D&D 5E Hunter Background, with limited expertise

[bedir than]

As I work to fill out some notable absences in 5th editions Background system I'm also trying small adjustments to the mechanics. Not always do I give a simple 2 skills and 2 languages/tool/instruments/kits.

In the case of the Hunter (rather than an Outlander that hunts) that means a choice of either Survival OR Stealth, but per the Feature the chosen skill uses twice proficiency when in "natural surroundings." I chose not to give proficiency in the weapon that they start with because in most cases that will be meaningless.

I'm asking for advice on both of those decision points. Is that too powerful, not powerful enough, etc? Would this Background be playable at your table?

For all of my Backgrounds click here.

 

[ECMO3]

I think it is too powerful. The expertise steps all over classes that get expertise. The weapon proficiency is more valuable than a skill proficiency per the rules in Tashas. Also the only weapons really in play for a hunter should be a shortbow, blowgun, net, trident, spear or light crossbow as other weapons are not really hunting weapons.

I also question whether it is any more thematic. I think a more balanced approach would be to give 2 skills and then an ability that you can hunt game to feed X people in any wilderness area that has game, while continuing to move at a normal pace. This would be better than expertise as it would be automatic and it would be directly related to your background as opposed to your hunter using his stealth "hunting ability" to sneak across a Wizard's study.

Also FWIW on a Hunter I would use Animal Handling as the skill instead of stealth.

 

[bedir than]

Let's go bit by bit

The sling, darts, and javelins are all used in hunting. Basically the objection is to longbow, heavy crossbow, and hand crossbow. For simplicity I decided to leave those in. Thanks for the reminder on Tasha's. I guess I'll leave those just as equipment as per currently written.

Your second paragraph addresses the Feature. Currently the Hunter, as I've written, wouldn't grant expertise in the Wizards study as that's not a natural surrounding. I do use a limited version of the Outlander Feature you prefer, but feeding less people, but on a Long Rest during waking rather than while traversing land. I find the while traversing aspect to minimize exploration encounters and I think it feeds to many people.

A Hunter that can't sneak seems odd.

Appreciate the feedback

 

[Benjamin Olson]

I think all backgrounds should involve expertise in one of the background skills, to represent that you did that thing for years as more or less your occupation.

But I think if you're just giving one background expertise it should be more narrowly constrained than "in natural surroundings". While background features are often relatively powerful at what they do, what they do tends to be things rather secondary to typical gameplay, whereas stealth or survival checks are rather central to typical gameplay, so I would consider expertise in one of those very powerful for a background feature. If they picked one specific type of natural environment to have expertise in that would seem more on par.

 

[ECMO3]

A Hunter that can't sneak seems odd.

There are all kinds of hunters. Stealth is not necessary to it or really I think used often.

My Dad hunted water buffalo from a helicopter on Safari, most of the Buffalo shot in the US were killed from the back of a train. When I hunt pheasant we walk through fields upright, with bird dogs and not trying to hide at all. Plenty of people near me hunt deer and coon using barking dogs that you can hear from half a mile a way. That is the only way I know of to hunt coon. Same with the Fox hunting which has been going on for hundreds of years in the UK, they use loud dogs.

Stealth is used when hunting deer or hogs from a tree stand or ducks from a duck blind but I would not say you have to be particularly good at hiding in either case, you pretty much climb into your stand or blind and don't move. The skills required are more on the carpentry/treehouse side of things .... and maybe "deception" in the case of Ducks with the decoys you put out? The only animal I know of in the USA where you really have to be stealthy to hunt is Turkey. Not saying that is the only one there is but it is the only one I know of.

In all cases you do need to understand the behavior of your prey, which is why I said animal handling.

 

[bedir than]

There are all kinds of hunters. Stealth is not necessary to it or really I think used often.

My Dad hunted water buffalo from a helicopter on Safari, most of the Buffalo shot in the US were killed from the back of a train. When I hunt pheasant we walk through fields upright, with bird dogs and not trying to hide at all. Plenty of people near me hunt deer and coon using barking dogs that you can hear from half a mile a way. That is the only way I know of to hunt coon. Same with the Fox hunting which has been going on for hundreds of years in the UK, they use loud dogs.

Stealth is used when hunting deer or hogs from a tree stand or ducks from a duck blind but I would not say you have to be particularly good at hiding in either case, you pretty much climb into your stand or blind and don't move. The skills required are more on the carpentry/treehouse side of things .... and maybe "deception" in the case of Ducks with the decoys you put out? The only animal I know of in the USA where you really have to be stealthy to hunt is Turkey. Not saying that is the only one there is but it is the only one I know of.

In all cases you do need to understand the behavior of your prey, which is why I said animal handling.

I think you just talked me into a third option of Survival or Stealth or Animal Handling

 

[Horwath]

Personally, I hate most of the background "features". I liked them at first but they are simply bad design.

Let's take outlander;
there is more or less no challenge with exploring with this feature.
If there is any food or water available at all, you find it. So you ignore any DC for foraging or any possible disadvantage for doing so.
It gives Survival proficiency, but outside tracking or maybe building shelter, you do not need Survival at all. Or Nature and Cartographer tools for navigating terrain, they all auto-succeed.

Background "feature" should simply be Expertise in one of the skills or tools provided by background.

I.E. you're a scholar? Gain expertise in one of the "knowledge" skills. Simple, effective and still gives the fun of rolling d20 for your "feature", just with greater chance of success.

 

[DEFCON 1]

For my current Theros game I redid the Backgrounds for the setting and indeed gave each one an Expertise in one of the two skills it got. Every skill I'm using/creating has a Background in which Expertise for it is given (if not more), and then the second skill was what I saw as the most applicable second skill for it. Thus far the players have been happy to have both the new Backgrounds and the Expertise.

THEROS BACKGROUNDS AND SKILLS
Background	Expertise	Skill
Artisan	Artistry	Mechanics
Athlete	Athletics	Medicine
Charlatan	Deception	Performance
Craftsman	Mechanics	Trade
- Shipbuilder	Mechanics	Nautics
Criminal	Stealth	Deception
Entertainer	Performance	Athletics
- Gladiator	Performance	Presence
Historian	History	Religion
- Poet	History	Performance
Hoplite	Warfare	Medicine
Mercenary	Presence	Warfare
Merchant	Trade	Politics
Oracle	Insight	Arcana
Outlander	Nature	Medicine
Philosopher
- Anapsian School	Rhetoric	Artistry
- Elpidian School	Rhetoric	Arcana
- Formalist School	Rhetoric	Investigation
- Uremidean School	Rhetoric	Insight
- Nyklean School	Rhetoric	Religion
Physician	Medicine	Investigation
Politician	Politics	Religion
Priest	Religion	Insight
Sailor	Nautics	Athletics
Scholar	Arcana	Nature
Scout	Perception	Stealth
Spy	Investigation	Stealth

 

[bedir than]

It gives Survival proficiency, but outside tracking or maybe building shelter, you do not need Survival at all. Or Nature and Cartographer tools for navigating terrain, they all auto-succeed.

Background "feature" should simply be Expertise in one of the skills or tools provided by background.

This is part of what inspired the mechanical space I wanted to explore in what became the Hunter. Of my dozen backgrounds it's the first that explored a form of expertise. Of the forty or so I'm working towards releasing I could see 10-20% having a mechanic like this. About 20% will have a cantrip as part of the Background.

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

As I work to fill out some notable absences in 5th editions Background system I'm also trying small adjustments to the mechanics. Not always do I give a simple 2 skills and 2 languages/tool/instruments/kits.

In the case of the Hunter (rather than an Outlander that hunts) that means a choice of either Survival OR Stealth, but per the Feature the chosen skill uses twice proficiency when in "natural surroundings." I chose not to give proficiency in the weapon that they start with because in most cases that will be meaningless.

I'm asking for advice on both of those decision points. Is that too powerful, not powerful enough, etc? Would this Background be playable at your table?

For all of my Backgrounds click here.

It isn't compatible with the standard 5e backgrounds, and would not be allowed at my table. However given you are creating a bunch of other background features giving actual mechanical bonuses rather than just social benefits, it would probably work fine with your other backgrounds.