The Hunter is mechanically very similar to the Gamekeeper I have previously looked at, with only small differences between the two. They are probably 'just' distinct enough to be worth keeping.
We might query the Strength advance somewhat - there doesn't necessarily appear to be a great justification for it. There might be more justification for a Toughness advance.
The 2e version is not so different:
Swimming for a Hunter seems okay. The talents make the 2e Hunter a potentially much more lethal character though: Specialist Weapon (Longbow), Marksmanship, Lightning Reflexes and Very Resilient. These all seem reasonable although longbows should perhaps be a rarety. I have also included a possibility of Fleet Footed, which again seems reasonable for a Hunter career. What I am against is having Set Trap: I think this is more usefully kept as role-protection in the Trapper career.
One interesting question is whether to allow a spear hunting build? Not sure about this one, perhaps this should be a separate career. For the moment though, I have included it as a chance in the Hunter career.
One interesting possibility if whether to allow entry to the Hunter career from the Noble career. For Noble characters who live for hunting - an apparently popular and defensible life choice - then perhaps this should be allowable. I think Gamekeepers, Hunters and Trappers should be able to move into each other's career too; and entering the career from Outlaw seems fair enough too. On the other hand, the write-up would of course be inappropriate. It might be preferable to have a separate career for these aristocratic hunters. Anyway, this is the revised Hunter:
And this is my first attempt at a write-up for an Aristocratic Hunter career (if you don't use it, I would consider adding Noble as a career entry to the revised Hunter:
Mechanically, this career is the same as above, except that it should add the following:
Advances: Weapon Skill +10
Skills: Animal Training (Birds of Prey, Hounds, Riding Animals), Ride (Horse), Specialist Weapon (Lance)
Career Exits: Explorer, Free Lance, Targeteer, Scout
So I think maybe it should look like:
Please let me know what you think! It is very much a work in progress...
