Hunter's Field Notes
Notes written in blood and claw, with Sylva’s cryptic comments in the margins.
On the Curse
The beast is not your enemy. The beast is your echo. Let it roar when you must, but never let it answer questions for you.
Game Note:
- Hybrid Transformation (bonus action): Resistance to nonmagical weapon damage, boosted Strength, and predatory strikes.
- Predatory Strikes: Claws count as weapons and can carry your Crimson Rite. Extra bonus strike.
- Bloodlust: When near half HP, frenzy tempts you. Choose control or lean in.
On Hemocraft
“Every cut is a covenant. You pay in red so others don’t have to.”
Game Note:
- Crimson Rite: Infuse weapon or claws with elemental power. Pick the rite that punishes what you face.
- Blood Maledict: Use curses for control:
- Marked = More damage.
- Eyeless = Protect allies by reducing enemy accuracy.
- Binding = Stop a runner or spellcaster.
- Forensics Roleplay: Your blood magic can read blood. Treat it as a ritual for:
- Checking wound freshness.
- Learning if magic caused the injury.
- Leaving a “blood seal” as a warning.
On the Hunt
“The beast’s nose knows the lies men tell.” — Sylva’s margin note
Game Note:
- You have advantage on Perception — flavor it as:
- Tracking creatures by scent.
- Catching sweat, blood, or fear on the wind.
- Hearing hidden breath in darkness.
- Use this to:
- Track prey: perfect for mysteries, murders, or ambushes.
- Defy invisibility: find foes others can’t see.
- Sniff truth from lies: sense fear in interrogations.
On Aberrations
They whisper so you forget your own name. That’s how they win.
Game Note (Sylva’s field notes):
- Drowned Ones: Don’t fight them in water.
- Doppelgangers: Memories betray them; if they smile wrong, they’re already false.
- Aboleths: Never alone. Burn the corpse even if it melts away.
(Why did Sylva only write on aberrations? Why do they matter to her?)
On Beasts & Oddities
“Some prey is simply stubborn.”
Game Note:
- Trolls: Only fire or acid. No exceptions.
- Oozes: Don’t slash. Burn or bash.
- Regenerating Beasts: Rite of the Flame or oil-and-torch.
On Companions
“Trust is like steel. It bends before it breaks. Guard theirs more than yours.”
Game Note:
- You’re the frontliner: soak hits others can’t survive.
- Protect casters (Rue, Cassandra, Elia) from ambushers.
- Use reach + curses to pin priority targets for Vex’s sneak attack.
- Don’t be afraid to pull enemies off allies with your resilience.
On Poetry
“I wrote a stanza once:
The moon is a scar, silver and deep,
A wound the night keeps open so we remember to bleed.”
Game Note:
- Use poetry as RP: calming rage, resisting bloodlust, or focusing before fights.
- It can become your “control ritual” — both characterful and a DM hook for Wisdom saves.
Player Takeaway
- You’re more than a bruiser — you’re a tracker and forensic hunter.
- Use Perception advantage narratively: sniff, hear, or sense what others miss.
- Aberrations aren’t just monsters — they’re a mystery tied to Sylva.
- Hemocraft isn’t only damage — it’s your signature tool for investigation and intimidation.
Scraps from Sylva — The Beast’s Armor
“You bleed to see. You see to survive. Remember this: the beast’s hide is your prayer and your shield. If you forget it, you will die as a man and not as a hunter.”
Game Note: Resilient Hide
- While in Hybrid Form, you have resistance to all bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from non-silver weapons.
- That means: swords, axes, claws, arrows — all of them deal half damage against you.
- You are meant to stand in the thick of combat against physical enemies.
- What bypasses this?
- Magical damage types (fire, necrotic, psychic, radiant, etc.)
- Silvered weapons (very rare, but deadly if enemies prepare for you).
Tactics: Rush into melee, soak hits others can’t survive, and tie down enemies. But avoid spellcasters who can target your weak saves and ignore your resistance.
Sylva’s Margins: On the Rites
“Fire looks useful until you face the deep.”
Rite of the Storm (Lightning)
- Aberrants hate it. Lightning arcs through slime, psionics, and warped flesh.
- “When in doubt against the unnatural — storm.”
Rite of the Flame (Fire)
- Necessary vs trolls, oozes, and regenerating beasts.
- But don’t over-rely on it. The strongest foes laugh at fire.
- “A torch, oil, or a friend with fire is enough. Save your blood for where it matters.”
Rite of the Frozen (Cold)
- Useful against many beasts, but wasted against things born of the deep.
Rite of the Oracle (Psychic, optional if unlocked later)
- One of the few ways to cut aberrations where they feel it most.
The Beast’s Grip
“Let them think they can run. The beast holds fast.”
Game Note:
- Unarmed Strikes in Hybrid Form: You can use Dexterity instead of Strength for grapples and shoves.
- Bonus Action Use: After clawing, you can grab or shove as a bonus action to control the fight.
- Opportunity Grapples: If an enemy tries to leave your reach (like running at Rue or Cassandra), you can use your reaction to make an unarmed strike. Instead of damage, choose Grapple. On a hit, their speed becomes 0 — they don’t reach your casters.
- Why It’s Strong:
- Grapple on reaction = lockdown.
- Shove = knock prone for allies’ advantage.
- You trade raw damage for battlefield control, which is often more valuable.
The Beast’s Nose
“Fear smells stronger than blood.”
Game Note:
- Advantage on Perception isn’t just sight — it’s scent and instinct.
- Track quarry through wilderness or alleys.
- Smell iron tang of blood at crime scenes.
- Hear breath or heartbeat in silence.
- In Investigations: Let the DM describe faint clues only you would sense. (Sniffing dried blood, detecting sweat in a locked room, etc.)
- Against Invisibility: Trust nose and ear where eyes fail.
Sylva’s Margins — On Hemocraft
“Every scar is an entry in your ledger.”
Game Note:
- Combat: Empower strikes, amplify curses.
- Forensics: A shallow cut + blood sense could “test” wounds (fresh? poisoned? magical?).
- Social: Use your own blood theatrically — a ritual scar, a drop on paper as a signature, a cut during interrogation.
- Flavor: Scars = case notes. You carry your history on your skin.
Player Takeaway
- Resilient Hide = Tank Mode. Get in melee with physical bruisers.
- Avoid casters — you can’t resist their spells.
- Storm Rite is your go-to against aberrants.
- Flame Rite is a tool, but not a solution to everything.
- Think like Sylva: Always pick the rite that matches the foe’s weakness, not just the one that “feels cool.”
Think like Sylva: Always pick the rite that matches the foe’s weakness, not just the one that “feels cool.” But we have very limited options, it's more of a choose it once for a while thing. You only get one blood rite to choose till level 7 for the second, then 3rd at level 14.