At first, I was like "Ok so he's gonna explain a more convoluted Ranger or something that could be a Ranger subclass" but in the end, I like the class quite much. It feels distinct enough to call it a class and have some very unique traits.

I feel like the Grimoire is a good idea, but also limiting. What if you choose certain monsters, and they don’t come up, or as time goes on you face them less and less, your character becomes less effective. Maybe allow the player to swap creature types every long rest, like a wizards spell book, but you are still effective against 2-3. This encourages the player to still examine, and scout the enemy without reducing their power. Or maybe every 2 levels you can add another creature. Either way, I love how this class looks. A different take on the rogue, but has its very own flavor. It’s doing something that the Ranger didn’t. Keep up the good work!

As a fighter player with a thirst for somthing unique and interesting, this makes me giddy, especially being able to call in m ally’s for attacks, I have always been a fan of some of the commander oriented fighter classes new and old that let me get my friends involved in my turn to keep everyone involved and engaged.

one change that i think could be made to ensure that the class doesnt become antiquated based simply on campaign direction is a slight tweak to the grimoire. i would keep the grimoire improvements as they are, but also add the opportunity to add new creature types by defeating them in combat aswell. perhaps after defeating 3 or 4 different enemies of a creature type, you can then add that creature to your grimoire. such as 4 different types of undead (example: zombies, ghouls, skeletons, dhampir). this would add a great versatility to the class that you can actually earn by playing, and would ensure that you dont get soft locked out of class features if the campaign lacks your chosen enemies.

This looks awesome! I've got an NPC temporary companion/advisor from previous campaigns who we're about to play with as a younger character and this is perfect for him. Thanks!

The idea of an intelligence based martial class is a stroke of genius. Most of the time in D&D (and other RPGs) Martial classes are defined either by strength or agility - a great weapon or rapier approach to combat. In either case, intelligence is a popular dump stat with players of Martial classes, so you often end up with either a strong meathead or a graceful idiot, but that doesn't fit with the imagery surrounding a monster hunter who will often find themselves fighting alone, or as part of a small group, against creatures that severely outclass them in terms of raw physical potency. If such a hunter is going to consistently survive and triumph against such odds then they will have to fight with their wits at least as much as their muscles and reflexes. The notion of an expert monster hunter - who knows the behaviours, habitats, strengths and weaknesses of the creatures they specialise in hunting - offers a truly appealing class fantasy. The idea of the precision of a master hunter who plans out how to tackle their chosen mark in meticulous detail, who has made a study of the creatures they hunt and laid the ground work for victory ahead of time by arming themselves with knowledge as much as weapons, offers all kinds of options for story telling and role playing. The obvious (though still ridiculously awesome) Geralt of Rivia type characters being one route you could take with a character, but you can just as readily have the grizzled veteran hunter who has seen it all and knows that, since they are no longer as young as they once were, they must find other ways of levelling the playing field. The obsessive, 'Captain Ahab' type hunter who is absolutely driven by their desire for vengeance or need to wipe a particular type of hated creature from the face of the Realm, but who is not so lost in their lust for revenge that they lack the ability to hone their knowledge and skill to better their odds of achieving the goals they seek (they might even have their own 'White Whale' in a particularly dangerous beast they have been hunting for years but have yet to bring down). The hard bitten professional monster hunter for whom monsters are both a scourge that needs to be eliminated but also each represent a bounty that is part of their way of life, or maybe they primarily see their prey as simply a source of alchemical indigents that can be sold for a handsome profit to alchemists and mages - straight forward supply and demand with no aspirations to any higher calling. The Professor Van Helsing type man of learning who has been forced to turn his hand to monster hunting by circumstance and now leverages the knowledge he has gained from a life spent in pursuit of academia the better to rid the world of the vile creatures that haunt its shadowed places. There really is no end to the possibilities I also like the idea of possibly multiclassing a Monster Hunter who specialises in using gadgets to bring down their prey with an Artificer (another intelligence based class that seems likely to pair well with the Monster Hunter) to really bring the power of innovation and new technologies to the hunt.

I can't believe some of the responses here- I think this is a solid class that covers a role that's much broader than what one might expect. I remember in your previous videos where you covered how the Monster Hunter works, and how the Monster Slayer Ranger leans more into the magical side as opposed to the true grittiness that famous monster hunters thrive in. (If you really want magic, just multiclass friends) That might've been why so many others didn't gel so well with it either- you're more like a mage slayer, not a MONSTER slayer. I do miss Grave Strike just being part of the MH's arsenal, but Studied Response is just as good- probably better in terms of balance. Makes it so it's not just "Rogue, but tanky." We need more martial-focused classes in general, and I think this is well on its way to being a great one to play.

YEEEEEEAH! Now I can finally play my Plasmoid Blob as a Devourer! 🔥

Oh hoh man this would be great to play Van Helsing as portrayed by Hugh Jackman

I like this class. The expert strike fearure is cool but i still think multiattack is necessary for a marital. I liked the original version with grave strike where you could forgo multiattack for a single attack that does more damage. I get lots of things combo with expert strike but the loss of multiattack gets rid of lots of martial utility especially in limiting you to only being able to attack one creature a round. The reaction strike is decent but still uses the reaction. I personally think the option to use multiattack or expert strike was a good feature and allows for deciosions eavh round that make you feel good for picking the right option for the circumstances of the round

If they're not going to get a second attack, gaining an additional reaction a little later makes sense. If they're proficient in the monster type that they're fighting then I think giving them an additional reaction would be really cool. They already know how to react to monsters but these specific monsters they know in and out. This would also allow them to use some of their other reactions if needed. Overall it seems like a really fun class. Good job!

Any news on Aetherial Expense setting. I pre-ordered the pdf in December and I'm wondering when it will be avaible for download . I have the same question for Sunken Islands. I haven't bought that yet but I'm interested. Thank you

Will this class be added to DND beyond?

This sounds like Sam and Dean as a D&D class. Love that.

God the ultimate multiclass for monster slaying the Monster Hunter Blood Hunter multiclass would be the bane of any monster.

Grim Hollow is such a cool vibe! Can't wait to see more:)

LFG! Been waiting for this. So exicted to give it a play test.

It kinda just sounds like Blood Hunter without the blood magic and some Monster Slayer elements. I'll wait for the final version, but as it is, I'm not really seeing anything groundbreaking in terms of mechanics. Thematically, it sounds like a great class for roleplay though, so I'll give it that!

5:46 The way Expert Attack is worded would imply that Intelligence is added in addition to whichever base attribute you're attacking with. Is that the case?

Kind of interesting how the scene seemingly used to show off someone just swinging their weapon around. Was a scene from Demon Slayer where the exact opposite was going on. Pretty sure that when they had study the demon’s attacks and could dodge and react to them every time at that point

Should studied response read when an enemy takes the attack action instead of a weapon attack? Would that exclude natural weapons like claws or unarmed attack like a giant stomping.

This is solid. Sounds like a class with a great chance at both combat and RP, and could make those travel days a lot more interesting 🤔 I love the idea of not needing to fight to find tour place in a party but having an easy way to be integral to the game.

can't help myself but see this as a rogue ranger flavour like thing~

Have to admit, not having multiattack actually makes this class shine in my eyes, it's unique. Maybe not balanced all the way, but I really like the idea. Plus I love giving buffs to my players along the way. So I'll tweak it a bit. Been running Grim hollow for 3 years now, and enjoying every second. Hope to hear about the subclasses soon.

I'd certainly want to play a Devourer, but I wonder if it would be possible to spec towards eating only specific monsters that would give specific bonuses; for example, if I was a Human Devourer that just consumed insects or insect monsters (such as Ankhegs, Thri-keen, Umberhulks, etc.), would I gain a hard carapace? Could my eyes morph into compound eyes to increase perception? Would two antennae sprout out of my head to give me a buff to darkvision? Sounds quite exact I know, but damn would it make for some awesome combinations =)

Ah so this is what ranger supposet to be from the start.

I have a subclass that I've been homebrewing and I think this will be perfect for it cause it'll be like a van helsing werewolf class. Plus I've been trying to find a intelligence based martial class for this sub class.

Yes! Been waiting for an update since that first playtest.

really would love to use this sucks i can't

When I finally get my hands on my copy of the Citadel of the Unseen Sun adventure, I plan on having my party meet a Tiefling Monster Hunter that will help them on their quest to escape from the Ostoyan Necropolis. He has the Carver Guild Subclass and uses a broadsword in battle, you might have a good idea on who he's based off of.

I'm working on a feywild setting where all the PCs are children lost in the feywild and meet and fight against fables and the monster hunter could be such a good class for a kid that was obsessed with fairytales and is now a fountain on knowledge for the rest of the party since they are in the realm where those fairytales are, in fact, real!

WHERE'S MY DRAGONATOR (there should be enough people that are fans of both D&D and Monster Hunter that get this joke)

Been hearing a lot about these ruffians. May have to do some studying later...

This is thematically the hunter ranger, including studied response as a reactive hunter’s mark and the monster grimoire favored enemy list, but if the mechanics already there don’t do the job you want, make new mechanics, right? I wonder if some ways you’ve done it might be more fun than how the ranger did it.

I was listening to this and thinking about rpg horror stories of metagaming players, but those specific kinds who like can't help themselves from wanting to immediately use a monster's weakness. Even tho their character might have no feasible reason to just know that info, or like the best way to take down the boss monster easy. I feel like this would be a good class for these players, giving them an in universe reason to know the irl info they might know. I know I've dealt with players like this before as a dm, even been guilty of it myself playing.

For the second level ability. If it’s weapon attacks then it will mostly trigger from other humanoids and not monsters

Blood hunters cried in the corner: we could do that too we promise

Although i love the concept, i feel it is missing a lot of features, and the features it does have are lacking. I can say with 100% certainty that the lair sense feature is far too situational. The class offers little outside of combat, which is fair considering it is a martial class focused on damage, but that just makes it far too one dimensional. Rangers and bloodhunters at least offer a bit more than just combat abilities, and thats not even considering additional features after you choose a subclass. Maybe im missing the point of the class, or the idea behind it but if this is going to be a full class, i think it could beneift from more rp features in the monster hunter flavor. Just something that adds flavor that can be utilized outside of combat. The grimoire is the core of a monster hunter, thats where they keep all of their knowledge and research. Maybe expand on the grimoire's features as you level up. Overall, i love the idea behind this class. A monster hunter is one if my favorite concepts for a character. I would love to see this class expanded a little more beyond what it currently is.

Aren't....ALL D and D characters by definition Monster Hunters? Huh. You had me at the 3 first examples. New favorite.

Question about the Lair Sense feature. Does it need to rewritten (eventually) to account for the fact that WotC are writing Legendary Actions out of the game? Mordenkeinen's has been replacing them with additional Reactions.

Study response sounds like it would be good if you had wait a turn to actually study the creature then I think it would be great at second level

I literally made a monster hunter for our current GH game, my dm just sent me this, I'm SO excited to see this and (hopefully) get to try it out

Me when I take a Monster Hunter Dip on my Rogue and sneak attack anything that looks art me funny

Playing as a Dhampir, you can RP Vampire Hunter D 🤌

YES, THIS IS GOING TO FURTHER MY HOMEBREW OF A COMBINATION OF CASTLEVANIA THE ANIMATED SERIES MIX THEM WITH SUPERNATURAL AND A SPRINKLING OF WITCHER WORLD I'M CREATING.🎉❤

This with a Gunslinger!!! Ohhhh

So how long until the final version is released?

So every fight encounter you can discombobulate the enemy like Sherlock Holmes? Sign me up I'm in.

New transformations??? Oh I hope we get Lamias or arachne. What does a transformation into those look like? Ether way I am excited for future Grim hollow.

Is there a Pathfinder 2nd Edition equivalent that anyone can think of? Because i've been looking for this for a LONG while now.

Oh I like this. 5 levels Blood hunter and the rest Monster hunter.

I'd be inclined to distill this down to a ranger sub-class. I think the game has plenty of classes already. That's not to so you didn't do a good job designing the class, or that it wouldn't be fun to play. I'm just skeptical of the need for more 20-level classes.

Now if you could build it for Pathfinder 2E that would be awesome. Or is it somewhere already?

If you look up "Power creep" in the dictionary there's a picture of this class, lol.

Leave it to the Aussie to basically make Steve Irwin a class. :) The Grim-waaah is he-yaaaa! Looking forward to seeing the final version when it comes out.

Sounds cool, but I think it's repeating the same mistakes from the original ranger. Having mechanics that key off specific monster types means DMs must bend their campaign prep to include such monsters or risk the Monster Hunter player not getting to use their class abilities as often. If you're playing through a prewritten adventure that doesn't include any Aberrations, for example, your Monster Hunter might feel left out if they chose that monster type. You can't solve this by having the DM throw more of those monsters into the campaign because it puts excess work on their shoulders. I don't need to provide sneak attack-able monsters for the rogue, because they can sneak attack anything

Will this supplement be added to dnd beyond at some point. I would like to purchase it, but I move around alot, so I don't want to buy a bunch of physical books.

Studied Response heavily incentivizes using ranged weapons. I don’t know if that’s intentional, given the vampire hunter (or Diablo 3 demon hunter) iconically using a crossbow, but it’s going to make most other fighting style choices a mistake. Studied Response also heavily rewards a Rogue multiclass - rather, it rewards Rogues for taking two levels of Monster Hunter. You’ve created the equivalent of a Hexblade dip for rogues in that this would be virtually mandatory if it was official. First level feature is basically just a ribbon? Is it just that and a fighting style? There really should be some combat power there. Doesn’t need to be huge. Maybe add proficiency bonus to damage against studied types, though that may scale out of control. I like Knowledgable Defense, that’s a cool idea. So if I was trying to break a game with this, and I didn’t multiclass with rogue, I would be using crossbow expert and sharpshooter, I’d be adding my intelligence to the attack roll which, combined with archery fighting style, should negate the sharpshooter hit penalty. Eventually with Grave Strike in t4 I’ll be able to crit on 18-20 rolls, making at least two attacks per turn (xbow expert, hand xbow) and potentially (studied response) dealing 10+dex+int+2d6+magic bonuses, forcing a save or die against a DC of that total if the creature type is in my Grimoire. And that’s without multiclassing for a sneak attack. There are cool ideas here, but the second a character one-shots a big enemy with that feature my DM is going to ban the class.

It needs multiattack on its finished version. Edit: Ignore what i said above. "Slayer's Aid" woud be better as a lv5 ability, like a psuedo multi attack. Lair sense i think lv12 or lv13 is more apropriate

This is pretty awesome. Have you considered that Studied Response makes this an awesome 2-3 level dip for rogues?

I originally bounced off this video, but then when you talked about Studied Response in the Lorecast I had to come back. And boy am I glad I did. This class sounds dope as hell and is immediately being added to my ongoing campaign

Yesssirrrr I've been waiting for this for years

Awesome! bring it to roll20!!!!!

Is there any news if it will be D&D Beyond compatible??

soooo the Investigator from pathfinder

Hey Ben, where are Goblinoids as a opinion for our Monster Grimoire?

Sounds like a Ranger subclass tbh

So I can theoretically 1shot a dragon at lvl 20 if he doesn't use the most applicable moment for a legendary resistance

Wow, at level 5th Monster hunters can add their STR or DEX modifier, AND their intelligenge modifier? 😲

Damn, Ranger really can't have shit in this house

Looking forwards to Valikan Clans. Do we have an ETA on the book?

Isn't this supposed to be a Ranger sub-class?

I think this is needed to be added. We have the flexible marshals that are the fighter barbarian and rouges that they can pick any RP state and the state set matches that are the ranger and paladin that uses wisdom and charisma so an int one is needed. I don’t count blood hunter as most of the time people use it with wisdom

But monster hunter is already a subclass for ranger...well, monster slayer. But still... this just looks like ranger with extra steps.

Now I can roleplay as my MHW character... If I had a D&D group. :, (

Soooo.. is this an official release, or a third party release based on the official stuff?

Hey did Valika clans ever come out? I remember them posting about it and then not much after

wow

When will grim hollow be in fantasy grounds unity 😢

Van Helsing

RAW bloodhunter lol

Just cross class blood hunter artificer and still better off with a lot better abilities

Theres a monster slayer ranger, mate and theres blood hunter, this better be good.

This combined with blood hunter oof

Doesn’t Ranger HAVE a Monster Hunter Subclass already????

Reminds me alot of the Inquisitor or Slayer classes from Pathfinder

bring back the MYSTIC !!!

This is literally what rangers were supposed to be

im playing the playtest in my current GH game and i was kind of enjoying it. i wasnt hitting the adds/bosses much but when i did it hurt. so there are somethings in this one is nice but i personally prefer the first itteration of this class. im a hunter/killer of foes and beasts that loves trophies and things to show of said kills

I feel like Grave Strike might be too OP. I’m just imagining a monster hunter doing a Vecna module who has undead in his grimoire one-shotting the campaign baddie with a lucky roll of 18. Leads to a very unsatisfying final fight. I think a better compromise would be if you roll an 18-20 crit, the feature doubles your damage and Grave Strike doubles your crit. So if you rolled 60 crit damage, you just did 120 damage with that one roll. It’s still amazing, but you’re not going to end the boss fight in the first round.

Laios time

Mechanically, very cool and distinct idea. A true INT based martial is something I'd love seeing. Thematically, it kinda seems to be stepping on the toes of Ranger too much. If you want to see this more as a compliment, this is a welcomed variant to what a Ranger could be.

Excited for a new class, how long is the window to sign in for playtests?

… isn’t this a subclass for ranger or bloodhunter already

I think you should swap the 2nd and 5th level feature and reworked the subclasses accordingly for two major reasons: 1. This would make the Intelligence attribute for the class more useful, more quickly. 2. Why would anyone take more levels in this class after gaining Studied Response, if you could take levels in rogue instead to have two sneak attacks per round of combat? As a side note: The investigator class in Valda's Spire of Secrets is quite similar to this class, but not quite the same. There is still some design space to explore.

This is just fighter with the worst parts of Ranger and warlock tacked on top, plus a diet Agonizing Blast

Class sounds fun. Having 2 of these in a party with the same favored foe sounds like a DM nightmare. Rofl! I feel like this will lead to the dm balancing by avoiding the favored foes of the MH. I could be wrong. Instead of choosing a favored foe Id like to see a chart of some sort with a list of requirements to add the monster to their favored foe list in the gremoir. Adding an almost pokemon element of finding and studying them all. They would have to identify foodprints, identify carcase or remains of food eaten by goe, find claw marks, find the lair, and finally witness it using an attack. One they do each of these and pass an intelligence check to mark these off the list they unlock the benefit of favored foe and maybe even buff some of that to compensate or whatever. Really give it that MH World scout flies tracking treatment.

I'm confused will this be in the actual DnD beyond website? Or is this something different.

But can i use the parts of the monster for gear and/or food?

Wow monster Hunter class I want to try 😊