Bounty Hunter

A bounty hunter is an independent contractor, paid for the capture and return of a fugitive, ideally alive. They specialize in the persistent and relentless tracking required to follow these fugitives to wherever they might lead them. Through dense jungles, barren deserts, or busy streets, a bounty hunter stops at nothing to collect their prize.

Level 3: Expert Tracker

At 3rd level, your skills in pursuit are unmatched. You gain proficiency in the Perception and Survival skills. If you are already proficient in either skill, you gain expertise in that skill instead (your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses it).

Some of your Bounty Hunter features require your target to make a saving throw to resist the feature’s effects. The saving throw DC is calculated as follows:

Bounty Hunter Save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Dexterity modifier

Level 3: Hunter's Focus

Starting at 3rd level, you can mark a creature as your quarry, honing your senses and combat prowess against it. As a bonus action, choose one creature you can see within 90 feet of you to be your quarry. This focus lasts for 1 hour, or until the creature drops to 0 hit points, you designate a new quarry, or you are incapacitated.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus. You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

While a creature is your quarry, you gain the following benefits:

• You have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) and Wisdom (Survival) checks you make to find or track your quarry.
• You know the general direction of your quarry, provided it is within 1,000 feet of you. This sense can penetrate most barriers but is blocked by 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt.

Level 3: Subduing Strike

Also at 3rd level, you excel at capturing your targets alive. When you hit your quarry with a weapon attack for which you could use your Sneak Attack, you can choose to make the attack a subduing strike. If you do so, you can forgo one or more of your Sneak Attack dice (up to a maximum number of dice equal to half your proficiency bonus, rounded up).

The quarry must make a Constitution saving throw against your Bounty Hunter Save DC. On a failed save, the creature suffers one level of exhaustion for each Sneak Attack die you forwent. A creature cannot suffer more than two levels of exhaustion from this feature on a single turn.

If this exhaustion would cause a creature to die, you can choose to have it fall unconscious at 0 hit points instead, stabilized.

Level 9: Relentless Pursuit

Beginning at 9th level, nothing can easily deter you from your quarry.

• You gain a climbing speed and a swimming speed equal to your walking speed.
• Difficult terrain doesn’t slow your travel when you are moving towards your quarry.
• The range at which you know your quarry's general direction (from your Hunter's Focus feature) increases to 1 mile.

Level 13: Tenacious Hunter

By 13th level, you are adept at wearing down your prey. When your quarry fails its saving throw against your Subduing Strike feature, you can choose one of the following additional effects to apply:

• Hamper: The quarry's speed is halved until the end of its next turn.
• Disorient: The quarry has disadvantage on the next attack roll it makes before the end of its next turn.
• Stumble: The quarry is knocked prone.

Additionally, the range at which you know your quarry's general direction (from your Hunter's Focus feature) increases to 10 miles.

Level 17: Master of the Chase

When you reach 17th level, you are the undisputed master of the hunt.

• Your Hunter's Focus now lasts for 24 hours, or until the creature drops to 0 hit points, you designate a new quarry, or you are incapacitated.
• You always know the direction to your quarry as long as it is on the same plane of existence as you. This sense is no longer blocked by nonmagical barriers, though it can still be blocked by barriers that are magically enhanced to block divination, or by effects such as nondetection.
• When you use your Subduing Strike feature, if your quarry fails its saving throw, it automatically suffers one level of exhaustion. You can choose to have it suffer an additional level of exhaustion by forgoing one or more of your Sneak Attack dice as normal (still up to a maximum of two levels per turn from this feature).