Bounty Hunter Character Ideas

Press the button for one bounty hunter: a look, a code, a quarry and whatever goes wrong.

Bounty Hunter Character Ideas: 30 bounty hunters

A bounty hunter in a rumpled suit and a tie loosened since Tuesday. Their code: share the umbrella. The quarry: the bank's own manager. The complication: the client is not who the paperwork says.

Padlock: keep a part. Arrows: change only that part.

  • The looka rumpled suit and a tie loosened since Tuesday
  • Their codeshare the umbrella
  • The quarrythe bank's own manager
  • Complicationthe client is not who the paperwork says
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    Bounty Hunter of the day

     

    1. A bounty hunter in a rumpled suit and a tie loosened since Tuesday. Their code: share the umbrella. The quarry: the bank's own manager. The complication: the client is not who the paperwork says.
    2. A bounty hunter in a cargo harness hung with tags from every port. Their code: always knock first. The quarry: a baker with the same name as a bandit. The complication: two clients have hired them for the same quarry.
    3. A bounty hunter in a miner's hard-shell suit two sizes too broad. Their code: tip whoever watched the door. The quarry: a cook who took the secret recipe when the kitchen closed. The complication: the quarry has hired a hunter of their own.
    4. A bounty hunter in a traveling cloak with a hood lined in fox red. Their code: never take a job from a client who will not give a name. The quarry: a champion who left the night before the final. The complication: the hunter is recognized everywhere and wishes they were not.
    5. A bounty hunter in a suit with a scrolling sign on the chest, stuck on one word. Their code: never run when a brisk walk will do. The quarry: a bookkeeper who ran off to audit the client in secret. The complication: the client wrote the quarry's name down wrong, twice.
    6. A bounty hunter in a dented vacuum suit with a visor like a letterbox. Their code: never follow anyone into their mother's house. The quarry: a debtor who owes one coin each to a thousand people. The complication: the warrant has blown away and the copy is days behind.
    7. A bounty hunter in a poncho with a campfire burn nobody mended. Their code: half of every fee goes home to family. The quarry: an heiress hiding from a fortune she does not want. The complication: the reward has doubled, which is never good news.
    8. A bounty hunter in an overcoat with the collar up in every weather. Their code: the quarry eats before the hunter does. The quarry: a clerk whose only crime is someone else's handwriting. The complication: the hunter has begun to doubt the whole profession.
    9. A bounty hunter in a bus driver's cap kept from an earlier career. Their code: ask why before asking how much. The quarry: a cook who took the secret recipe when the kitchen closed. The complication: the quarry has hired a hunter of their own.
    10. A bounty hunter in a painted wooden mask pushed up on top of the head. Their code: list expenses down to the last bowl of soup. The quarry: a card cheat who only cheats other cheats. The complication: the quarry has hired a hunter of their own.
    11. A bounty hunter in a hood with two eyeholes, worn only in snow. Their code: always let them pack a bag. The quarry: an heiress hiding from a fortune she does not want. The complication: the rival offers to split the fee, far too readily.
    12. A bounty hunter in a traveling cloak with a hood lined in fox red. Their code: list expenses down to the last bowl of soup. The quarry: an heiress hiding from a fortune she does not want. The complication: whatever they were riding gives out an hour from anywhere.
    13. A bounty hunter in a tracksuit and a clipboard, like a coach. Their code: a job done for free stays a secret. The quarry: a well-loved outlaw whom every village hides. The complication: the quarry has already turned themselves in, elsewhere.
    14. A bounty hunter in a cardigan, reading glasses and sensible shoes. Their code: never mock a quarry who nearly got away. The quarry: a client from a previous job. The complication: the hunter owes the quarry money.
    15. A bounty hunter in a cloak over a cooling unit that hums when they are nervous. Their code: never take the money before the job is done. The quarry: a guard who went home for the harvest and stayed. The complication: the hunter's license ran out yesterday.
    16. A bounty hunter in a secondhand uniform with the old rank still showing. Their code: ask the locals, and believe the oldest one. The quarry: a retired champion who will come after one last match. The complication: the quarry shares a name with nine other people.
    17. A bounty hunter in a raincoat with a notebook in every pocket. Their code: ask why before asking how much. The quarry: a smuggler chief who pays everyone's fines. The complication: the quarry once did them a kindness and never mentions it.
    18. A bounty hunter in an overcoat with the collar up in every weather. Their code: never take a job from a client who will not give a name. The quarry: a tailor who vanished with a rich client's measurements. The complication: the reward has doubled, which is never good news.
    19. A bounty hunter in a traveling cloak with a hood lined in fox red. Their code: never haggle with people who passed a hat to hire them. The quarry: a smuggler of perfectly legal cheese, out of habit. The complication: whatever they were riding gives out an hour from anywhere.
    20. A bounty hunter in a schoolteacher's black coat and very loud boots. Their code: one job at a time, however good the second sounds. The quarry: a forger whose signatures are neater than the real ones. The complication: the reward has doubled, which is never good news.
    21. A bounty hunter in a secondhand uniform with the old rank still showing. Their code: the quarry eats before the hunter does. The quarry: a guard who went home for the harvest and stayed. The complication: a stray dog has joined them and likes the quarry best.
    22. A bounty hunter in a railway guard's old jacket with the buttons replaced. Their code: never haggle with people who passed a hat to hire them. The quarry: a con artist who sells maps to places that exist. The complication: the map was drawn by the quarry.
    23. A bounty hunter in a railway guard's old jacket with the buttons replaced. Their code: never count the money in front of the client. The quarry: an heiress hiding from a fortune she does not want. The complication: this is the last job before retiring, for the third time.
    24. A bounty hunter in a railway guard's old jacket with the buttons replaced. Their code: never mock a quarry who nearly got away. The quarry: a judge who sentenced themselves to exile and went. The complication: the reward has doubled, which is never good news.
    25. A bounty hunter in a railway guard's old jacket with the buttons replaced. Their code: let the quarry choose the route home, within reason. The quarry: a smuggler of perfectly legal cheese, out of habit. The complication: the reward has doubled, which is never good news.
    26. A bounty hunter in a rumpled suit and a tie loosened since Tuesday. Their code: take the oldest unpaid warrant on the board first. The quarry: an heiress hiding from a fortune she does not want. The complication: the quarry is halfway through something that matters.
    27. A bounty hunter in riding boots, one black and one brown. Their code: share the umbrella. The quarry: a neighbor reported for a crime that was only a rumor. The complication: the quarry has already turned themselves in, elsewhere.
    28. A bounty hunter in sheepskin to the knees and a scarf up to the eyes. Their code: tell the truth to anyone who gives them a bed. The quarry: a clerk who walked out with the only key to the archive. The complication: the hunter sneezes at the worst possible moments.
    29. A bounty hunter in a straw hat, an apron and a mild expression. Their code: keep the paperwork dry above all else. The quarry: a tailor who vanished with a rich client's measurements. The complication: every lodging on the way is full for a festival.
    30. A bounty hunter in a belt of pouches, each one a different leather. Their code: no jobs that begin with the words it will be easy. The quarry: a champion who left the night before the final. The complication: the client has changed their mind and not said so.

    Next step Build out the quarry as a characterDesign the hunter's full outfit

    The look: all 48 looks

    Frontier 12

    • a blanket coat with a stripe sewn on for every job Count the stripes yourself and decide how long the career has been.
    • a borrowed Sunday suit, dusty to the knee A crisp collar on top and a soft brown fade up the trouser legs.
    • a bowler hat, a waistcoat and a watch that runs slow The watch is out and open in most panels, being frowned at.
    • a duster the color of road dust and a hat two sizes too big The hat rests on the ears. Shade the whole face except the chin.
    • a long canvas coat that stands up by itself Draw the coat empty on a chair once, still holding its shape.
    • a poncho with a campfire burn nobody mended A dark-edged hole near the hem, with firelight showing through it.
    • a railway guard's old jacket with the buttons replaced Brass buttons in three different sizes down one front.
    • a schoolteacher's black coat and very loud boots Draw the boots first, big, and let the plain coat rise out of them.
    • a straw hat, an apron and a mild expression Nobody in the scene looks at them twice. Stage them off-center.
    • buckskin fringe worn to stubs down one side Long fringe on the left arm, short on the right: it shows which side works.
    • sheepskin to the knees and a scarf up to the eyes A woolly block with two eyes. Texture it with short curved strokes.
    • spurs that jingle on purpose, as a courtesy Small sound marks at the heels in every walking panel.

    Space lanes 12

    • a cargo harness hung with tags from every port Dozens of little rectangles on rings, each a different shape.
    • a cloak over a cooling unit that hums when they are nervous A boxy lump between the shoulders and small wavy lines above it.
    • a dented vacuum suit with a visor like a letterbox A narrow bright slot, and dents that catch the light like fish scales.
    • a long coat lined with pockets, each one labeled Open one side of the coat like a shop display.
    • a miner's hard-shell suit two sizes too broad Wide square shoulders and a small head: a box with legs.
    • a pilot's jacket with every mission patch picked off Darker rectangles on the sleeves where the cloth never faded.
    • a rain cape from a world where it never stops Still dripping in a dry corridor. Put a small puddle at the hem.
    • a secondhand uniform with the old rank still showing Unpicked stitching in the outline of a badge.
    • a suit with a scrolling sign on the chest, stuck on one word Glowing letters cut off at the edge of the chest plate.
    • armor made of three other suits, none the same color Change the panel lines at each join so the seams do not match.
    • goggles with six lenses, one of which works Five lenses pushed up on stalks and one down over an eye.
    • magnetic boots and trousers that stop short of them A band of striped sock. On a ceiling it is the first thing seen.

    Sword and road 12

    • a belt of pouches, each one a different leather Vary the grain: smooth, pebbled, scaled, stitched.
    • a breastplate engraved with a road map Fine lines across the steel, and one town rubbed bright by a thumb.
    • a hat with a brim wide enough to hold the rain Water pours off the back edge in a single spout.
    • a herald's bright coat turned inside out for travel Loud color at the cuffs and collar, where the lining rolls over.
    • a hood with two eyeholes, worn only in snow White ground, gray hood, two dark dots.
    • a leather coat with a guild seal stamped on the collar Press the seal in a shade darker than the hide around it.
    • a mail shirt under a peddler's smock A row of rings showing only at the neck and one cuff.
    • a painted wooden mask pushed up on top of the head Two faces stacked. Give the mask the fiercer one.
    • a patchwork tabard from six different lords Six scraps of heraldry that almost make one animal.
    • a shepherd's heavy cloak and a long crook The crook stands taller than the hat. Use it to frame the figure.
    • a traveling cloak with a hood lined in fox red Keep the outside dull so the lining flashes when they turn.
    • riding boots, one black and one brown Seen from behind, walking away: the pair is the signature.

    City streets 12

    • a bus driver's cap kept from an earlier career Worn dead straight, with the badge polished.
    • a cardigan, reading glasses and sensible shoes Glasses on a chain. They look over the top of them at people.
    • a courier's bright jacket and a satchel of paperwork Reflective strips drawn as plain white bands.
    • a florist's delivery uniform, for getting close A bunch of tulips held where a warrant would be.
    • a high-visibility vest, because nobody questions one Add a traffic cone under one arm and the street parts for them.
    • a leather jacket with a bail office's name on the back Letter the name in an arc and let two letters peel.
    • a neat gray suit that nobody ever remembers Draw three witnesses describing them, each with a different sketch.
    • a raincoat with a notebook in every pocket Rectangular bulges all over an otherwise limp coat.
    • a rumpled suit and a tie loosened since Tuesday Creases behind the knees and at the elbows, and the knot a hand low.
    • a tracksuit and a clipboard, like a coach A whistle on a lanyard finishes the disguise.
    • an overcoat with the collar up in every weather In a summer scene, add heat shimmer and a stubborn face.
    • sunglasses indoors and a rain hat outdoors Two portraits: lamp glare on the lenses, then drips off the brim.
    How this list was compiled

    Original list written for Draw This Next on 2026-10-13. Made up for this list: clothes for a hunter on a frontier, between planets, on a sword-and-road trail and in a modern city. No look is the costume of a character from a film, a show, a comic or a game, and no entry is a weapon. The notes are our own drawing advice. Licence: own work

    Their code: all 48 rules

    Jobs they take 12

    • ask why before asking how much A question mark is the only thing in their speech bubble.
    • finish what the last hunter gave up on Someone else's notes in the margin of the warrant, in older ink.
    • never hunt anyone they have shared a meal with Eating alone at the far end of a crowded bench.
    • never take a job from a client who will not give a name A hooded client at a table, and a chair being pushed back.
    • never work for both sides of one quarrel Two doors facing each other across a street. They knock on one.
    • no jobs in the home town A signpost with one arm they walk past without looking.
    • no jobs that begin with the words it will be easy A flat look, and a hat already going back on.
    • one job at a time, however good the second sounds A second poster folded away unread into a boot.
    • read the whole warrant, including the small print A magnifying glass over the bottom corner of a page.
    • refuse any job that comes with a uniform A peg with a clean tunic on it, left hanging as they go.
    • take the oldest unpaid warrant on the board first A yellowed sheet under five fresh ones, being worked free.
    • turn down any warrant that smells of a grudge The paper held at arm's length between two fingers.

    How they work 12

    • always knock first A raised fist an inch from a door. Hold the panel there.
    • ask the locals, and believe the oldest one A bench outside a shop and a very long answer being given.
    • keep the paperwork dry above all else Soaked to the skin, with an oilcloth packet held overhead.
    • never follow anyone into their mother's house Waiting on the garden wall with a cup somebody brought out.
    • never run when a brisk walk will do Long even strides while everyone around them sprints.
    • never wear a disguise they cannot explain A false mustache held in the hand, being reconsidered.
    • no work on a holiday, theirs or the quarry's Paper streamers overhead, and hunter and quarry both looking up at them.
    • pay for whatever gets broken, on the spot Money counted onto a counter beside the pieces of a jug.
    • put back every chair they move A chair set square to a table, and a last look round the room.
    • spell every name the way its owner spells it A pencil paused over a notebook, and the quarry leaning in to help.
    • tell the truth to anyone who gives them a bed A candle, a host in a doorway and a warrant laid open on the quilt.
    • walk in by the front door A straight-on doorway with the figure centered in it.

    About the pay 12

    • a job done for free stays a secret A finger to the lips and a warrant torn neatly in half.
    • accept payment in money, goods or a good meal A sack of onions over one shoulder, carried like a prize.
    • charge a rich client and a poor one the same One price chalked on a slate, held up to two very different faces.
    • half of every fee goes home to family Two piles on a table, and one being wrapped in brown paper.
    • list expenses down to the last bowl of soup A long narrow bill that curls onto the floor.
    • never count the money in front of the client A purse weighed once in the palm and pocketed.
    • never haggle with people who passed a hat to hire them A hat full of small change, and a nod.
    • never take the money before the job is done Hands kept in the coat pockets while the purse sits on the table.
    • no bonus for speed, no discount for delay A calendar on a wall with no day circled.
    • the price named first is the price A raised palm stopping a second purse.
    • return the fee if the warrant turns out wrong Money coming back out of a boot, slowly.
    • tip whoever watched the door A coin flipped backward over the shoulder, caught off-panel.

    How they treat the quarry 12

    • always let them pack a bag Standing in a doorway, looking politely at the ceiling.
    • bring everyone in unharmed and on time A date ringed on a slip of paper, and two unruffled figures.
    • carry letters for anyone they bring in A bundle of envelopes in the inside pocket, tied with string.
    • give a full name at every introduction A hat lifted and a card held out.
    • grant one head start to anyone who asks nicely Eyes covered with one hand, counting aloud.
    • let the quarry choose the route home, within reason A map held between them, with two fingers on two different roads.
    • listen to the whole story on the way back Two figures walking, one talking with both hands.
    • never bring anyone in during their own celebration Waiting at the back of a hall with a slice of cake on a plate.
    • never mock a quarry who nearly got away A handshake at the end of a chase, both of them out of breath.
    • put in a good word afterward if it was earned A hand raised at the back of a hearing room.
    • the quarry eats before the hunter does Two plates, one full and one waiting.
    • share the umbrella One umbrella, two heads, and both outside shoulders wet.
    How this list was compiled

    Original list written for Draw This Next on 2026-10-13. Made up for this list: rules about which jobs to take, how to work, the pay and how the quarry is treated. Each is written to fit a frontier, a starship, a fantasy road or a city alike. None is the creed of a character or a guild from a film, a show or a game, and none describes a way of catching or hurting anyone. The notes are our own drawing advice. Licence: own work

    The quarry: all 48 quarries

    Small-time rogues 12

    • a card cheat who only cheats other cheats A fan of cards with one extra ace peeping from a cuff.
    • a con artist who sells maps to places that exist A stall of rolled maps and a queue of satisfied customers.
    • a debtor who owes one coin each to a thousand people A ledger as thick as a doorstep under one arm.
    • a forger whose signatures are neater than the real ones Two signatures side by side. The tidy one is the fake.
    • a pickpocket who puts things into pockets A stranger finding a wrapped candy in a coat and looking around.
    • a pie thief with eleven warrants in eleven towns Crumbs down the shirt front on the wanted poster itself.
    • a showman selling tickets to a show that is always tomorrow A painted board that says TOMORROW, streaked by last week's rain.
    • a sign painter who corrects other people's spelling A brush behind the ear and one fresh letter on an old shop sign.
    • a smuggler of perfectly legal cheese, out of habit A wheel of cheese under a blanket, carried like contraband.
    • a tailor who vanished with a rich client's measurements A tape measure trailing from a coat pocket like a tail.
    • a toll dodger who has never paid at any gate anywhere A barrier pole, and a figure already past it, waving.
    • an auctioneer who sold the same bridge twice A gavel in one hand and two deeds in the other.

    Runaways with a reason 12

    • a bookkeeper who ran off to audit the client in secret Ink-stained fingers and a lamp under a blanket.
    • a bridegroom who left a note and took the cake Three tiers under one arm, a little squashed.
    • a champion who left the night before the final A pair of boots outside a door, and the window open.
    • a clerk who walked out with the only key to the archive A big iron key on a string round a thin neck.
    • a cook who took the secret recipe when the kitchen closed A recipe card worn inside a hat.
    • a guard who went home for the harvest and stayed A helmet upside down, full of apples.
    • a judge who sentenced themselves to exile and went Robes folded over a fence, and a figure fishing beyond it.
    • a mayor who lost an election and will not come back A chain of office hung on a scarecrow.
    • a messenger who read the letter and then burned it A satchel hugged to the chest and a look over the shoulder.
    • a witness who will not testify against a friend A figure at a crossroads with a small bag and a backward look.
    • an heiress hiding from a fortune she does not want Good shoes under a market apron.
    • an inventor who fled with their own unfinished machine A cart under a sheet with one brass elbow sticking out.

    Wanted by mistake 12

    • a baker with the same name as a bandit Flour to the elbows and both hands up.
    • a clerk whose only crime is someone else's handwriting Squinting at a page from several angles.
    • a debtor's twin, wanted in the wrong town Two posters with one face and two names.
    • a juggler who caught something not thrown to them Four clubs in the air and one jeweled thing among them.
    • a neighbor reported for a crime that was only a rumor Three heads over a fence, whispering, and one washing line.
    • a poet whose satire was read as a confession A page with one verse underlined twice in red.
    • a retired hunter still listed as their own last quarry An old poster in a frame on a kitchen wall.
    • a safe maker who was only testing the product An ear against a steel door and an order book on the floor.
    • a sightseer who signed the wrong line of a form A long form, a short pen and a cheerful wave.
    • a surveyor mistaken for a spy by three governments A tripod, a notebook and three different flags on the horizon.
    • a traveler drawn from a very bad description A poster face that fits half the people in the street behind it.
    • an actor still wanted for a part they played A stage beard in the luggage.

    Bigger than the fee 12

    • a client from a previous job A face they last saw counting money into their hand.
    • a crew of seven who are only ever seen as one One long coat with too many boots under it.
    • a famous rival hunter, wanted for poaching jobs The quarry's poster shows a face from the hunter's own trade.
    • a governor's cousin, with the governor's blessing withheld A fine coat with a crest, and nobody in the room meeting their eye.
    • a master of disguise, described on the poster six ways Six small portraits in a grid, and none alike.
    • a retired champion who will come after one last match A ring of rope, and the hunter holding the coats.
    • a smuggler chief who pays everyone's fines A crowd outside a courthouse, cheering the wrong person.
    • a well-loved outlaw whom every village hides A row of closed shutters, and one hand passing a loaf through a gap.
    • the bank's own manager A vault door standing open and a chair still spinning.
    • the hunter's own old teacher A lesson repeated back, word for word, across a table.
    • the officer who signed the warrant, a week later The same signature on the warrant and on the wanted line.
    • someone whose poster shows the hunter's own face Hold the poster beside the face and draw the double take.
    How this list was compiled

    Original list written for Draw This Next on 2026-10-13. Made up for this list: small-time rogues, runaways with a reason, people wanted by mistake and quarries bigger than the fee. Every quarry is an adult with a trade, wanted for something small or for nothing at all; none is a real person or a character from a film, a show or a game. The notes are our own drawing advice. Licence: own work

    Complication: all 48 complications

    About the quarry 12

    • the quarry has already turned themselves in, elsewhere A stamped form held up, and two shoulders sagging.
    • the quarry has hired a hunter of their own Two warrants on one table, each naming the other party.
    • the quarry is halfway through something that matters Sleeves rolled, hands full, and a look that says one more hour.
    • the quarry is innocent and can prove it, slowly A box of papers carried between them, one handle each.
    • the quarry is the better cook, and the trip is long A pot over a fire and the hunter holding out a bowl.
    • the quarry is the most likable person on the whole road Strangers waving at the quarry and ignoring the hunter.
    • the quarry keeps slipping away and then waiting for them Leaning on a milestone, arms folded, a little bored.
    • the quarry knows a shortcut and will not stop saying so A finger pointing off-panel in every single frame.
    • the quarry looks nothing like the description A checklist with every feature crossed out.
    • the quarry once did them a kindness and never mentions it A flashback panel in softer line, tucked in a corner.
    • the quarry shares a name with nine other people Ten doors on one street, each with the same nameplate.
    • the quarry wants to be caught, and soon Sitting on a packed bag at the roadside, checking the time.

    Rivals and clients 12

    • a rival hunter holds the same warrant and is far less polite Fresh boot prints over the trail, and a door left swinging.
    • a storyteller wants to write the whole thing up A notebook thrust in from the side of the frame.
    • a trainee from the licensing office is tagging along A second hat at shoulder height, and a pencil going.
    • an old partner has turned up wanting half A familiar silhouette in a doorway, holding up two fingers, then one.
    • the client can only pay in a currency nobody changes A bag of odd tokens poured out on a counter, and a blank stare.
    • the client has changed their mind and not said so A letter still on its way, shown in the corner of the scene.
    • the client is not who the paperwork says A signature compared against a signet, a stamp or a badge.
    • the client wants a written report every evening A page being filled by lamplight, with the quarry suggesting a better word.
    • the reward has doubled, which is never good news A poster with the old figure struck through.
    • the rival offers to split the fee, far too readily An outstretched hand and a smile with too many teeth.
    • two clients have hired them for the same quarry Two purses of different sizes in two different pockets.
    • the warrant runs out at noon on the last of the month A sundial or a wall clock in every background from here on.

    On the way back 12

    • a parade is going the other way, slowly Two figures pressed flat to a wall while drums go past.
    • a stray dog has joined them and likes the quarry best The dog walks between them, leaning one way.
    • bad weather has shut the only route for a week Two figures at one window, watching it come down.
    • the border between them and the client has just moved Fresh paint on a line across the road, and a new sentry box.
    • the client's office has moved and left no address A pale square on a wall where a brass plate used to be.
    • every lodging on the way is full for a festival A no-vacancy board, and both of them asleep sitting up on a bench.
    • the map was drawn by the quarry A river that crosses itself, and a confident arrow.
    • the only way back runs through the quarry's home town Bunting, aunts and a brass band at the town gate.
    • the quarry's relatives keep turning up with food A growing stack of covered dishes in the hunter's arms.
    • there is a toll they cannot pay without the reward A gate, an open palm and two sets of empty pockets.
    • the warrant has blown away and the copy is days behind One sheet of paper high in the air and an arm reaching.
    • whatever they were riding gives out an hour from anywhere Two figures pushing, drawn small under a very big sky.

    The hunter's own trouble 12

    • the client wrote the quarry's name down wrong, twice Two spellings crossed out on one page, and a third in the margin.
    • the hunter gets lost anywhere with more than two streets Standing under a signpost with five arms.
    • the hunter has begun to doubt the whole profession A badge turned over in the fingers by lamplight.
    • the hunter has promised to be home for a family supper A place laid at a table far away, shown in an inset panel.
    • the hunter is a terrible liar and the job needs one lie Eyes sliding sideways and a blush to the ears.
    • the hunter is recognized everywhere and wishes they were not Hats being tipped all down the street, and a collar going up.
    • the hunter owes the quarry money An awkward cough and a wallet opened only a crack.
    • the hunter sneezes at the worst possible moments A held breath, a wobbling lip and a hand clamped over the nose.
    • the hunter's boots are new and it shows A stiff walk, and a longing look at every bench.
    • the hunter's license ran out yesterday A date on a card, covered casually by a thumb.
    • the hunter's reputation rests on a job somebody else did A statue that flatters, and the real one standing small beside it.
    • this is the last job before retiring, for the third time A fishing rod strapped to the pack, never unwrapped.
    How this list was compiled

    Original list written for Draw This Next on 2026-10-13. Made up for this list: trouble that comes from the quarry, from rivals and clients, from the way back and from the hunter's own life. Each is written to fit any setting and any quarry of the third list. Nobody is hurt in any entry, and none is the plot of a film, a show or a game. The notes are our own drawing advice. Licence: own work

    How it works

    These bounty hunter character ideas come in four parts: what the hunter wears, one rule of their code, who they are after this time and the complication. The looks cover frontier, space, sword-and-road and city stories.

    Read the full guide

    The look sets the world

    The first list is sorted by setting. A duster the color of road dust and a hat two sizes too big puts the hunter on a frontier; a dented vacuum suit with a visor like a letterbox puts them between planets. The code, the quarry and the complication fit all four settings, so one hunter can move from a western to a space story with a change of coat.

    The code makes the scene

    A hunter who must always knock first cannot burst through a door, and one whose quarry eats before the hunter does has to find two suppers. Draw the moment the code costs them something.

    • Draw hunter and quarry walking side by side. Whoever carries the bag tells the reader how the job is going.
    • Give the hunter one tool of the trade that is paper: a folded warrant in the hatband.

    Questions and answers

    What makes a good bounty hunter character?

    A code. Without one the hunter is only hired help. Each result gives a rule the hunter keeps, such as the price named first is the price, and a complication that puts it under strain.

    What should a bounty hunter character look like?

    Dress them for travel and for being remembered. The looks run from a schoolteacher's black coat and very loud boots to armor made of three other suits, none the same color. One odd item does more than an arsenal.

    Are these bounty hunters from a film, a show or a game?

    No. All four lists were written for this page. No hunter, ship, guild or world from a film, a show, a comic or a game appears, so whatever you build from a result belongs to you.

    Who does a bounty hunter character chase?

    An adult with a trade. Half are small-time rogues or runaways, such as a pie thief with eleven warrants in eleven towns; a quarter are wanted by mistake and a quarter are bigger than the fee, such as the bank's own manager. Nobody is hurt.

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