Slayer

The Slayer is a character associated with some sort of cult or society devoted to the hunting and destruction of a particular type or class of creature. They develop an intimate knowledge of the anatomy and habits of their chosen target creature type(s), which aids them in their quest to rid the world of their presence.

As well as doing normal damage in combat, when fighting their chosen foe types they have a chance to kill them outright with a single blow. (See below)

The player is free to choose the type of creature (or class of character) they wish to hunt. They might be Dragon Slayers hunting dragons, or Giant Slayers who kill giants, ettins, ogres and the like, or Bug Hunters who track down and destroy insectoid monsters. (The broadness or narrowness of the category will have an effect on the Slayer's slaying ability.)

Slayer Class Features:

If the Slayer gets any extra languages because of high intelligence, one of those languages is that of the target creature; if the creature does not possess a language, the Slayer gains the ability to mimic its sounds or behaviors.

The Slayer has a 3 in 6 chance to surprise target creatures and only a 1 in 6 chance of being surprised by such.

The Slayer may hide in shadows, move silently, and backstab like a thief of equivalent level.

The Slayer may not have any hirelings until 4th level; at that time only lower-level Slayers may be taken into service. Upon attaining 8th level, the character may also have non-Slayer hirelings. Upon attaining 12th level, they may employ henchmen of any class.

A Slayer gains +1 to hit and +1 to damage for every 3 levels of experience against the primary target creature. If the class of target creatures is more broad (e.g., giant-class or aquatic creatures), this bonus is +1 to hit and + 1 to damage every 5 levels.

A Slayer has a chance to track target creatures equal to that of a ranger of the same level engaged in outdoor tracking. (See Ranger)

A Slayer has a 10% chance per level of identifying a non-magically disguised target creature and a 5% chance per level of identifying a magically disguised target creature.

Slayer Organizations

The Slayer will be associated with a cult, priesthood, church, organization, or community dedicated to fighting the target creatures.

Each organization dedicated to the extermination of a certain target creatures has only one Master Slayer of 15th level, the maximum possible progression, and one Slayer of 14th level as second. In order to progress beyond 13th level, the Slayer must both have the requisite number of experience points and defeat the organization’s 14th level Slayer in combat (a fight to the death is not necessary). The Slayer then takes the second position in the organization. To progress to Master Slayer, a character must defeat the organization’s Master Slayer in combat.

A Slayer who achieves Master Slayer status will attract a body of 7–28 lower-level Slayers. Use the follower table for Assassins from the DMG (p. 17) to determine the composition of these followers.

Slaying

When attacking creatures of the target type, the Slayer makes regular to-hit and damage rolls. However, on successful attack rolls, the Slayer also has a chance to kill the creature outright because of their specialized knowledge and skill. If the roll does not result in automatic slaying, the Slayer character still does normal damage for that attack. Failure to successfully use the slaying ability does not affect backstabbing in any way; successful backstabs still do double, triple, or quadruple damage if the Slayer fails their second, slaying roll.

The percentage chance to kill a victim is 50%, with a bonus of 5% per level of the slayer and a penalty of 5% for every two levels or Hit Dice of the target (rounding down). These numbers are approximate, for the GM should modify the slayer’s chances slightly upward or downward according to the circumstances — guarded or wary targets are less likely to be killed, and unwary victims are more likely to die.

The Slaying ability may be modified for members of an expanded class of creatures; for example, a Vampire Slayer might get their full ability against true vampires, and a lesser ability against other energy-draining creatures. This is a matter for negotiation between the player and GM. Some examples are given below:

• Against giants: slaying ability is level-equivalent.
• Against dragons: slaying ability is level-equivalent.
• Against vampires: slaying ability is level-equivalent against true vampires, and two levels lower against level-draining undead.
• Against Hellenistic creatures: slaying ability is level-equivalent against medusas and two levels lower against other traditional monsters (cyclops, siren, etc.)
• Against aquatic creatures: slaying ability is level-equivalent against sahuagin and lizard men and two levels lower against large marine predators (sharks, giant fish, etc.)
• Against a particular character class: slaying ability is level-equivalent.
• Against demons: slaying ability is level-equivalent against true demons only.
• Against elementals: slaying ability is level-equivalent against elementals and two levels lower against lesser elemental monsters (e.g., water weirds).

*Level 15 at 1,500,000 experience points is the ceiling for slayers. Any further experience points gained by a character of this level are simply lost.