Dungeons and Dragons is known for its long list of iconic classes, from fireball-slinging wizards to greataxe-wielding barbarians. However, the game’s popularity—influenced by media like Stranger Things and the Faerun-focused Baldur’s Gate 3—has naturally attracted creatives who contribute interesting unofficial material, also known as homebrews.

One such creation is the blood hunter, a fascinating monster hunter with a wide range of abilities and a creation of deep roots. The class was invented by voice actor and Critical Role dungeon master Matt Mercer, a household name in the world of Dungeons and Dragons. The blood hunter has the unique use of hemocraft, also known as blood magic, and expanded skills found in the melee classes. Its flavorful subclasses may further contribute to the roleplaying aspect of the game.

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How Critical Role Introduced the Blood Hunter

Vin Diesel's feature

While the blood hunter is not official Wizards of the Coast content, its history with Mercer and his D&D web series Critical Role have made it rather popular. It was created in 2015, its first iteration made for Vin Diesel guesting on Critical Role’s D&Diesel one-shot to promote his film The Last Witch Hunter. According to Mercer, the initial class was “messy & reactionary.”

After years of restructuring and learning how to balance mechanics, Mercer created the version now known as the blood hunter. He shifted the secondary ability score from Wisdom to Intelligence, as “there was little representation for an Intelligence-based martial class,” and ensured the ease of tracking abilities and general arcane flavor.

Mollymauk Tealeaf

The public got its first glimpse of it in action when Critical Role’s second campaign aired in 2018. The character Mollymauk Tealeaf, played by Taliesin Jaffe, was a blood hunter of the Order of the Ghostslayer. When asked why he wanted to try the class, Jaffe said, “I like the risk/reward aspect, or at least I'll say risk/reward aspect of blood hunters in theory. Actually in practice, there’s a lot of risking, which I’m slightly regretting.”

Unfortunately, Mollymauk was killed early in the 141-episode campaign, so viewers did not get to see the class played beyond a meager level 5. The adventuring party made it to level 16. The blood hunter class mechanics were then released well after Mollymauk's appearance in 2020.

The Familiar Origins of Hemocraft

The blood hunter’s roots are even more storied, however, as there is a major source of inspiration that may be familiar to fans of another famous RPG. The description of the class is that of a grizzled lone warrior who investigates monsters on the road, an order of dark and mysterious fighters who undertake a coveted ritual to fight the evils of the world. In short, it's a monster to fight monsters—and every D&D player's excuse to play a witcher.

Beyond the thinly veiled mutated-monster-slayer class, Mercer is an open fan of The Witcher series, even going so far as to dress up as Geralt of Rivia for the 30th episode of Critical Role’s first campaign. Pre-blood hunter, a D&D player wanting to build a witcher might rely on a reflavored ranger or a complicated multiclass that makes use of a witcher’s huge range of capabilities, but Mercer's class largely satisfies that skillset.

In fact, the Order of the Mutant even makes use of alchemical formulas called mutagens, a mechanic taken straight from the games. However, a Mutant is largely considered the least powerful blood hunter build, so finding classically grim witcher flavor elsewhere might be necessary. As for the future of the blood hunter, it’s unclear whether the next edition of Dungeons & Dragons will feature it as an official class and even change any of its features. After all, Mercer has been involved with WotC before, publishing his Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount in 2020.

No matter what One D&D brings, the heavily increased popularity of the game is sure to influence how satisfying it will be to consumers. To regularly partner with huge creators like Mercer or even lesser-known homebrewers and dungeon masters would encourage the unequaled creativity found in the fanbase of Dungeons and Dragons.

Dungeons & Dragons

Creation Year

1974

Created by

E. Gary Gygax , Dave Arneson

Movie

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

Video Game(s)

Baldur's Gate , Baldur's Gate 2 , Baldur's Gate 3 , Icewind Dale , Neverwinter Nights , Neverwinter Nights 2 , Neverwinter , Dungeons & Dragons: Dragonshard , Dungeons and Dragons: Dark Alliance

Summary

Tabletop RPG