Pale Hunter (Prestige Class)

The Pale Hunter is an optional prestige class associated with the Pale Hunt organisation.

Class Description
Twice has Kyria been overrun by undead, first under Vydhrar and again under Zhetanax. In response to these repeated incursions, the Pale Hunters have developed a range of skills specialised for hunting and slaying those already dead. As a member of the Pale Hunt, you will develop both martial and magical skills for doing battle with undead of every kind. With eyes that pierce through incorporeal forms, deadly weapons that snare the dead, and the ability to destroy undead where they stand, Pale Hunters are a force to be reckoned with when it comes to undeath.

All Pale Hunters have levels in either Cleric or Paladin for the ability to Turn undead, but many come from diverse other backgrounds, with bards, rangers, and fighters often becoming Pale Hunters when they run with the Pale Hunt.

Class Features
As a Pale Hunter, you gain the following class features at the levels shown in the Pale Hunter table below. Note that your proficiency bonus is determined by your character level and progresses as if you had gained the appropriate character level in any other class.

Special Condition: Pale Hunt Renown
In order to gain a level in this class, you must have a renown of 10 or greater with the Pale Hunt. If your renown with the Pale Hunt falls below 10, you can't benefit from the class features gained from this class until you regain a renown of 10 or greater.

Deathly Blow
1st, 5th and 9th level Pale Hunter feature

Starting at 1st level when you gain a level in this class, you are able to inflict deadly blows to slay the undead and other unearthly creatures. Once per turn, when you hit an undead, fey, or fiend with a weapon attack, you can deal an additional 1d6 damage damage to that creature.

The damage from this feature increases as you gain levels in this class, as shown in the Pale Hunter table above: to 2d6 at 5th level, and to 3d6 at 9th level. In addition, once you reach 5th level in this class, this extra damage becomes radiant damage.

Hunter of the Dead
1st level Pale Hunter feature

Also at 1st level, you learn specialist techniques for hunting the undead. When you make a Wisdom (Survival) or Wisdom (Perception) check to track undead, or you make an Intelligence (History) check to recall information about undead, you are considered proficient in the Survival, Perception, or History check as appropriate, and you add twice your proficiency bonus to that check instead of your normal proficiency bonus.

Spellcasting Progression
2nd, 4th, 6th and 8th level Pale Hunter feature

In your battle with undeath, you have learnt to balance a mastery of magic with the art of the blade. Starting at 2nd level and again at 4th, 6th, and 8th levels, you are considered one level higher when determining the number of spell slots you possess.

In addition, choose your levels in Cleric, Favoured Soul, or Paladin. At 2nd level and again at 4th, 6th, and 8th level, you are considered one level higher when determining the number of spells you know or prepare for the chosen class.

For example, suppose you were a 5th level Cleric, a 4th level Paladin, and a 4th level Pale Hunter, and you chose Cleric as your spellcasting progression class. In this case, you would count as a 9th level spellcaster when determining your number of spell slots, and you would prepare the same number of spells as a 7th level Cleric / 4th level Paladin.

Ghost Hunter
2nd and 10th level Pale Hunter feature

Also at 2nd level, you develop techniques for battling spirits and other incorporeal undead. Invisible creatures do not gain advantage on attack rolls against you, and you gain blindsight out to 10 feet.

When you reach 10th level in this class, your blindsight extends to 30 feet, and you gain truesight out to 10 feet.

Extra Turning
3rd and 7th level Pale Hunter feature

When you reach 3rd level, your training in battling undeath has given you a closer connection with your deity, allowing you to turn undead more easily. You gain one additional use of Channel Divinity between rests. You can only use this use of Channel Divinity to produce an effect that turns undead. Any creatures which are not undead are immune to this use of Channel Divinity.

When you reach 7th level, you gain one further use of Channel Divinity which can only be used to turn undead.

Slay Undead
3rd level Pale Hunter feature

Also at 3rd level, you can banish the necromantic power that animates undead when you strike them with particular ferocity. When you score a critical hit with a weapon attack against an undead creature and that creature has a certain CR or below, that undead creature is instantly destroyed.

The CR of creature you can destroy is determined by your levels in this class and any levels you have in Cleric or Paladin. Your Effective Slaying Level is equal to your levels in Pale Hunter + any levels you have in Cleric + half the number of levels you have in Paladin (rounded down).

Ability Score Improvement
4th and 8th level Pale Hunter feature

When you reach 4th level in this class and again at 8th level, you can increase one of your ability scores by 2, or increase two of your ability scores by 1 each. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 with this feature.

Inured to Undeath
5th, 7th and 9th level Pale Hunter feature By 5th level, your constant battles with undeath have made you resilient against some of their powers. You gain resistance to necrotic damage and your hit point maximum can't be reduced.

Once you reach 7th level, your ability scores can't be reduced, and you are immune to being possessed by undead.

By the time you reach 9th level, your resistance to undeath has reached its epitome. You are immune to necrotic damage, and you have advantage on saving throws against spells cast by and features of undead creatures.

Extra Attack
6rh level Pale Hunter feature

Beginning at 6th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, when you take the Attack action on your turn. This feature does not stack with Extra Attack features gained from other classes.

Potent Turning
10th level Pale Hunter feature

By 10th level, your virtiol against undeath makes your turning undead more powerful. Undead have disadvantage on saving throws against being turned by your Channel Divinity features.

In addition, if you have the Destroy Undead feature, you can destroy creatures with your Turn Undead feature as if you were a Cleric of a level equal to your Cleric levels + your Pale Hunter levels. For example, if you had 5 levels in Cleric alongside 10 levels in Pale Hunter, you would be able to destroy undead of CR 3 or lower. If you do not already have the Destroy Undead feature, you instead gain the Destroy Undead feature as if you were a Cleric of a level equal to your Cleric levels (if any) + half your Pale Hunter levels (min. 5th level Cleric, or CR 1/2 or lower).