I did not have the pleasure of playtesting the Monster Hunter class, but wow, is there a lot of content to work with! The PDF (which can be found here) weighs in at a hefty 41 pages and details the entire class (with three archetypes), but that is just the beginning. The rest of the book contains new rules for items, weapons, and armor that can be crafted from defeated monsters (or humans, if your game allows that sort of thing). The book even suggests, in the introduction, that DMs can use such material as inspiration for scaled or scalable magic items.
I love this class and I love the flavor. Obviously, the class is meant to evoke the Monster Hunter series of video games, especially, I believe, the most recent release, Monster Hunter: World. Fans of that series (or of fighting giant monsters in general) will thoroughly enjoy this class.
I do, however, have concerns. I'm not sure how well the class fits alongside other classes. It seems a tad on the powerful side. Let me explain:
At level one, you gain the ability to gather a clever resource called “scavenge” and more valuable trophies from defeated foes. Every corporeal foe that leaves a corpse has an amount of available scavenge equal to its Hit Dice. A trophy can be collected from any creature of at least CR 3, provided you, the Monster Hunter, have dealt damage to that creature before its death.
Scavenge is what Monster Hunters use to create/upgrade weapons and armor, and trophies are what they use to imbue those weapons and armor with special abilities. Monster Hunters can create new weapons and armor during an uninterrupted long rest. If I were running a game with Monster Hunters, I would be very careful with their encumbrance, because otherwise you are going to have a lot of powerful gear.
There are only a few limits to what a Monster Hunter can create. First, they must have enough scavenge to create the item. Second, if they want the item to have a special property, they must have a trophy. Third, they can only create “magical” items up to a certain power level, which increases as their Monster Hunter level increases. Those are the only restrictions.
This means, hypothetically, once you hit level 4-5 and are defeating CR 3 or higher monsters on a regular basis, a Monster Hunter could be carrying around a wide variety of weapons/gear. All they would need is a bag of holding or similar storage item, and they could swap out gear to fit the situation at hand. They could even make new gear in the field, as it were, since they can craft during a short or long rest and still gain the benefit of the rest. While they are not spellcasters, and therefore do not have the versatility of a spellcaster, they are still extremely versatile as long as they defeat and collect trophies from a large number of foes.
There does not seem to be any limit on trophies used to craft or upgrade items, either. For example, to craft a level 1 martial weapon, weapon, you need 15 scavenge (provided the item is not Light or Heavy) and one trophy to imbue it with special powers. To upgrade that weapon to level 2, you must have a high enough Monster Hunter level, and then you need 15 scavenge and another trophy. But the trophy can apparently come from any eligible monster of CR 3 or above. There is no mechanical reason to track down higher-level monsters to obtain “higher-level” trophies. I would change this, were I to run a game with the Monster Hunter class. It would be extra bookkeeping to be sure, but I would make it so that higher-level items required more powerful trophies.
There also seems to be a disparity between strength of the weapon/armor quality. This could be explained by a difference in rarity of that monster type (dragon weapons being more powerful than beast weapons, for example), but the DM would have to go to some effort to balance the class this way by figuring out what the Monster Hunter is exposed to. Otherwise, there's nothing stopping a Monster Hunter from seeking out, say, dragons and getting powerful equipment in return.
For example, the Beast-themed weapon allows you to charge opponents and deal 1d8 extra damage. As you level up the weapon, you can also knock them prone (level 2), get a bonus attack (level 3), and finally deal 2d8 bonus damage to prone opponents (level 4). The Dragon-themed weapon starts small with a +1 bonus to attack and damage, then grants 1d6 energy damage per hit (level 2), then grants 1d6 of an additional energy type (level 3), and then allows a once-per-24-hour ability that deals a total of 10d10 damage (5d10 per energy type) on a failed Dex save.
Another question on balance... is a DC 13 Wisdom save pretty low? Because it seems pretty low for a level 3 (10th-level-minimum) ability like that of the Humanoid-themed weapon. It radiates a permanent fear aura out to 20 feet. Maybe it is balanced, because the aura is permanent (as long as the weapon is wielded) but it seems low to me, and it only affects humanoids. I personally would rather be using the Ooze-themed weapon, which poisons targets and deals 2d6 acid damage per hit at level 3.
One thematic question I have: the book makes it clear that dismembering a celestial is a pretty “rare and horrible thing” to do. And yet, having done so, the Monster Hunter is capable of wielding such a weapon using only gloves, despite the fact that the weapons “glow hot in the hands tainted by evil.” As a DM, I would have a problem thematically with having a player:
- kill a celestial
- harvest its corpse
- fight evil with a weapon that deals radiant damage, OR
- gain celestial powers (resist radiant damage, healing, flight) by wearing armor made from celestials?
If I were using this book either to introduce Monster Hunters or as an inspiration (what with all the items and such), I would have it so that Celestial “essence” must be given willingly, because killing a celestial would basically make it impossible for you to wield the resulting armor without it being horribly corrupted (which could potentially be cool for an angel-hunting villain).
The other thing the Monster Hunter can do, starting at 2nd level, is craft items from the “Monster Hunter Kit.” This includes traps, tools, small potions or balms called “remedies,” and “pitch” items, which are thrown weapons. With three scavenge and a short rest, a Monster Hunter can create an item that heals 2d4+4 damage. With four scavenge and a short rest, a 2nd level Monster Hunter can create an explosive keg trap that weighs only 3 lbs and deals 5d6 damage in a five-foot-radius burst. With twice the scavenge (eight), they can create a large explosive keg that deals 8d6 damage and weighs 6 lbs.
This class is very cool. Tons of new mechanics, the ability to dodge-roll to avoid attacks, the ability to grapple/climb atop large monsters... this whole class is all about gathering resources from defeated foes and crafting weapons, armor, and items to support the Monster Hunter as they hunt bigger and more powerful monsters. Fans of the Monster Hunter games will probably love how well this class has captured the feeling of the game.
Thematically, I feel that the Monster Hunter changes the dynamics of D&D when compared to other classes. I suppose how well it fits into a particular game depends on how that game is run and the focus of that game. The book even announces early on that “some campaigns may be incompatible with a Monster Hunter.” One thing that I think would be fun would be to run a campaign or even a one-shot game where every player was a Monster Hunter. I would also love to see Monster Hunter-style archetypes for other classes, so that base classes could integrate more into the Monster Hunter style of play.
Overall impressions:
Presentation: 4.5/5
The book is extremely professional in terms of presentation and quantity. It is well-edited and well-organized.Value: 5/5
In my opinion, this book is an amazing value. For $0.99, you get a 41-page illustrated PDF with lots of new material, a full class with three archetypes, and plenty of inspiration for new weapons, armor, and equipment.Balance: 3/5
I DID NOT GET TO PLAY THIS CLASS, SO THIS IS BASED OFF OF MY READING OF THE TEXT. I'm very skeptical about how well this class balances with other 5e classes. Most other classes are balanced in terms of powers per day, or abilities that reset after short or long rests. The Monster Hunter seems to be primarily balanced in terms of resources, meaning that as long as you can keep acquiring resources, you can keep expanding your options and “powers.” Many of the items in the Monster Hunter Kit are easily as functional as spells and again, as a Monster Hunter, you're only restricted by how much scavenge you can collect from dead enemies, which, if you're playing this class, there are going to be a lot of dead enemies.OVERALL SCORE: 4 Dragon Skulls out of 5
This is an excellent class that will surely please fans of the Monster Hunter games as well as people (like me) who are wondering where all the cool trophy-hunting options are for 5e. WotC left the Leviathan Hunter back in 3.5e, and I haven't seen anything like it in the current edition. The idea of collecting trophies from defeated foes and having those trophies imbued with power is such a trope in fantasy that the concepts and material of the Monster Hunter fit right in. As I said, I would definitely love to see these ideas expanded upon (archetypes for other classes), but this does an excellent job standing on its own.The Monster Hunter class is available for purchase on DMs Guild.
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