The Hunter

The Hunter is a hybrid class sitting somewhere between the Ranger and the Druid. Its whole focus is on its animal companion and is a ⅔ spellcaster that can learn spells from both its parent classes. Herein I shall present five hunters to showcase various ways to build one with very different animal companions and focuses.

Base Hunter

In recent cinematography, the single best example I can pull as a hunter is Spear from Primal. Now, I could have gone the inevitable way of the Big Cat animal companion for our base build, but Spear and Fang really inspired me to have our first build be around having a T-Rex friend.

Class

Hunter 20

Race

We are going for Human and will be putting our floating +2 in Dexterity

Ability Scores

Make Str 13 if it’s not, then everything in Dexterity.

15Point-Buy

Str 12/Dex 16/Con 12/Int 10/Wis 16/Cha 7

20Point-Buy

Str 12/Dex 17/Con 14/Int 10/Wis 16/Cha 7

25Point-Buy

Str 13/Dex 18/Con 14/Int 11/Wis 16/Cha 7

Traits

Reactionary for more Initiative, Beast Bond, our Charisma is abysmal, we need all the bonuses to Handle Animal we can get.

Favored Class Bonus

HP, we are going into the fray with our T-Rex, we want to be able to stand our ground too.

Skills

Handle Animal, Perception, Ride, Stealth, Swim, Climb, Craft. Simple yet damned effective.

Feats by Level

1-Two Weapons Fighting Human Bonus-Weapon Finesse Bonus

2-Outflank

3-Weapon Focus(Longspear) Bonus Teamwork

3-Escape Route

5-Spear Dancing Style

Bonus Teamwork

6-Intercept Charge

7-Spear Dancing Spiral

9-Spear Dancing Reach Bonus Teamwork

9-Lookout

11-Power Attack

Bonus Teamwork

12-Pack Attack

13-Mounted Combat

15-Ride-By Attack

Bonus Teamwork

15-Precise Strike

17-Spirited Charge

Bonus Teamwork

18-Punch Through

19-Improved Initiative

So, we are a spear expert. We can use Weapon Finesse with our Longspear via the Spear Dancing Style feat chain, consider our spear a double weapon and still get reach on the spear tip. Plus we still get to Power Attack with it and via our Animal Focus, we get a fairly decent Strength for damage, later on we can ride our T-Rex into battle for insane damage via Spirited Charge.

Finally we get a bunch of Teamwork feats that we automatically share with our Animal Companion, Escape Route giving us great mobility, Precise Strike adding more damage, Outflank making flanking with our T-Rex extremely deadly and we can intercept a charge directed at each other via Intercept Charge. A very good combination and great internal Teamwork between yourself and your Companion.

Animal Companion

Type: Tyrannosaurus
1-Power Attack
2-Dodge
3-+2 AC, +1 Str/Dex, +1 Int
5-Mobility
6-+4 AC, +1 Str/Dex
8-Spring Attack
9-+6 AC, +2 Str/+1 Dex
10-Vital Strike
12-+8 AC, +1 Str/Dex
13-Improved Natural Attack(Bite)
14-+1 Str
15-+10 AC, +1 Str/Dex
16-Dirty Fighting
18-Whirlwind Attack, +12 AC, +1 Str/Dex
20-+1 Str

Yeah so, your T-Rex will be chomping people for insane damage each round. Vital Strike+Improved Natural Attack means we can chomp people as a Standard Action for 6d6+32(7d6 with Precise Strike).

Or we can bite everyone in range via Whirlwind Attack for 3d6+32(4d6 with Precise Strike). And that’s before the Animal Focus of our Hunter and any buff spells.

Spells

1-Create Water, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Know Direction,Acid Maw, Pass Without Trace
2-Purify Food and Drink, Magic Fang3-Mending,Cure Light Wounds
4-Barkskin, Flame Blade
5-Bull’s Strength
6-Bloodhound
7-Entangle, Bloody Claws, Greater Magic Fang
8-Strong Jaw
9-Thorny Entanglement
10-Wild Instinct, Freedom of Movement, Scrying
11-Jump, Blessing of the Salamander
12-Commune with Nature
13-Cure Moderate Wounds, Animal Growth, Companion Transposition
14-Spike Growth, Stoneskin
15-Wall of Thorns
16-Nondetection, Fire Seeds, Fey Form III
17-Call Lightning, Wall of Stone
18-Ironwood
19-Cure Critical Wounds
20-Raise Animal Companion, Liveoak

Equipment

Hide armor, A Longspear.

Final Thoughts on the Build

Our whole thing is buffing our T-Rex and then letting it loose. And since we can choose the Skirmisher Ranger’s tricks to teach our T-Rex, we can teach it Sic’em, which allows an additional attack as a swift action! Between Animal Focus, choosing the Bull, Greater Magic Fang, Animal Growth, Strong Jaw and Acid Maw, our T-Rex now deals with Vital Strike 17d6+1d4(Acid)+43 per bite attack, up to twice a round, or if using Whirlwind Attack would instead deal 9d6+1d4(Acid)+43. That is a lot of damage and we haven’t even played yet, we can cast good battlefield control spells such as Entanglement or Spike Growth, heal our Companion, buff ourselves too and we are no slouch with our Longspear either. And that’s not talking about our variety of skills which make us a fantastic scout too.

Feyslayer

One concept that permeates mythology, both ancient and modern is that of the fey. The fairfolk take many a name and appearances across the world, but they are always there, ready to play their pranks and tricks to unfortunate mortals all over. This is no less the case in Pathfinder. It turns out that the Hunter has a dedicated archetype to fighting them, the Feykiller. Mixing this Archetype with the Roof Runner one conjures pictures of a young adventurer, a thief whose family was cursed by the Fae and has left their life of petty crimes behind to fight the inhabitants of the First World as a Slayer with the Bounty Hunter Archetype. Doubly ironic if they were to vow allegiance to one of the Eldest and take the Feysworn Prestige Class wouldn’t it?

Our leveling should look like the following:

Class

Hunter (Feykiller) 1/Slayer 1 (Bounty Hunter)/Hunter (Feykiller) +6/Feysworn 10/Hunter (Feykiller) +2

Race

Human, taking the Military Tradition Alternate Racial Feature. Put that floating +2 in Strength.

Ability Scores

15Point-Buy

Str 16/Dex 14/Con 11/Int 8/Wis 16/Cha 7

Round up Constitution then everything else in Strength.

20Point-Buy

Str 18/Dex 14/Con 11/Int 8/Wis 16/Cha 7

Round up Constitution then everything else in Strength.

25Point-Buy

Str 19/Dex 14/Con 12/Int 9/Wis 16/Cha 7 Put everything in Strength.

Traits

Armor Expert for reduced armor penalty, Rich Parents for better starting equipment.

Favored Class Bonus

We will need more HP

Skills

Knowledge(Planes), Stealth, Sleight of Hands, Perception, Handle Animal, Acrobatics.

Feats by Level

1-Medium Armor Proficiency

Human Bonus-Exotic Weapon Proficiency(Mancatcher) Human Bonus-Exotic Weapon Proficiency(Hand Crossbow)

3-Fey Obedience

Bonus 3-Precise Shot

Bonus Teamwork 4-Precise Strike

5-Heavy Armor Proficiency

7-Improved Unarmed Strike Bonus Teamwork

7-Escape Route

9-Improved Grapple

11-Power Attack

13-Quick Draw

15-Combat Reflexes

17-Improved Initiative

19-Greater Grapple

Bonus Teamwork
20-Outflank

So, nothing constrains the Hunter to non-metallic armors like the Druid, so we’re getting Heavy Armor Proficiency. Via Military Training we’re grabbing two Exotic Weapons Proficiency feats, one with the Mancatcher and the other with the Hand Crossbow. Improved Grapple becomes a must for this build, and Power Attack will keep our damage relevant. As you see, this feat list may seem all over the place but we are specializing against hunting down and killing the Fae. We will need as many tricks up our sleeves as we damned can fit in.

Animal Companion

Type: Bear

1-Light Armor Proficiency

3-Power Attack

4-+2 AC, +1 Str/Dex, +1 Int

6-Weapon Proficiency(Spiked Armor)

7-+4 AC, +1Str/Dex

20-Medium Armor Proficiency

Our companion may not be the strongest of companions but that ain’t it’s role. His role is to provide support via grappling while we slowly take care of our target.

Spells

1-Resistance, Guidance, Detect Magic, Know Direction, Faerie Fire, Entangle

Purify Food and Drink, Nature’s Path

Spark, Pass without Trace 5-Flame Blade, Fog Cloud 6-Greensight

Ironskin

Speak with Animals, Aquaeous Orb, Burrow

Call Lightning

Fey Form I

Lesser Restoration, Air Walk, Blight

13-Charm Animal, Freedom of Movement

14-Scrying

Iron Stake, Animal Growth, Fey Form II

Bull’s Strength, Entice Fey

Raise Animal Companion

Kiss of the First World, Fey Form III, Find the Path

Lily Pad Stride, Green Caress

Tar Pool

Feysworn

Choose an Eldest of your fancy(my personal go to would be Ng), you gain it’s Boons at a much faster rate, and you gain a variety of Fey themed powers, such as a DR 10/Cold Iron, the ability to cast Plane Shift, to rip open a portal to the First World, and to summon various fey creatures.

Equipment

Get yourself a Heavy Wrist Launcher, a Mancatcher, Bolas, a Net, a Lasso and a Cold Iron Longsword and a bunch of Cold Iron Crossbow Bolts for your wrist launcher. Plus a Cat O Nine Tails, again, Cold Iron. Plus various daggers and darts for throwing. Get yourself a good medium armor with spikes, eventually grab a Spiked Full Plate and have the spikes made of cold iron too. Don’t hesitate to purchase alchemical items with your extra like

Tanglefoot bags and Alchemical Fires. Remember, you are a Fey Slayer, you need to be as tricky as they are.

Final Thoughts on the Build

So this build relies on shutting down your target via Grapple, Entanglements and Trips via your various weapons, Poison too, and via your Spells and helped by your Bear companion to slowly murder these abominable creatures that are the Fey. Generally Fey creatures don’t have a great CMD so grappling should be fairly simple, grab em, get em in a place where they can’t escape and slowly murder em with your Cold Iron weapons and spells. This is a very, very specialized build but who still works fairly well in any scenario. Even against creatures such as Giants or Dragons, you can still support your team with your spells and various abilities and you are no slouch in battle, plus you always have your Animal Focus and you can turn into a fey yourself via Fey Form spells for extra trickery.

Vermin Lord

Okay I admit, this build was largely inspired by a certain girl in a certain anime. It is still a very fun build(and surprisingly strong too).

We are taking the Verminous Hunter Archetype, a level in the Swarmshifter Shifter Archetype, and a few levels in Vivisectionist Alchemist.

Our leveling should look like the following:

Class

Hunter (Verminous Hunter) 1/Shifter (Swarmshifter) 1/Alchemist (Vivisectionist) 9/Hunter (Verminous Hunter) +9

Race

We are taking Drow Noble. We are going against the spider focus of our species and instead cultivating beautiful butterflies! We’re also taking the Poison Minion Alternate Racial Trait to make our flesh poisonous for Constitution damage.

Ability Scores

15Point-Buy

Str 10/Dex 18/Con 10/Int 14/Wis 16/Cha 13 Round up Charisma then everything in Dexterity

20Point-Buy

Str 10/Dex 20/Con 10/Int 14/Wis 16/Cha 13 Round up Charisma then everything in Dexterity

25Point-Buy

Str 10/Dex 20/Con 11/Int 14/Wis 16/Cha 16

Round up Constitution, then everything in Dexterity.

Traits

Poisonous Slayer to get an attack bonus with poisoned weapons, Trustworthy to get Diplomacy as a class skill

Favored Class Bonus

Hit Points, we need all them hit points.

Skills

Craft(Alchemy), Stealth, Perception, Survival, Diplomacy, Intimidate, Handle Animal are your big go to.

Feats by Level

1-Weapon Finesse

3-Boon Companion

Alchemist Bonus

3-Throw Anything

Alchemist Bonus 3-Brew Potions

5-Weapon Focus(Rapier)

7-Fencing Grace

9-Piranha Strike

11-Poison Focus

13-Combat Expertise

Bonus Teamwork

13-Precise Strike

15-Butterfly’s Sting

Bonus Teamwork

16-Outflank

17-Improved Critical(Rapier)

19-Improved Initiative

Bonus Teamwork

19-Escape Route

Weapon Finesse+Fencing Grace+Piranha Strike makes our rapier surprisingly deadly, Improved Critical+Butterfly’s Sting means we can crit fairly often with a Crit Range of 15-20 and we can give our crit to an ally, finally Poison Focus helps the DC of our Poisons.

Discoveries

4-Concentrate Poison

6-Pheromones

8-Poison Conversion

10-Celestial Poisons

We can make all poisons into Contact poisons, get a fairly good bonus on Bluff, Diplomacy and Intimidate, make our poisons more potent and even affect Undeads and Evil Outsiders with our Poisons now.

Animal Companion

Type: Giant Mosquito(reflavored as a Giant Butterfly) 4-+2 AC, +2 Str/+1Dex

13-+4 AC, +1Str/Dex

16-+6 AC, +2 Str/+1 Dex

19-+8 AC, +1 Str/Dex

Our Butterfly has great stats but as a vermin doesn’t have skills or feats. It still counts as having our Teamwork Feats due to Verminous Hunter

Infusions by Level

1. Blend, Blurred Movements, Obscure Poison, Disguise Self
2. Reduce Person
3. Cure Light Wounds
4. Ancestral Regression
5. Languid Venom
6. Invisibility
7. Absorb Toxicity
8. Fly
9. Displacement

Spells

1-Detect Poison, Detect Magic, Enhanced Diplomacy, Purify Food and Drink, Magic Fang, Pass without Trace

Read Magic, Nauseating Dart

Spark, Cure Light Wounds

Accelerate Poison, Delay Poison

Insect Scouts

Pernicious Poison

Rite of Bodily Purity, Poison, Neutralize Poison

Spit Venom

Vermin Shape I

Lesser Restoration, Air Walk, Freedom of Movements

Equipment

A Rapier and a Chain Shirt, plus an Alchemist’s Lab.

Final Thoughts on the Build

We are actually a surprisingly capable combatant with our Rapier, with Sneak Attack and Precise Strike, we can deal 7d6+17 damage per attack (or 21d6+51 per round) before any buff other than our Mutagen, and excluding our Poisons which are as deadly as poisons can get in Pathfinder. As if that wasn’t enough, we have a giant ~~mosquito~~ Butterfly following us around for flanking and distracting mooks, we can further buff it/ourselves with our Vermin Focus, and we have a variety of Infusions and Spells to adapt rapidly to most situations.

Additionally, we can turn into a swarm of vermin(butterflies for theme) and get a claw attack to go in pair with our rapier and to allow us to squeeze in extremely tight spaces.

Let’s not forget that we are also surprisingly good at social interactions with a Diplomacy bonus of +30 at level 20 before buffs. We are an excellent support build both in combat, scouting and social capability of excelling in all three without being a dedicated specialist in either of them, turning us into an invaluable ally.

Trickster Warden

All those previous builds are really cool and all, but I would really like something closer to a Robin Hood sort of figure with a certain mystic, capable of appearing and disappearing at will to fight villains, and an extremely good combatant dedicated to the woods.

Well, I do have a build for you.

We are taking the Chameleon Adept Archetype for social and physical scouting and infiltration that nobody will see coming, and Forest Warden to spice up that Robin Hood, Guardian of the forest type combatant.

Our leveling should look like the following:

Class

Hunter (Chameleon Adept ) 7/Forest Warden 10/Hunter (Chameleon Adept )+3

Race

Let’s go for a Half-Elf here! Put that floating +2 in Dexterity

Ability Scores

Round up Constitution if odd, then everything in Dexterity.

15Point-Buy

Str 8/Dex 16/Con 10/Int 12/Wis 16/Cha 10

20Point-Buy

Str 8/Dex 18/Con 10/Int 12/Wis 16/Cha 10

25Point-Buy

Str 10/Dex 18/Con 11/Int 14/Wis 16/Cha 10

Traits

Cosmopolitan to get Linguistics as a Class Skill, Reactionary for that sweet +2 in Initiative.

Favored Class Bonus

Our Constitution is shit, so HP it is.

Skills

Stealth, Perception, Linguistics, Survival, Knowledge(Local), Knowledge(Nature), Handle Animal

Feats by Level

1-Orator

Half-Elf Bonus-Skill Focus(Linguistics)

3-Point-Blank Shot

Bonus Teamwork

3-Precise Strike

5-Precise Shot

Bonus Teamwork

6-Escape Route

7-Rapid Shot

9-Weapon Focus(Longbow)

Bonus 9-Overwatch Style

11-Manyshot

Bonus 12-Overwatch Tactician

13-Clustered Shots

15-Weapon Finesse

Bonus 15-Overwatch Vortex

17-Vital Strike

19-Improved Vital Strike Bonus Teamwork

19-Outflank

Orator make us a fantastic Social character on it’s own, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot, Manyshot and Clustered Shots turn us into a fantastic archer, even though our damage remains fairly low since we do not have Deadly Aim, we can however get a source of Sneak Attack to compensate, and between Overwatch Style and Vital Strike, we’re doing just fine on that end.

Animal Companion

Type: Dog

1-Power Attack

2-Toughness

3-+2 AC, +1 Str/Dex, +1 Int

5-Dirty Fighting

6-+4 AC, +1Str/Dex

9-Improved Trip

11-+6 AC, +2 Str/ +1 Dex

13-Improved Natural Attack(Bite) 17-+8 AC, +1 Str/Dex

18-Greater Trip 19-+1 Str

20-+10 AC, +1 Str/Dex

Spells

Enhanced Diplomacy, Know Direction, Guidance, Resistance, Goodberry, Gravity Bow

Detect Magic, Magic Fang

Stabilize, Acid Maw

Bull’s Strength, Cat’s Grace

Animal Messenger

Sickening Entanglement

Cure Light Wounds, Ape Walk, Blood Scent

9-Call Lightning

11-Hide Campsite

13-Beastspeak, Strong Jaw, Spike Stones

15-Entangle, Scrying

Grove of Respite

Greater Magic Fang, Animal Growth, Aspect of the Wolf

Animal Aspect, Commune with Nature

Death Ward

Equipment

A Longbow and a Chain Shirt.

Final Thoughts on the Build

So, we are a fairly good archer capable of surprisingly good damage, our puppo is capable of being a remarkably strong melee support with trip and great bite damage from our various buffs, we are a capable social character and a great scout, plus we have almost full spellcasting and we get extra Spell-Like Abilities from being a Forest Warden, plus we get Guerilla Tactics that we can switch between as a Swift Action, they can grant us bonuses during Surprise Rounds, Sneak Attack damage, get maneuvers in, bonus on Acrobatics and sniping etc. A remarkably powerful build despite it’s medium BAB.

My Dune

Oh yes, I am absolutely going there. and frankly there ain’t a damn thing you can do to stop me. We’re multiclassing into Paladin, and then both the Horizon Walker and Mammoth Rider Prestige Classes. We will make the ultimate Desert master for this is Our Dune.

Our leveling should look like the following:

Class

Hunter 4/Paladin 3/Horizon Walker 3/Mammoth Rider 10

Race

So, I am going to take a race that is official, but is usually extremely restricted, but it fits so well here that don’t even. We’re going for a Azlanti Human. We get purple eyes(close enough to blue) and +2 to all stats.

Ability Scores

I…Honestly? Round up whatever is odd and then put em in whatever you feel like you need more of. I want to argue charisma but all your stats are already pretty good so eeeeh.

15Point-Buy

Str 16/Dex 16/Con 14/Int 12/Wis 14/Cha 13

20Point-Buy

Str 17/Dex 17/Con 14/Int 12/Wis 14/Cha 14

25Point-Buy

Str 17/Dex 17/Con 14/Int 14/Wis 14/Cha 16

Traits

Reactionary for more Initiative and Rich Parents because you were a noble from Azlant before being tossed in the Dunes to fend for yourself.

Favored Class Bonus

We always need more HP.

Skills

Diplomacy, Handle Animal, Survival, Knowledge(Geography), Stealth, Perception, Sense Motive and Ride.

Feats by Level

1-Point-Blank Shot

Human Bonus-Endurance

Bonus 2-Precise Shot

3-Power Attack

5-Boon Companion

7-Beast Speaker

9-Deadly Aim

11-Beast Speaker Mastery

Bonus 12-Iron Will

13-Mounted Combat

15-Rapid Shot

Bonus 16-Greater Iron Will

17-Manyshot

19-Clustered Shots

Animal Companion

Type: Falcon
1-Weapon Finesse
2-Weapon Focus(Talons)
3-+2 AC, +1 Str/Dex
4-+1 Int
5-Piranha Strike
6-+4 AC, +1 Str/Dex

So our first 6 levels our animal companion is a Falcon that can distract our enemies and deal actually surprisingly good damage with it’s talons, plus it flies and makes for an excellent scout.

Animal Companion

Type: switch to Death Worm at 7.
7-Power Attack, Weapon Focus(Bite), Toughness, +4 AC, +2 Str/+1 Dex
8-Improved Natural Attack
11-+6 AC, +4 Str/+1Dex/+2 Con
12-Vital Strike
13-+7 AC, +2 Str
14-+9 AC, +1 Str/Dex15-Cornugon Smash, +10 AC, +2 Str/Con
16-+1 Str
17-+13 AC, +3 Str/+1 Dex
18-Improved Natural Armor
19-+14 AC, +2 Str/Con
20-Improved Vital Strike, +16 AC, +1 Str/Dex

We get our own Death Worm to ride in the Desert, it gets Huge and has a bunch of stupidly high stats, plus it’s bite will kill whatever it hits.

Spells

1. Know Direction, Purify Food and Drink, Create Water, Resistance, Acid Maw, Lead Blade
2. Guidance,Gravity Bow
3. Detect Magic, Cure Light Wounds
4. Bull’s Strength, Bear’s Endurance

Horizon Walker

All our Favored Terrain and Terrain Mastery goes into Desert.

Equipment

Get yourself a Longsword and a Longbow, along with a Chain Shirt and some Desert Clothes.

Final Thoughts on the Build

Our Death Worm is Huge, and has a Strength 38, a Dex 15, a Constitution 24, an AC of 36, a bite attack that deals 9d6+30 plus a Con damaging poison and is Immune to both Electricity and Acid damage while also having a 1/Day Breath Weapon, in addition to Tremorsense, Burrow and being able to Cornugon Smash whenever it bites. As for ourselves we are completely immune to Fatigue and Exhaustion, have a few buff spells and can hold our weight with our Longsword and Longbow, ride our Death Worm into battle and we also are quite good at Diplomacy for social interactions, Stealth and Perception for scouting and our HP is actually great(Mammoth Rider has d12 HD). Plus we can eventually get a Full Plate and we get our Charisma to our Saves.

We are also immune to fear.

Because fear is the little death that brings total annihilation.