Bloodtracker

Although all societies have bounty hunters and their ilk, none are more notorious or skilled at their work than the bloodtrackers. A highly select guild of stalkers, the bloodtrackers earn their keep by hunting down and capturing anyone with a reason to hide, as long as the price is right. Certain rogue bloodtrackers hunt victims of their own choosing merely for the thrill of the hunt.

Fighters, rangers, and rogues become bloodtrackers to focus their skills in a specific, highly profitable business. A priest might become a bloodtracker to serve his church by capturing those who have turned away from the faith or those who are enemies of his deity. Other classes do not usually become bloodtrackers.

NPC bloodtrackers can either be the specialized minions of a powerful noble or free agents who hire themselves out to the highest paying guilds. Player characters that become fugitives may well find themselves on the receiving end of a bloodtracker’s interests.

Hit Die: d10

Requirements

To qualify to become a bloodtracker, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:

Alignment: Any non-good.

Skills: Survival 5 ranks, Perception 5 ranks

Feats: Endurance, Skill Focus (Survival)

Special: You must track down an established bloodtracker and convince him to serve as your advocate. Generally, you have to perform no less than three missions for the bloodtracker to qualify. These missions do not interfere with adventuring as your advocate usually assigns a target to capture and/or kill based on your group’s current location or goals.

Class Skills

The bloodtracker’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Acrobatics (Str), Climb (Str), Intimidate (Cha), Perception (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Stealth (Dex), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).

Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Table: Bloodtracker

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special	Spells per Day
						1st	2nd	3rd	4th
1st	+1	+1	+0	+1	Scent	0	—	—	—
2nd	+2	+1	+1	+1	Bonus fighter feat	1	—	—	—
3rd	+3	+2	+1	+2	Bloodtrack	1	0	—	—
4th	+4	+2	+1	+2	Sleep resistance	1	1	—	—
5th	+5	+3	+2	+3	Bonus fighter feat	1	1	0	—
6th	+6	+3	+2	+3	Second guess	1	1	1	—
7th	+7	+4	+2	+4	Dweomertrack	2	1	1	0
8th	+8	+4	+3	+4	Bonus fighter feat	2	1	1	1
9th	+9	+5	+3	+5	No rest for the wicked	2	2	1	1
10th	+10	+5	+3	+5	Soultrack	2	2	2	1

Class Features

The following are class features of the bloodtracker prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency

Bloodtrackers are proficient in all simple and martial weapons, and all forms of armor and shield.

Spells

Beginning at 1st level, a bloodtracker gains the ability to cast a small number of divine spells. To cast a spell, the bloodtracker must have a Wisdom score of at least 10 + the spell’s level. Bloodtracker bonus spells are based on Wisdom, and saving throws against these spells have a DC of 10 + the spell level + the caster’s Wis modifier (if any).

When the bloodtracker gets 0 spells of a given level, he gains only bonus spells. A bloodtracker prepares and casts spells just as a cleric does, although he cannot swap out prepared spells for cure or inflict spells. A bloodtracker has access to all available bloodtracker spells of spell levels he can cast.

Scent (Ex)

At first level, a bloodtracker’s sense of smell becomes very acute, gaining the Scent special ability.

This special quality allows the bloodtracker to detect approaching enemies, sniff out hidden foes, and track by sense of smell. The bloodtracker can also identify familiar odors just as humans do familiar sights.

The bloodtracker can detect opponents within 30 feet by sense of smell. If the opponent is upwind, the range increases to 60 feet; if downwind, it drops to 15 feet. Strong scents, such as smoke or rotting garbage, can be detected at twice the ranges noted above. Overpowering scents, such as skunk musk or troglodyte stench, can be detected at triple normal range.

When a bloodtracker detects a scent, the exact location of the source is not revealed—only its presence somewhere within range. The bloodtracker can take a move action to note the direction of the scent. When the bloodtracker is within 5 feet of the source, it pinpoints the source’s location.

A bloodtracker with the scent ability can follow tracks by smell, making a Wisdom (or Survival) check to find or follow a track. The typical DC for a fresh trail is 10 (no matter what kind of surface holds the scent). This DC increases or decreases depending on how strong the quarry’s odor is, the number of creatures, and the age of the trail. For each hour that the trail is cold, the DC increases by 2. The ability otherwise follows the rules for the Survival skill. Bloodtrackers tracking by scent ignore the effects of surface conditions and poor visibility.

Bonus Fighter Feat (Ex)

The bloodtracker gains an additional fighter feat as a bonus feat.

Bloodtrack (Su)

A bloodtracker who tastes a being’s blood gains a supernatural sense of that being’s location. During the next 24 hours, the bloodtracker gains a +4 competence bonus on all Perception, Sense Motive, and Survival checks used against that being. If the bloodtracker engages in combat against this being, he gains a +2 morale bonus to attack rolls and initiative checks. Only one being may be bloodtracked at a time.

Sleep Resistance (Su)

The bloodtracker only needs four hours of sleep to be fully rested. He gains a +4 bonus to all saving throws against magical sleep effects. He must still get a full eight hours of rest before preparing new spells, though.

Second Guess (Ex)

This ability allows a bloodtracker to guess his quarry’s moves ahead of time. Upon coming to a dead end while on the trail of a creature he is bloodtracking, the bloodtracker may make a level check (DC 20) modified by his Wisdom modifier to correctly guess the direction of his quarry’s trail. When in combat against a being he is bloodtracking, the second guess ability grants a +2 dodge bonus to his AC versus attacks made by that being.

Dweomertrack (Su)

This is a supernatural ability that allows a bloodtracker to follow a bloodtracked being who has used magic to cover his trail. You can track someone under the effect of a pass without trace spell with no additional difficulty. You can even track someone who has used teleportation magic to flee. The DC to track someone who has traveled magically is 10 higher than normal.

No Rest for the Wicked (Su)

The bloodtracker may now function without any sleep at all for a number of days equal to 3 + his Constitution modifier without becoming fatigued. He must still have a full night’s rest to regain spell casting potential. This ability grants complete immunity to sleep caused by supernatural attacks or spells.

Soultrack (Su)

If the bloodtracker and his chosen quarry meet face to face, he may soultrack that individual. Establishing the mystic link that allows soultracking to occur can be resisted by the target if he makes a Will save (DC 10 + the bloodtracker’s level + the bloodtracker’s Charisma modifier). This is a mind-affecting effect. A bloodtracker can Take 20 on Survival checks used to track a soultracked being; doing so only takes a standard action rather than several minutes. In combat against a soultracked being, all critical threats are automatically critical hits, and you may make one additional attack each round against this target at your best attack bonus.