or alive” as it would relate to the rest of the subclass? Do you see it from the wanted individual’s perspective of an ultimatum, from the contractor’s perspective as a list of acceptable conditions to meet the contract, or as something else? Like, is your Bounty Hunter:
I ask because that would point me towards this being the type of feature that would:
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
I’ll be putting the subclass on my homebrew thread, Recovered From the Archives, with the capstone up for discussion. Some of the things you mentioned were actually already part of it! Come see if you want to continue discussing.
Come participate in the Competition of the Finest Brews, Edition XXVIII?
My homebrew stuff:
Spells, Monsters, Magic Items, Feats, Subclasses.
I am an Archfey, but nobody seems to notice.
Extended Signature