EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION

Well, we asked for it.
When DRAGON magazine printed a letter in issue #46 from a
reader who thought a Bounty Hunter character class would be a
good idea, it was accompanied by a short response which said,
in effect, okay, all you writers, show us your hunters.

The response to that response was, shall we say, bountiful.
Published herein are the three “best” Bounty Hunters out of a
dozen or so that we received in the four months following the
appearance of the letter. Each is distinctly different — in some
respects, vastly different — from the other two. Taken as a
whole, this three-part presentation illustrates how different
people can develop the same concept into a unique piece of
work.

The word “best” is used in quotation marks because we’re
really not in a position to tell you what “best” is. We chose

Bounty Hunter descriptions that seemed equitable, formidable,
and most of all playable. The playability of a character or a
campaign is something that only the people in that campaign
can adequately define; all we can do is hope that at least one of
these three Bounty Hunters is just as playable in your campaign
as we felt it would be.

Printing three versions of the same character class may seem
like a waste of space. Why don’t we just publish one Bounty
Hunter and leave it at that, like we’ve done with other non-player
character classes in the past?

Well, first of all, we were sent a lot of Bounty Hunters, and we
don’t like to disappoint any more writers than we have to. Second of all, by printing three versions of the same NPC, we are
(we think) virtually guaranteeing that any DM will find at least
one of the versions to be to his liking and appropriate for his
campaign. Or perhaps a fourth version can be created by combining elements of these three. The next step is up to you. — KM

 
 

Bounty Hunter I	-	Bounty Hunter II	-	Bounty Hunter III
Dragon 52	-	-	-	Dragon

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Special Abilities

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The Bounty Hunter

The wizard Herek sat in the corner, drinking his ale. He tapped
on his staff of the magi nervously while he sipped the brew, as if
he sensed some unseen menace lurking nearby. His companion, Pallar, scoffed at this nervousness; magicians were perpetually uneasy, and besides, he was becoming apprehensive as
well.
Suddenly the pungent odor of acid stabbed into nostrils. Pallar rose and drew his blade in one motion, but it was already too
late. Herek let out a short scream, then slumped in a heap, dead,
with an arrow of slaying lodged in his back. There was a hole
burned through the wall behind them — the acid had done that
— and through it Pallar glimpsed a figure escaping on a flying
carpet. He mouthed some curses in the direction of the killer and
then turned to the body of his friend.
A note was tied to the shaft of the arrow buried in the mage’s
back: “Revenge now belongs to the Lords of the Dragon,
through the courtesy and efforts of the Master of the Bountiful
Hunt.” There were a few other words, but they were already
unreadable, smeared by wizard’s blood...

A Bounty Hunter is a character who specializes in the killing of
other characters or creatures for profit. A Bounty Hunter who
fights only non-humanoid creatures must be neutral in alignment, while those who fight and slay humanoids must be neutral
evil.

Humans and half-orc characters may be Bounty Hunters, as
long as they possess the following minimum ability scores:
strength 15, intelligence 13, dexterity 14 and constitution 14. If
strength, dexterity and constitution are all 16 or higher, the
character gains a 10% bonus to earned experience.
A Bounty Hunter is in some ways a combination of ranger and
assassin. The character is not capable of having exceptional
strength, but uses the combat and saving-throw tables for fighters and can use all magic items usable by the fighter class. In
addition, Bounty Hunters have the back stabbing ability of a
thief of equal level, and they are treated as rangers for determination of initial number of weapons and weapon proficiency

Bounty Hunters who do not slay humanoids can rise only as
high as the ninth level of experience, while other hunters can
aspire to 13th level, The Great Hunter. When a character gains
enough experience points to reach 13th level, he does not automatically receive the title, but must first track down and kill
whomever currently holds the title of The Great Hunter. An
aspirant who ignores this requirement or demonstrates cowardice has shamed the other members of his profession, and from
that day forward will be marked for death by all other Bounty
Hunters he encounters, or who seek him out. Killing a “coward”
in this manner brings almost as much prestige to the killer as
killing The Great Hunter himself. At no other time will one
Bounty Hunter raise a weapon against another, except if fighting another hunter is necessary to bring about completion of a
job.

Bounty Hunters receive experience points for killing creatures and characters, just as any other character would, and
they can also gain experience points through the accumulation
of bounty monies. However, gold pieces or other valuables or
magic items will never count directly toward earned experience
except when they are received as payment for a job well done.
 
 

Experience Points	Experience Level	8-Sided Dice for  Accumulated Hit Points	Level Title
0 -- 2,500	1	1	Seeker
2,501 -- 5,000	2	2	Shadow
5,001 -- 12,500	3	3	Trophyman
12,501 -- 25,000	4	4	Hunter
25,001 -- 50,000	5	5	Collector
50,001 -- 100,000	6	6	Exterminator
100,001 -- 175,000	7	7	Master Collector
175,001 -- 300,000	8	8	Bounty Hunter
300,001 -- 450,000	9	9	B.H., 9th level
450,001 -- 600,000	10	10	B.H., 10th level
600,001 -- 750,000	11	11	Master Hunter
750,001 -- 900,000	12	12	Death Hunter
900,000+	13	13	Great Hunter

Special abilities
A Bounty Hunter of third level or higher gains the ability to
perform assassinations with the same chance of success as an
assassin of two levels lower. A third-level hunter assassinates as
a first-level assassin, etc.

In some circumstances, a bounty may be more profitable if the
quarry is captured rather than killed. In this case, a successful
assassination by the Bounty Hunter can mean that the victim
was knocked unconscious for 2-16 turns. This will be enough
time to bind and gag the prisoner, and perhaps enough time to
allow delivery to the one who will pay the bounty. There is a
chance on any knockout attempt that the blow will kill the victim
regardless of the hunter’s intentions. It is 20% for a hunter of
seventh level or lower, and it decreases by 2% per level for each
level of the hunter above the seventh, down to 8% for a 13th-level
hunter. The Bounty Hunter must employ a blunt weapon for a
knockout attempt to be made.

A Bounty Hunter of fifth level or higher gains some thieving
abilities beyond the innate proficiency at back stabbing. Opening locks, finding/removing traps, moving silently, hiding in
shadows, hearing noise, climbing walls and reading languages
can be performed by a fifth-level hunter at the same chances of
success as a first-level thief. These abilities improve with each
higher level gained.

A Bounty Hunter of seventh level or higher can track as a
ranger, and has the disguise abilities of an assassin.
All Bounty Hunters of ninth level or higher gain the ability to
make 3 weapon attacks every 2 rounds.

Bounty Hunters do not attract followers, and they only build
strongholds or keeps upon their retirement. They are by nature
mean and self-confident. In public, when not on an “assignment,” they are liable to display incredible arrogance. On a hunt,
however, they become withdrawn and apparently passive. It is at
this time when Bounty Hunters are most dangerous.

II: Beware of Traps in Woods
by Tom Armstrong

 

Special Abilities

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The Bounty Hunter

Bounty Hunters can be found in almost any large city, and are
usually contacted through the local Mercenaries Guild. They
are not members of the Guild, but some members may know
where they can be located. Bounty Hunters are loners, as a rule,
and do not often have many friends. They are difficult to befriend, but fiercely loyal to those whom they consider close.
Most Bounty Hunters are lawful neutral, but those of true
neutral, neutral good and neutral evil alignment have been
known.

Humans, elves, half-elves, halflings and half-orcs may be hunters.
All but humans are limited to the 10th level of experience. All
hunters must have the following minimum ability scores:
strength 9, intelligence 11, wisdom 11, dexterity 14 and constitution 12. A high charisma score is also highly desirable, to facilitate information-gathering when dealing with other characters.
A member of this class is a hybrid of ranger and thief. The
Bounty Hunter uses the combat table for fighters and the
saving-throw matrix for thieves. They cannot cast spells, and are
able to use any magic item not prohibited to thieves. They can

wear leather, studded leather, ring mail, scale mail, or chain mail
armor, preferring the first three types. They can use any weapon
but will never carry a shield. A hunter has proficiency with 2
weapons at first level and gains proficiency in one weapon every
2 levels thereafter.
 
 

Experience Points	Exper.  Level	8-Sided  Dice for  Accumulated Hit Points	Level  Title
0-2,200	1	1	Searcher
2,201-4,500	2	2	Tracker
4,501-9,000	3	3	Trailer
9,001-15,000	4	4	Finder
15,001-23,000	5	5	Search Leader
23,001-41,000	6	6	Searcher Esquire
41,001-95,000	7	7	Searcher Lord
95,001-150,000	8	8	Hunter
150,001-260,000	9	9	Hunter Esquire
2 6 0 , 0 0 1 - 5 3 0 , 0 0 0	1 0	10	Hunter Lord
5 3 0 , 0 0 1 - 8 0 0 , 0 0 0	1 1	11	Bounty Hunter
800,001-1,100,000	12	11+1	B. H., 12th
1,100,001-1,400,000	13	11+2	B. H., 13th
1,400,001-1,700,000	14	11+3	B. H., 14th
1,700,001-2,000,000	15	11+4	B. H., 15th

300,000 experience points per level for each additional level above the 15th.
Bounty hunters gain 1 h.p. per level after the 11th

Special abilities
All Bounty Hunters are natural woodsmen, having to live off
the land in the pursuit of their quarry. They have tracking ability
like a ranger, although not to the same degree of expertise, in
outdoor environments. The base chance to be able to successfully track a creature or character outdoors is 15% for a firstlevel hunter, and it increases by 3% per level up to 30% at sixth
level. Then it increases 5% per level until reaching a maximum of
100% at 20th level. A Bounty Hunter can always find edible roots
and berries, wild game, and potable water if such items are
available at all in the area.

Hunters have some thieving, or thief-like, abilities. They are
adept at setting traps, doing so at the same rate of success as a
thief of equal level can find/remove traps. Bonuses for high
dexterity as it applies to locating traps are also applicable for
setting traps. Bounty Hunters are masters of camouflage in
outdoor environments, and can hide in the wilderness as a thief
of the same level can hide in shadows.

Bounty Hunters are only surprised on a roll of 1 on a d6 when
operating in the wilderness, and in such terrain they can surprise others on a roll of 1-3 on a d6.
Although well able to defend themselves, most Bounty Hunters prefer to out-think their quarry rather than subdue or beat
him/her/it into submission. Some have been known to wait for
days in one spot, knowing their quarry was nearby and that
sooner or later the trap would be sprung.

A Bounty Hunter is able to have followers beginning at the
ninth level of experience. From ninth through 11th level, these
followers can only be fighters, thieves or clerics of the same
alignment as the hunter. A hunter begins with one follower for
each 6 points of charisma, or each fraction thereof (i.e., a charisma of 13 would entitle the hunter to 3 followers), and can add
that number of new followers upon attaining 10th and again at
11th level. Starting at 12th level, a hunter can gain one new
follower per level for each 8 points of charisma, or fraction
thereof, and these followers can be of any alignment.

Some Bounty Hunters work strictly on their own, trusting no
one, and depend on an extensive system of contacts and
double-checks for gathering information, in order to find and
capture those for whom the authorities have offered a reward.
Bounty Hunters are a viable alternative to assassins for cases
when a character doesn’t deserve death for an action, but is in
line for punishment of some sort. The Bounty Hunter, if played
with fairness and consideration, can serve as an effective
“avenger” or “sheriff” for the DM, which may become a deterrent
to some of the silly and unfair acts performed by player characters on other NPC’s.

III: He's On Your Trail
by Robert L. Tussey and Kenneth Strunk

 

Special Abilities

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The Bounty Hunter

The Bounty Hunter is a subclass of fighter, adept in the tracking and capture of fugitives from justice. Though they can be of
any alignment, the majority are neutral and only 5% are chaotic.
A Bounty Hunter can be a human, elf (limited to 7th level),
half-elf (8th level), dwarf (9th) or half-orc (10th). A hunter must

have a minimum strength of 9, intelligence 12, wisdom 12, charisma 13, dexterity 13 and constitution 14.
The experience-point table for Bounty Hunters is identical to
that for rangers, in the number of x.p. needed to attain a certain
level. However, hunters have lo-sided hit dice like a normal
fighter. They also have the weapon proficiency of a fighter;
however, at least one of the initial number of 4 weapons permitted the hunter must be a capture weapon. (Three types of capture weapons are described below.)
 
 

Experience  Points	Exper.  Level	10-Sided  Dice for  Accumulated  Hit Points	Level  Title
0-2,250	1	1	Searcher
2,251-4,500	2	2	Trapper
4,501-10,000	3	3	Man-Tracker
10,001-20,000	4	4	Revenger
20,001-40,000	5	5	Hunter
40,001-90,000	6	6	Head Hunter
90,001-150,000	7	7	Bounty Hunter
150,001-225,000	8	8	Manhunter
225,001-325,000	9	9	Masterhunter
3 2 5 , 0 0 1 - 6 5 0 , 0 0 0	1 0	9+3	Hunter Lord

325,000 experience points per level for each additional level above the 10th.
Bounty Hunters gain 3 h.p. per level after the 9th.

Special abilities

Tracking: A Bounty Hunter can track his quarry similar to a
ranger. Underground, the hunter must have observed the creature to be tracked within 2 turns (20 minutes) of the commencement of tracking, and the hunter must begin tracking at a place
where the creature was observed.
 

Creature’s action	Chance to track
going along normal passage or room	50%
passes through normal door or uses stairs	45%
goes through a trap door	35%
goes up or down a chimney or through concealed door	25%
passes through a secret door	15%

Outdoors there is a base 70% chance of a hunter being able to
follow a creature, modified as follows:
 
 

— for each creature above one in the party being tracked	+02%
— for every 24 hours which have elapsed between making the track and tracking	-15%
— for each hour of precipitation	-30%

Charisma: A Bounty Hunter gains a bonus of +2 to his effective charisma for questioning purposes at taverns, inns, or other
large gatherings of people in an atmosphere which provides the
opportunity for conversation. In any situation where a hunter is
questioning to obtain information about his quarry, there is a
10% base chance that a member of the party being questioned
will know the hunter or know of his reputation. This base percentage is adjusted upwards by +02% for each member of the
party beyond the first; i.e., there is an 18% chance that one
person in a five-member party will know the hunter. A reaction
roll is made for that person without counting the hunter’s usual
bonus to charisma.

Knockout: A Bounty Hunter can choose to attempt a knockout blow on his victim, at the same rate of success as for an
assassin of equal level performing an assassination. (Above
15th level, the percentages on the chart will increase 5% per
level until reaching the maximum of 100%.) A successful knockout blow means the victim is unconscious for 1-10 rounds.
Pulling punches: During melee combat, hunters have the ability to pull their blows so that only half of actual damage (round
down) is assessed against the victim. When a victim is reduced
to zero hit points by a blow administered in this manner, the
victim is unconscious for 1-10 rounds.

Thief abilities: Starting at second level, a Bounty Hunter can
perform the thief skills of opening locks and picking pockets at
the same chance for success as a first-level thief. Advancement
in these abilities is one level of thieving ability for every two
levels the hunter rises, so that a 10th-level hunter (for instance)
has the abilities of a fifth-level thief in these skills. Also starting
at second level, the hunter can move silently and climb walls as a
first-level thief; however, skill in these abilities advances on a
level-for-level basis thereafter, so that a 10th-level hunter has
the abilities of a ninth-level thief in these two skills.

Capture weapons: Every Bounty Hunter must be proficient in
the use of at least one device described as a “capture weapon.”
Three such weapons are the net, the lasso and the bolas.
A net may be thrown (short range 10 feet, medium range 20
feet) or suspended. If it is thrown and the attempt results in a hit,
the victim is entangled and immobile for 1-4 rounds thereafter.
A lasso can be thrown over distances of no less than 10 feet
(the only distance which can be short range). Its limit for medium range is 20 feet, and long range extends to 30 feet.
A successful hit indicates the victim is entangled for 1-4 rounds.
The bolas are a capture weapon which can be hurled over a
longer distance than a lasso. Like the lasso, the minimum range
is 10 feet, but for this weapon short range extends to 20 feet,
medium range is 20-30 feet and long range extends to 40 feet. A
hit means the victim is entangled for 1-4 rounds, as with the
other two capture weapons; however, if the hit is made with an
unmodified roll of 20, the target must attempt a saving throw vs.
petrification. If the save is failed, the target will take 1-4 points of
choking damage (in addition to being entangled) per round until
he is disentangled or killed. If a throw of the bolas does not hit its
intended target, the weapon has a chance to hit any other creatures in its flight path up to its maximum range.
Dexterity bonuses for missile combat apply to the use of
hurled capture weapons. All of the capture weapons described
above receive +1 to hit at short range and are -1 to hit at long
range, in addition to any other bonuses or penalties.

1. SUBCLASS = n/a
2. SOCIAL CLASS MINIMUM =
3. ABILITY SCORE MINIMUMS
    STRENGTH =
    INTELLIGENCE =
    WISDOM =
    DEXTERITY =
    CONSTITUTION =
    CHARISMA =
    COMELINESS =
4. POSSIBLE RACES & MAX. LEVEL ATTAINABLE =
5. MULTI-CLASS POSSIBILITIES =
6. HIT DIE TYPE =
7. MAXIMUM NUMBER OF HIT DICE =
8. SPELL ABILITY =
9. ARMOR PERMITTED =
10. SHIELD PERMITTED =
11. WEAPONS PERMITTED =
12. OIL PERMITTED =
13. POISON PERMITTED =
14. ALIGNMENT =
15. STARTING MONEY =
16. WEAPON PROFICIENCIES =
17. NON-PROFICIENCY PENALTY =
18. NON-WEAPON PROFICIENCIES =
19. STARTING AGE =
20. COMBAT =
21. SAVING THROWS =
22. MAGIC ITEMS =

zb.

12 | Alakabon of the Legion (bounty hunter 14; 92.433)

11. Hrulgin Beefbone (bounty hunter 7; 92.80)

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6. <edit this one>

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