Can a Half-Orc Be a Blood Hunter? A Comprehensive Guide
Yes, a half-orc can absolutely be a Blood Hunter in Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition (D&D 5e). While not perhaps the most obvious or traditionally optimized choice, the combination offers a unique and potentially powerful character concept. The half-orc’s inherent strengths, coupled with the Blood Hunter’s unique mechanics, can lead to a compelling and flavorful gameplay experience.
Understanding the Half-Orc & Blood Hunter Synergy
The key to understanding if a race and class combination works lies in analyzing their respective strengths and weaknesses. Let’s break down what a half-orc brings to the table and how it interacts with the Blood Hunter class.
Half-Orc Traits
- Ability Score Increase: Half-orcs gain a +2 to Strength and a +1 to Constitution. This is beneficial for several reasons. Strength contributes to melee attack rolls and damage, as well as certain saving throws, while Constitution increases hit points, improving survivability.
- Darkvision: Half-orcs can see in dim light within 60 feet as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. This is very helpful in dungeons.
- Relentless Endurance: When reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, a half-orc can drop to 1 hit point instead, once per long rest. This provides an invaluable last-ditch defense.
- Savage Attacks: When a half-orc scores a critical hit with a melee weapon attack, they can roll one of the weapon’s damage dice one additional time and add it to the extra damage of the critical hit. This significantly boosts critical hit damage potential.
- Intimidation Proficiency: Half-orcs are proficient in intimidation, giving them a boost in social interaction that many melee-focused characters lack.
Blood Hunter Class
The Blood Hunter, a class created by Matthew Mercer for Critical Role, is a hybrid martial and magical class that uses their own hit points to power their abilities. They use Hemocraft which allows them to curse their enemies and augment their combat capabilities.
Key Features of the Blood Hunter include:
- Crimson Rite: The core ability of the blood hunter, allowing them to imbue weapons with elemental or other properties, often at a cost of hit points.
- Hunter’s Bane: Blood Hunters are masters of tracking monsters and tend to be underpowered against other types of enemies.
- Blood Maledict: Blood Hunters can inflict curses on enemies, further supporting their role as a damage dealer.
- Subclasses (Orders): Blood Hunter subclasses, called Orders, modify these basic abilities further and offer specialized play styles. Some notable ones are Order of the Lycan (a werewolf-themed subclass), Order of the Profane Soul (a Warlock-like subclass), and Order of the Mutant (a subclass with potion-based abilities).
The Potential for Synergy
The half-orc’s Strength bonus aligns perfectly with the Blood Hunter’s martial prowess. The additional hit points from the Constitution bonus can help offset the damage a blood hunter takes when using Crimson Rite. Relentless Endurance provides a safety net, potentially preventing outright death when Blood Hunter abilities are being used. Savage Attacks can significantly increase damage output during combat. The Intimidation skill proficiency can aid in social encounters and roleplaying, giving the character another option rather than just charging into battle.
Addressing the Shortcomings
While a half-orc Blood Hunter is a powerful combination, it’s not without its shortcomings. The Blood Hunter often depends on multiple abilities, which can make half-orcs that are not optimized for a specific build underpowered. However, with careful planning, these can be mitigated.
Building a Half-Orc Blood Hunter
When creating a half-orc Blood Hunter, consider these tips:
- Prioritize Ability Scores: Strength should be your primary focus for melee attacks, followed by Constitution to boost survivability, and Dexterity to improve armor class and potentially help with weapon attacks if you are going for a more mobile style.
- Choose Your Order Wisely: Different orders require varying stats. If you decide to play an Order of the Profane Soul, your Wisdom will need to be higher for spellcasting abilities. For an Order of the Lycan, Strength and Constitution will be key.
- Strategic Use of Crimson Rite: Be mindful of the HP cost of using your Hemocraft abilities. Utilize your abilities wisely and focus on maximizing their output while trying to minimize damage to yourself.
- Teamwork: Coordinate with your team to exploit your strengths. You are strong in melee, but may need assistance with ranged enemies.
- Choose an appropriate fighting style: Blood Hunters have options for great weapon fighting, or two weapon fighting.
Conclusion: A Solid Choice
The half-orc is a completely viable race option for a blood hunter. The raw power that the racial features of a half-orc bring to the table can be a perfect match for the strengths of the blood hunter class. While it may not be the most optimal class for the Blood Hunter, a well-built half-orc Blood Hunter is a force to be reckoned with, offering a solid blend of martial prowess, unique abilities, and compelling roleplaying opportunities.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Are Blood Hunters an official D&D class?
No, the Blood Hunter class is not officially published by Wizards of the Coast. It was created by Matthew Mercer and is popular due to its presence in the Critical Role web series. Blood hunters can be considered “homebrew”, meaning they are player-created content and will need to be allowed by the Dungeon Master.
2. How does the Blood Hunter’s Hemocraft work?
Blood Hunters use their own hit points to power their abilities, often using their life force to augment their attacks or curse their enemies. This is called Hemocraft.
3. What are the Blood Hunter subclasses called?
Blood Hunter subclasses are called Orders, each granting a specialized style of Hemocraft. Common orders include Order of the Lycan, Order of the Profane Soul, Order of the Mutant, and Order of the Ghostslayer.
4. Can a Half-Orc Blood Hunter use Heavy Armor?
No, Blood Hunters do not have proficiency with heavy armor, which means a Half-Orc Blood Hunter, unless taking feats or skills to learn, will only be able to use light or medium armor.
5. Is a Half-Orc Blood Hunter a good tank?
Not typically. While they have strong melee abilities, they lack the high armor proficiency of true tanks like Fighters or Paladins. They are more mobile and deal damage, making them closer to a skirmisher. They do have Relentless Endurance and high Constitution however, which makes them harder to kill.
6. Does a Half-Orc’s Savage Attacks stack with Crimson Rite?
Yes, the extra damage dice from Savage Attacks is a separate instance of damage, and is applied to the additional damage done by a critical hit by any melee weapon (with certain exceptions). This creates a high damage output.
7. Do Half-Orcs have an age range?
Yes, half-orcs mature quickly, reaching adulthood around age 14, and rarely live past 75 years of age.
8. Are Half-Orcs considered common in D&D settings?
Half-orcs are not common in some D&D settings, due to their unique and sometimes troubled relationship between humans and orcs. Some settings however, such as the Shadow Marches, tend to have more half-orcs than others.
9. How tall are Half-Orcs?
On average, half-orcs are between 5’9″ and 6’4″ tall.
10. Can a half-orc be a rogue?
Yes, a half-orc can be a rogue, though it is not an optimized build. In spite of their Strength bonus, the half-orc’s racial abilities, coupled with the rogue’s sneak attack damage and skill proficiencies, creates an unusual and fun character concept.
11. What is the best class for a half-orc?
Barbarians are often considered the best choice for a half-orc, capitalizing on their strength, constitution, and melee combat abilities. Fighters are another good option due to the strength and constitution bonus.
12. Can Blood Hunters heal themselves?
Yes, some Blood Hunter subclasses, particularly the Order of the Profane Soul, gain access to healing spells and abilities. Most Blood Hunters can only heal with traditional methods, such as spells or healing potions.
13. Is the Blood Hunter class underpowered?
Blood hunters are very powerful and deadly in the area that they are designed to be used, but are considered underpowered when used against enemies they are not designed to hunt.
14. Are Half-Orcs usually strong?
Yes, half-orcs have a +2 racial bonus to Strength, giving them an advantage in martial builds.
15. Can Blood Hunters Multiclass?
Yes, but they have a prerequisite. To multiclass out of Blood Hunter, you must have a Wisdom score of 13 and either a Strength or Dexterity score of 13.