The Blood Hound Fighter out of Steinhardt’s Guide is kind of like if a Blood Hunter and Arcane Archer decided to do a Fusion, DBZ style.
Steinhardt’s Guide to the Eldritch Hunt isn’t shy about letting you know where its inspirations come from. While the setting and player pack (newly available on D&D Beyond) are very much inspired by Bloodborne (and a sprinkling of Berserk, as you’ll see when we get to the Rogue), it has clearly also been inspired at least a little by some of the more maligned parts of Elden Ring (assuming that you look down on Rivers of Blood, because why sword when you can both Unga AND Bunga?). Case in point, the Blood Hound Fighter, which takes inspiration from blood magic and D&D’s Arcane Archer mixed with a little of Critical Role’s Blood Hunter.
The end result is the Blood Hound, an archetype that lingers in the back of the mind. The grim, determined warrior who makes attacks that hurt them, but it’s cool because their blood gives them power. It’s very edgelord-y (complementary) in that we all get fascinated in various degrees with the consequences of power. I think what I’m trying to say is that this subclass is the Vergil to the Battlemaster’s Dante. For better AND worse.
Steinhardt’s Guide – The Blood Hound Fighter
As a Blood Hound Fighter, you play a warrior who was created through nightmarish experiments that involve putting extra blood inside your own blood, (or are the descendants of someone who had that done to them), giving you the power to hit things with your magic blood to do extra stuff.
This expresses itself in a number of subclass features, though the primary way you’ll use your eldritch blood is with Blood Strike, your core subclass feature unlocked at level 3. This gives you the ability to enhance your attacks pretty much exactly like an Arcane Archer would. That is, you gain a number of special Blood Strikes that you can use whenever you make an Attack. And like the Arcane Archer of 5E, you can decide to use them before or after your attack hits.
I say Arcane Archer as opposed to Battlemaster because these options all feel like the Steinhardt’s Guide take on trying to improve the Arcane Shots. You have a limited pool (1 + Con modifier) though it refreshes on Short Rest, which is more than the 5E AA had, but still not amazing.
You can pick from a number of options. But beware, each Blood Strike has a cost, which can be anywhere from 1d4 to 1d10 damage (though usually it’s 1d6 or 1d8). You take that damage, and then can unleash a variety of effects, usually dealing 2d6 extra damage and then doing something like restraining the creature or banishing them or temporarily treating an ally as an enemy.
I do want to point out a couple of cool examples, though. One, Hunting Strike, gives you the ability to ignore magical bonuses to AC, like Shield or Mage Armor, which is extremely cool. And Withering Strike not only deals an extra 2d6 Necrotic damage, it also makes your target deal half damage. It does come from “Undead Blood” – which, you know, famously when I think of undead I’m thinking about how they’re always full of blood. Skeletons have healthy circulatory systems.
The other level 3 feature you get plays into the “Hound” part of the Blood Hound Fighter. With Blood Hound Anatomy you gain supernatural tracking abilities, and have Advantage on any Investigation, Perception, or Survival check you make to find a creature that you’ve fought before (that has blood). Also you have Resistance to poison and immunity to magical contagions.
Higher Level Blood – Does That Mean More Hematocrit?
At higher levels, the class diverges a little from the Arcane Archer pattern. Which is good, because I think the Blood Hound Fighter really shines when it’s distinguishing itself. Clearly someone on the team wanted to build a better Arcane Archer type character (that can also melee) without just it being the Battlemaster.
Case in point, two level 7 features. Blood Armament lets you deal Acid, Necrotic, or Poison damage instead of the normal damage for your weapon. And Blood Explosion lets you spend a Bonus Action when you miss with a weapon attack and instead force your target (and anyone other than you within 5 feet) to make a Con save or take damage as if they were hit by the weapon. It’s a very strong feature, and absolutely worth taking over just being a Battlemaster that takes the ranged options.
At level 10, Blood of Creation enhances your Blood Strikes. You can roll twice to see how much damage you would take and pick the lower result. Also whenever you finish a Long Rest you can switch out one Blood Strike for another.
At even higher levels, the Blood Hound Fighter is more distinct. Blood Symphony at level 15 gives you the ability to regain your Con modifier in hit points any time you use a Blood Strike (which may well offset the cost) and you can regain a use of Blood Strike if your target dies within 10 rounds. And at level 18, Improved Blood Strike gives each of your Blood Strikes just a little more damage.
All in all, not a bad subclass – though it will be interesting to see how this compares to the new Arcane Archer coming in just a few weeks!
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Source: Bell of Lost Souls
