Hunter
The Endless Horde shambles. It groans, it stumbles, it presses forward with all the subtlety of a landslide. Survivors learn to handle that kind of threat early, or they do not survive at all. But the Hunter is something else entirely. It waits. It watches. And when you are alone, when the firelight is behind you and the dark is close, it moves.
Hunters belong to the Lurking Threats, a class of undead that count as both Aberrant and Zombie. That dual classification is not academic; it means these things possess a cunning that the shuffling masses of the Horde will never achieve. Where a Shambler reacts to noise and movement, a Hunter selects its target. It reads the group, identifies the one who strays, and follows with a patience that outlasts most survivors' vigilance. The intelligence behind those blackened eyes is not human, but it is predatory in a way that feels worse than mindless hunger.
Their method follows a pattern that field observers have documented across dozens of encounters. A Hunter begins in an unaware state, shambling and indistinguishable from common undead. This is the mask. Once it identifies prey, the creature drops into a low, silent stalking posture, moving shadow to shadow with fluid precision. The final phase is the attack: an explosive burst of speed, claws reaching for exposed flesh. If the ambush fails, if others arrive, the Hunter does not stand and fight the way Horde types do. It uses its ability to rise from apparent death not to continue the assault but to escape, often sprinting toward other clusters of undead where pursuers will not follow.
Surviving a Hunter encounter comes down to one principle: do not be alone. They target isolation. They punish the scout who ranges too far, the scavenger who lingers after the group moves on, the sentry who steps outside the light. Maintain group cohesion, keep light sources active, and remember that Double Tap is the only way to make sure one stays down. The shadow that moved at the edge of your vision was not your imagination. It was deciding whether you were worth the effort.
Hunters belong to the Lurking Threats, a class of undead that count as both Aberrant and Zombie. That dual classification is not academic; it means these things possess a cunning that the shuffling masses of the Horde will never achieve. Where a Shambler reacts to noise and movement, a Hunter selects its target. It reads the group, identifies the one who strays, and follows with a patience that outlasts most survivors' vigilance. The intelligence behind those blackened eyes is not human, but it is predatory in a way that feels worse than mindless hunger.
Their method follows a pattern that field observers have documented across dozens of encounters. A Hunter begins in an unaware state, shambling and indistinguishable from common undead. This is the mask. Once it identifies prey, the creature drops into a low, silent stalking posture, moving shadow to shadow with fluid precision. The final phase is the attack: an explosive burst of speed, claws reaching for exposed flesh. If the ambush fails, if others arrive, the Hunter does not stand and fight the way Horde types do. It uses its ability to rise from apparent death not to continue the assault but to escape, often sprinting toward other clusters of undead where pursuers will not follow.
Surviving a Hunter encounter comes down to one principle: do not be alone. They target isolation. They punish the scout who ranges too far, the scavenger who lingers after the group moves on, the sentry who steps outside the light. Maintain group cohesion, keep light sources active, and remember that Double Tap is the only way to make sure one stays down. The shadow that moved at the edge of your vision was not your imagination. It was deciding whether you were worth the effort.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Gaunt does not begin to cover it. A Hunter's frame is skeletal, skin stretched so tight against bone that every ridge and socket is visible beneath. The face is the worst part: sharp cheekbones jutting outward, a mouth frozen open to reveal ragged, broken teeth, and eyes that have gone entirely black. Those sunken pits seem to absorb light rather than reflect it, and survivors who have locked gazes with a Hunter in the dark report the unsettling sense that something behind those eyes was studying them back.
The hands are where function meets horror. Fingers elongated well beyond human proportion, tapering into claw-like points that serve as the creature's primary tools for seizing prey. The rest of the body is wrapped in close-fitting, tattered dark clothing that clings to the narrow frame. Nothing loose, nothing that catches or rustles. Every detail of the Hunter's form serves a single purpose: to move unseen until the moment it does not need to be.
The hands are where function meets horror. Fingers elongated well beyond human proportion, tapering into claw-like points that serve as the creature's primary tools for seizing prey. The rest of the body is wrapped in close-fitting, tattered dark clothing that clings to the narrow frame. Nothing loose, nothing that catches or rustles. Every detail of the Hunter's form serves a single purpose: to move unseen until the moment it does not need to be.
Biological Traits
The Hunter's defining abilities center on stealth, speed, and disabling isolated prey. Stealth allows them to conceal their presence entirely, and Speed Burst closes the distance before a target can call for help. Once engaged, a Hunter can Abduct a victim (physically relocating them away from allies), Mangle limbs to prevent escape, and deliver Blinding Pestilence to rob a survivor of sight at the worst possible moment. Higher-ranked specimens add Choking Blow to silence victims, No Escape to lock down fleeing targets, Awareness to detect hidden survivors, and Bleeding Mark to tag prey for ongoing damage. The most dangerous variants carry Murder: a single lethal strike delivered without warning.
Standard undead immunities apply. Pain, poison, fear, and attempts to communicate are all meaningless against a Hunter. The tactical assessment is straightforward: light sources and group awareness counter the stealth advantage. Ranged engagement is preferable since the Hunter's strength lies in closing to melee. And above all, Double Tap any Hunter that goes down. If you do not, it will rise, run, and come back when you have forgotten it was there.
Standard undead immunities apply. Pain, poison, fear, and attempts to communicate are all meaningless against a Hunter. The tactical assessment is straightforward: light sources and group awareness counter the stealth advantage. Ranged engagement is preferable since the Hunter's strength lies in closing to melee. And above all, Double Tap any Hunter that goes down. If you do not, it will rise, run, and come back when you have forgotten it was there.
Behaviour
Hunters cycle through three distinct behavioral phases, and recognizing which phase you are witnessing may be the difference between a close call and a burial detail. In the Unaware phase, the creature shambles aimlessly, indistinguishable from any common undead. It is not truly unaware; the mask simply has not slipped yet. In the Stalking phase, the Hunter drops low, moving with quiet, fluid precision through shadows and cover. It tracks its chosen target with a patience that borders on unnatural, maintaining concealment until the moment is right. The Attacking phase is sudden and violent: an explosive burst of speed, closing distance before the target can react.
What separates Hunters from the Endless Horde is what happens when an ambush goes wrong. Horde zombies use their ability to rise from injury to keep fighting, pressing the assault until they are put down for good. Hunters do the opposite. When discovered or overwhelmed, they use Rise Again to escape, dropping to the ground as if destroyed and then surging back to flee. They run toward other clusters of undead when pursued, using the presence of other zombies as cover. Chasing a Hunter into a pack of Shamblers is a common and often fatal mistake.
What separates Hunters from the Endless Horde is what happens when an ambush goes wrong. Horde zombies use their ability to rise from injury to keep fighting, pressing the assault until they are put down for good. Hunters do the opposite. When discovered or overwhelmed, they use Rise Again to escape, dropping to the ground as if destroyed and then surging back to flee. They run toward other clusters of undead when pursued, using the presence of other zombies as cover. Chasing a Hunter into a pack of Shamblers is a common and often fatal mistake.
The shadow that waits until you are alone.
Threat Class
Lurking Threats
Counts As
Aberrant and Zombie
Body Range
25-75 across ranks
Key Threat
Stealth ambush and target isolation
Average Physique
Gaunt, skeletal, built for speed and stealth
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
Pale skin stretched tight over bone, blackened eyes
