Blood hunters are clever warriors driven by an unending determination to destroy evils old and new. Armed with rites of secretive blood magic and a willingness to sacrifice their own vitality and humanity for their cause, they protect the realms from the shadows—even as they remain ever vigilant against being drawn to the darkness that consumes the monsters they hunt.
Sacrifice to Preserve Life
Far from the judging eyes of society, blood hunters have mastered the secretive techniques of hemocraft, finding blood magic’s esoteric nature effective against evils that resist divine rebuke or arcane bindings. Through careful study and practice, blood hunters hone the rites of hemocraft into unique combat techniques, forfeiting a portion of their own health to call blood curses down upon their enemies or summon the elements to aid their strikes. Willing to suffer whatever it takes to achieve victory, these adept warriors have forged themselves into a potent force dedicated to protecting the innocent.
A Monster to Fight Monsters
Whether driven by the wish to make a difference, the need to take vengeance, or the hope of finding a place to belong in an uncaring world, every blood hunter has their own reasons for undertaking the ritual of the Hunter’s Bane that starts them on this path. In joining an order of blood hunters, one also joins a family bound by service to each other and a common cause. For many, this might be the only family they have left—or have ever known—making the kinship felt between blood hunters an all-but-unbreakable bond.
Outside the camaraderie of their orders, however, the life of a blood hunter is not an easy one. The ritual of the Hunter’s Bane can leave a character visibly changed, and prone to unsettling the people around them. Likewise, witnessing hemocraft can invoke superstitious fears from even the most learned scholars. While some cultures have come to accept the good deeds of many blood hunter orders, many blood hunters hide their calling unless absolutely necessary. They feel more comfortable in the wilds and wastes of the world, or drift through the outskirts of society, protecting the poor and defenseless from dark intention and the corrupting touch of fiends.
In choosing this path, every blood hunter irrevocably gives a part of themself to their cause—physically, emotionally, and sometimes morally. Each order of blood hunters practices its own ideals and methods, often employing techniques with dark origins that test the strength and will of those who employ them. Many wrestle with the fear of losing this struggle. And so a life of discipline and vigilance drives a blood hunter’s travels as they wander the countryside, in search of like-minded adventurers and whispers of dark deeds afoot.
Sounds like demon hunters with blood asthetics instead of fel.
There are blood mages in lore. Blood magic is supposed to be taboo and forbidden much like fel magic and warlocks were supposed to be. I’ve advocated for a blood mage healer spec (every class should have a tank or healer spec) that transfers life from foe to ally and even ally to ally. It’s a healer niche that isn’t really implemented in the game past spirit link totem and blessing of sacrifice and a holy pally healing spell whose name I forget.
But I’m not keen on any idea that basically just reflavors existing specs with a new coat of paint and tries to play them off as something new.
Except blood mage doesn’t exist. Not as a spec that is. You would need to explain/show what actually makes this class/spec unique. That’s always the problem with the ideas is they basically have nothing but an art asthetic but don’t have any substance…or worse their substance is basically just ripping off another class/spec. You see this with necromancers basically wanting to make demo warlocks as a DK ranged spec. Someone is getting the short end of the stick guaranteed. It’s already bad enough having so many DPS specs all being boiled down to a number + potential utility.
I take it you are a serious D&D fan? I loved playing it but I stopped just before 5th edition. Still have all my books and game material in a couple of boxes I keep in storage. The issue is Blizzard can’t just out right clone copy righted material from them without getting into a serious problem. Things like Elves, Druids and Paladins have been around long enough that no one actually “owns” them, but something like what you have requested only exists in D&D settings and is their intellectual property.
The Mandrake is a demonic shadow warrior with dark demon skin covered in tattooed elven runes with glowing eyes who run’s around shirtless with unique curved blade weapons and seems to only wear baggy pants. They use their unique dance-like fighting as they harvest souls from their enemies and use them to coat themselves with baelfire and use baelfire runes and blasts to weaken their enemies.
