Advocates of Zeal explain that the war between humanity and monsterousities has two sides: perpetrator and victim. By their definition, humanity is the victim and it's hunters' duty to stand up in defiance. Followers of Mercy have a different perspective. They tend to concentrate on individual actors rather than diametrical factions. The Merciful don't follow abstract notions of good and evil. They understand that specific circumstances demand choices and force actions. They refuse to resort to generalizations about any side in the war: "All their kind are the same." "It's for the good of mankind." "I was just following orders." The Merciful measure individuals before delivering any justice or meting out any reward.
A hunter who acts based on Mercy seeks to understand, empathize and even rationalize with the enemy. Outright hostility establishes no common ground on which terms can be established. Unquestioned violence also diminishes friend and foe into one, with no chance for identity or change.
Of course, fighting the war against the unknown isn't any easier for understanding the enemy. Sympathy makes it harder. Anything salvageable within a creature is lost when its dark side is put down. But understanding doesn't equate to tolerance of evil committed wantonly. Sympathy isn't grounds for a stay of execution for a self-proclaimed murderer. At the very least, fighting based on Mercy convinces hunters somewhat that their cause is the right one — that they're doing their individual best.
If your character's instinctive reaction upon the imbuing is to save innocent lives, to put herself in harm's way or to learn the horror's intentions, she may be a follower of Mercy.
Innocence
Although many Innocents are young, there are no age restrictions. Hunters on this primary path answer the Call but do so with no preconceived notions. more than any other hunters, Innocents deal with the immediate present, without holding grudges from the past or scheming for the future. Like others on Mercy's paths, they recognize kindred spirits in monsters — beings with horrific powers and terrible lives foisted upon them. Whereas the Martyr hates what he sees and the Redeemer wants to change it, the Innocent looks on without judgement.
Innocents' unusual candor can sometimes produce unexpected reactions from night-creatures, but more often it simply puts them in danger. who else could ask a monster a direct question and expect a straight answer? This straightforwardness has led other hunters to give innocents various nicknames, some meant kindly ("cherubs"), others less so ("bait").
Hide, Level 1
Roll Wits + Mercy, difficulty 6. A Perception + Alertness roll, difficulty 6, is made for each monster in your character's presence. A single, average roll can be made for a group of monsters. The difficulty is reduced for creatures with extraordinary senses such as smell or hearing, or for creatures that are exceptionally old, powerful or wary. If your character gets more successes, he goes unrecognized. He is seen normally if the enemy gets more successes.
Your character goes unnoticed for the remainder of the scene as long as he does not attract attention to himself. Making physical contact with the enemy or performing blatant acts such as jumping up and down shouting draws attention. Once creatures know your character is present, they do not forget again. And once a monster in a group recognizes your character, all of the enemies in the vicinity do; one of the monsters doesn't simply swing wildly at the "air." However, standing, talking lowly and walking do not attract unwanted attention.
This power does not work on other hunters or normal humans. It does not function when the user is Incapacitated; supernaturals perceive your character's immobile form.
Illuminate, Level 2
This edge makes it possible for your character and fellow hunters to identify supernatural creatures. Not only does it indicate which beings are inhuman, it suggests what kinds of creatures they are. One drawback to Illuminate is that monsters seem able to perceive it's use and can even tell which human generates the effect.
System: Roll Perception + Mercy, difficulty 6. If you get any successes, your character and all hunters in her presence perceive any supernatural creatures in the area. The effect duplicates and replaces the need for hunters to spend Conviction on second sight. Furthermore, this edge allows all affected hunters to recognize the true nature of creatures that otherwise appear normal — warlocks, the recently deceased, shapechangers in human form. These beings seem to be outlined in nimbuses of various colors. Note that Illuminate does not confer any of the resistence to mind or body control that spending a point of Conviction does.
Illuminate lasts 10 minutes for each success rolled. Duration can be extended for another 10 minutes for each Conviction point spent. The power can be deactivated at will and shuts off if the user is Incapacitated.
Creatures exposed by Illuminate perceive the wielder as a source of bright light; she is clearly the one revealing the monsters. Use of Illuminate undoes Hide.
Radiate, Level 3
If there were ever evidence that hunters are of divine origin, this is it — or, at least, this edge could be used to justify such claims. Once this power is activated, your character radiates a white light that impedes supernatural attacks. People protected by this field appear blurry and indistinct to the eyes of unnatural creatures. The light itself is distinct to hunters but otherwise has no effect on them, whether they're inside or outside the aura. Monsters that do not rely on visual senses are still confused and disoriented by the power.
System: Roll Stamina + Mercy, diff 6. Any time a supernatural creature attacks a radiating target, the difficulty of the attack is increased by one for each success achieved in your edge roll. The nature of the attack does not matter — guns, claws, mystic attacks of any sort; all are impeded. For each success you score after the first, your character may also project his light to include one additional person within the aura. That person must be standing within Mercy in yards of your character. The light persists for one turn per success rolled. The edge can be canceled by the user at will, and its protection can be denied to an individual at any time. The power fails completely if your character is Incapacitated.
No monster's mystical sight or other sense can be used to negate the field. Hunter senses, even edge-based ones, are not affected.
Confront, Level 4
To use this Edge, your character must meet a creature's gaze directly and make no attempt to avoid the monster's attack. Even though your character is a "sitting duck," striking her becomes terribly difficult. The few creatures who've been subjected to this power and are willing to discuss it say that striking them becomes emotionally impossible. The hunter seems to embody everything that is (or that ever was) pure, important and valuable to the attacker — perhaps even dredging up emotions the creature had thought lost for centuries. Striking or acting against the hunter seems psychologically suicidal — a crime of grotesque magnitude. Attackers who do force themselves to perform the repellent action find it excruiciating.
System: Spend one Conviction point and roll Manipulation + Mercy, diff 5. For each success you get, an attacker has to spend a point of Willpower to act against your character. Each subsequent action against your character also requires a Willpower expenditure. The enemy still has to succeed at its attack normally, even though your character makes no attempt to avoid it. this edge functions against only one opponant at a time, unless more can somehow be captured eye to eye, simultaneously. The target remains inhibited as long as your character maintains eye contact.
Blaze, Level 5
Your character can make one light source agonizing and damaging to unnatural creatures of all kinds. The degree of damage inflicted depends on the intensity of the light source. A match is irritating, a powerful flashlight is dangerous and (on a clear day) the sun is destructive.
Blaze is instantaneous: Your character uses this power and the light source in question becomes amazingly powerful for a moment. While the effect does not last, it can traumatize every supernatural exposed to the rays. Strangely, Blaze does not work with moonlight.
Some Innocent extremists with this power describe it's use as "sharing the true light."
System: Spend two Conviction points and roll Strength + Mercy, diff 8. Even one success inflicts the aggravated damage dice listed on the following chart, bawed on the light source used.
| Light source |
Damage dice |
| Match/lighter flame |
1 |
| Torch/small flashlight/flare |
3 |
| Large flashlight/car headlights |
5 |
| Bonfire |
6 |
| Spotlight or searchlight |
8 |
| The sun |
10 |
The range of this power is five yards per success rolled. Thus, all supernatural creatures within range of your character (as opposed to the light source, which can be in someone else's possession) when this power is used suffer searing pain. If you score four successes on your edge roll and your character holds a flare (three damage dice), you roll three aggravated damage dice against all supernaturals within 20 yards of your character (or against those within range and that are caught in a light beam).
Many artificial light sources are directional and can be pointed at only one or two targets at a time. As a rule of thumb, using Blaze with a flashlight allows your character to harm three creatures at most, if they're standing close together. Targets do not have to be physical; spirits and ghosts are vulnerable, too.
Martyrdom
Martyrs are compelled to destroy the unknown and the monsterous, but they can't escape the knowledge that their quarry has (or had) human feelings just as they do. Avengers have a definite us/them mindset. Martyrs don't have that luxury. They understand all too well the emotions and motivations of the intolerable. Yet, for all their empathy, followers of this primary path hunt with an almost self-destructive fury.
Martyrs can understand the misery of a compulsive predator, because they are the same. They know that these hideous beings, whose very appearance fills a Martyr with repulsion and disgust, might have once been fully human. Martyrs are therefore miserable with their role, but know that if they pursue it, fewer others will have to share their fate. Every Martyr longs for the day when hunters are obsolete.
Demand, Level 1
Martyrs, by definition, are willing to hurt themselves to save another's life or to hurt an enemy. This willingness to case even Pyrrhic victory is reflected in Demand. Your character is willing to exhaust himself in a desperate bid to accomplish amazing deeds; he puts his all into an action and receives might born from purity of purpose. Martyrs' willingness to sacrifice themselves simply invigorates them with energy and power.
System: Your character can perform an amazing feat of strength at the cost of his health. Mark a level of bashing damage on your character's Health chart. The damage cannot be soaked. You can now add Mercy to Strength for any roll to inflict brawl or melee damage, an effort to lift an object or a Strength + Athletics roll to perform a stunt. Willpower cannot be used to further bolster this roll, although Conviction points can be risked in any Strength-related roll made.
If Demand is used to increase the damage inflicted with an attack, your character must suffer a bashing health level before the attack is made. If it fails, the health level is still lost, even though no damage roll is made. The punch or swing is still potentially devastating, but doesn't find it's mark.
Demand cannot be combined with other attack or physical-action based edges in the same turn.
Witness, Level 2
Witness allows your character to recognize the nature of supernatural creatures in her presence. It also gives her a glimpse of specified creatures' relationships with mankind.
System: This edge expands upon the capabilities of secnod sight. A creature that seems wrong with second sight, but not in any perceptible way — a warlock, a shapechanger in human form, a bloodsucker imitating life signs — is revealed to your character. The monster's horrific side is clear on a successful Perception + Mercy roll, difficulty 6. To your character's eyes, the creature's most horrific aspect flashes across it's face. This sight persists for 10 minutes for each success rolled; any creature observed in that time is revealed for what it really is. Witness can therefore be used in conjunction with or can replace the need for second sight while this edge is in effect. Duration can be extended for another 10 minutes for each Conviction point spent. The power can be deactivated at will. Witness provides no mind or body control protection.
Additionally, for each success scored after the girst in the edge roll, your character can momentarily witness one previous contact had between a human and a monster in your character's presence. The first contact viewed is usually the most recent, and each viewed thereafter occurred further back in time. If multiple monsters are present, your character may choose which is "studied," or recent flashes may be taken from a variety of creatures.
Visions might reveal attacks, such as feeding, or could reveal a passionate or poignant meeting, depending on who was contacted. The Storyteller creates the vision, which can be clear or distorted; participants may be obvious or confused. The image is visual only and is virtually instantaneous. Sometimes such visions suggest regret or even mercy in creatures' attacks, a hint at their true nature.
Witness seems to conjure no images of humans' or hunters' acts, but it does for those people who possess powers or gifts bestowed by unnatural creatures.
Ravage, Level 3
No one's quite sure what the hell happens when a hunter cuts loose with this edge. It seems to produce a roiling heat-haze. This gas (for lack of a better term) pours out or from your character and travels where he gestures. Physical matter seems unaffected, but supernatural creatures react violently. It seems to corrupt and decay their very bodies. Not even intangible creatures are safe.
Ravage has no physical effect on human targets, but it causes deep emotional trauma: headaches, depression, terrified fugues and uncontrolled weeping. As for wielders of Ravage themselves, the power makes them sick. Stomach pains, coughing, blurred vision and vomiting are all associated with this edge.
Martyrs describe the power as "Tearing something open — like injuring the world. It hurts us, it hurts them — but it hurts them worse."
System: Roll Manipulation + Mercy, diff 7. Range is your characters Mercy in yards. If the target is human, the number of successes rolled indicates the number of turns that a person is stunned with horror. He suffers no physical damage, and can still dodge or flee, but cannot attack your character or anybody else. (Particularly tough individuals might be allowed a Willpower roll, difficulty 8, to attempt and perform a particular action). Another hunter targeted by Ravage goes unaffected if his Conviction defense is active. If not, he is treated like a human victim.
If the target is a supernatural creature, it suffers a level of lethal damage for each success rolled. Even intangible opponants are affected, including ones that possess physical hosts.
Every time tihs edge is used, your character suffers one level of bashing damage that cannot be soaked.
Donate, Level 4
A hunter far along the Martyrdom path can blur the lines between herself and others. Her sense of self becomes so diffused that it's possible to lend that "self" to others for their use. The most obvious loan is physical potency or speed, but less tangible capacities can be donated as well. One Martyr has likened the experience to another person walking a mile in her shoes — while she's still in them.
Your character can make this "loan" to any willing person whom she can touch. The exchange is immediate, though not always complete.
If physical qualities are lent, your character is weakened commensurably. Lending mental acuity is a bit more complex: The doner's intellect and attention are literally split between herself and the recipient. This "split attention" can function almost like a two way radio, with no known limit to the distance separating the two parties. The biggest restriction is time: Your character can share of herself for a limited period.
System: Spend two Conviction points and roll Mercy + the Attribute you want to lend, diff 7. Your character loses a number of points from that Attribute equal to the number of successess you roll, up to a limit that you stipulate or up to your character's full Attribute score. The recipient gains the same number of points in the same Trait. Any Attribute can be donated except Appearance. No other traits — abilities, backgrounds — can be conferred with this edge, and no more than one Attribute can be shared at one time.
Donating Physical Attributes is fairly straightforward: Your character's rating is reduced while the subject's is increased. If a Mental Attribute is shared, the two characters can speak to each other telepathically for the duration of the donation; the recipient can use your character's mind as a sort of "parallel processor." If a Social Attribute is donated, telepathic communicationis not possible, but both people have a vague sense of how the other feels emotionally.
If your character donates all of one Attribute, she passes out and remains unconscious until the edge wears off. You as a player may continue to advise the recipient in terms of the Trait shared, as far as the Storyteller allows. You can contribute solutions to the problems if Wits is shared, or suggest emotions to play upon in social situations if Manipulation is lent, but you probably can't advise another player how to do research in either case, because Intelligence hasn't been shared.
The duration of a donation is determined with the following chart:
| Successes Rolled |
Duration |
| 1-2 |
Two turns |
| 3-4 |
The rest of the scene |
| 5-6 |
Five hours |
| 7-8 |
One day |
| 9-10 |
Three days |
If your character is conscious, he can cancel donation at any time. However, the recipient cannot choose to "give back" a borrowed trait at any time; the lender must take it willingly.
If your character becomes Incapacitated while sharing, a donation continues until she regains consciousness. If your character is killed with dots lent out, the recipient loses them immediately. If you botch the donation roll, your character could lose one point of the Trait in question, permanently, or the Storyteller can devise another mishap. Hunters are already disturbed people. Would the identity of one trapped in the body of another really be acknowledged as anything more than schizophrenia.
Payback, Level 5
Your character can impose a human, mortal limitations and vulnerabilities upon inhuman opponents. He can also rob such beings of their powers. All your hunters has to do is lock his gaze with a supernatural enemy's and concentrate on the specific way he wants to cut that being down to size. The Martyr imposes a righteous moral punishment upon the creature.
System: To inflict a human limitation upon a supernatural being (say, to make a dead thing need to breathe to survive, or a ghost assume physical form), spend five Conviction points and roll Manipulation + Mercy, difficulty of the target's Stamina +4. If you get even one success, the creature suffers that vulnerability until it leaves your character's presence. (In the case of truly powerful opponents, the storyteller may impose a higher difficulty to your roll, and may grant a resisted roll, say Willpower, to the creature). Only one human "failing" can be imposed on a single creature at one time. The circumstances and the Storyteller often determine the immediate results of making a supernatural "mortal" again. Food, not blood, might be required for sustenance. Human form might become the only one a creature can assume. A spirit might become as physical and fragile as he was in life.
Now, an ages-old creature does not turn to dust because it's suddenly mortal, but it could perhaps be destroyed forever by conventional means. Also, beware granting monsters the strengths of a human. What bloodsucker would not relish withstanding the sun again? She might even ensure your character's constant presence by capturing him.
This power can also be used to deny a creature use of a certain supernatural power. To do this, you have to specify what the beast is prevented from doing: "I want it to stop moving so fast." "I don't want it fading away again!" "I don't want it to be able to turn invisible." Assuming the Storyteller knows what power you refer to, she sets the difficulty — usually the creature's Willpower rating or Stamina + 3. If you get even a single success, the creature cannot use that capability until it leaves your character's presence. Only one power can be denied a creature at one time, and a monsterosity cannot be assigned a human weakness and be stripped of a capability simultaneously.
If your character is conscious, she may revoke human weaknesses or reinstate supernatural powers at will, even if she is still in the presence of the victim. If your character is Incapacitated, the effects of Payback fail immediately. And, of course, if a creature manages to leave your character's presence and return, all bets are off. Payback must be used again to impose a human frailty or strip a monster of the same power previously removed.
Redemption
Individuals whose first instinct is concilatory tend to find themselves on the primary path of Redemption. Redeemers are widely sought for their ability to put injured people back together, but they often find themselves at odds with hunters who possess different priorities. Some Redeemers aren't afraid to understand their prey. They hope that through understanding they can either settle the spirits that haunt mortal life or remove whatever curse or psychic illness creates "monsters."
Bluster, Level 1
A shouted syllable becomes a veritable shield against harm. The word spoken doesn't matter ("No!" "Stop!" and "Don't!" are all common choices), but it can abort any type of deliberate attack. A hunter often learns a word's power when she blurts it out instinctively, and the word amazingly averts them.
Bluster can turn aside anything from a switchblade to a chain saw — or even arcane weapons such as bolts of fire or lightning. The attack can be made against your character or another person. The edge has no effect on attacks that don't do damage (such as mind-control attempts) or on attacks that are not direct (such as stabbing a voodoo doll of your character). Furthermore, it works only against actions other individuals undertake. It can protect your hunter or another person from being run down with a car (even if the driver is careless, not actively malevolent.) It cannot stop an avalanche or a natural bolt of lightning.
System: Roll Wits + Mercy, diff 6. The roll is typically resisted against the appropriate attack roll made by the enemy, and your character must be able to see — have line of sight to — the action he intends to interrupt. This edge can be used in a turn at any time that a defensive manuever — dodge, parry or block — can be. In fact, Bluster should be treated like a fourth form of defense for system purposes — all the same mechanics apply. This edge cannot actually be combined with dodge, parry or block, though; you must choose one course of defensive action. Note that an attacker can still harm it's target, even if your character attempts to avert the action (the attacker gets more successes than you do).
Insinuate, Level 2
Your character has to ask oe question of a supernatural creature, and the creature has to understand that a question has been asked. The particular question is not really important, and it doesn't matter if the being replies. What matters it that your character interacts with the creature as if it were a person, not a thing. This simple act, when fueled by hunter spirit, forces the creature to confront mortals in human terms. This edge usually causes intense feelings of sorrow, loss and isolation.
A common question is, "Do you remember?"
System: Roll Manipulation + Mercy, diff 6. Each success adds one to the difficulty of the supernatural creature's next intended action. The feat becomes challenging as the being is confronted by forgotten memories, long-dead feelings and desperately suppressed compassion. With a spectacular number of successes, the target may undergo a substantial shift in behavior. Even an undamaged creature who is winning a fight may flee rather than have to face the emotions raised by Insinuate.
The specific psychological effect of this edge depends on the creature confronted, of course. Spirits experience a taste of what life was like before they perished. Bloodsuckers are reminded of their lost mortality. Other creatures may have visions from the lives of the people they've slain. More "human" creatures may foresee futures in which they succumb to their monsterous natures, or they may remember a lost love or a choice they regret. Creatures who have very little thought or feeling left may be less affected. Insinuate's visions may simply annoy or confuse them.
The Storyteller decides the exact results of this power in the story, whether as a distraction for a monster, another attempt in an ongoing effort to get through to the buried vulnerability of a creature, or as a cathartic moment (if you roll enough successes) that confronts a being with its very perversity.
Typically, insinuate can be used against a single creature only once per scene, unless the Storyteller authorizes otherwise.
Respire, Level 3
Also called the "Kiss of Life," this edge allows your character to heal a person by breathing into her mouth. While your character appears to be performing mouth to mouth resuscitation, this power accomplishes a lot more: It can heal cuts, slashes, damaged organs and broken bones.
Respire can do something altogether different to supernaturals. Instead of infusing healing energy, it steals energy. Mouth to mouth contact isn't required for this usage. Yet your character must be nearby to inhale the stuff from an enemy. This power is dangerous even to intangible foes.
System: To heal someone, roll Stamina + Mercy, diff 6. This target gains one health level, bashing or lethal, for each success achieved. Using Respire in this fashion is draining. You must pay for each level healed either by spending one Conviction or by suffering a +1 difficulty to all actions for the remainder of the scene. (It's possible to mix and match payments. A character who heals three health levels can spend two Conviction and accepts a +1 penalty for the rest of the scene.) If a botch is rolled, your character suffers a bashing health level, instead. This edge cannot be used on oneself, but can be used on normal people and even supernatural creatures.
To drain a monsterous enemy, your character must be within a distance of Mercy in yards of the intended target. Roll Dexterity + Mercy, diff 6. The target resists by rolling Stamina, also against a diff of 6 (although the Storyteller can modify difficulties for both attacker and defender depending on their relative potency; a simple hunter may be hard-pressed to exhaust an ages-old ghost). For every two full successes in excess of the opponant's that you achieve, your character gains one point of Conviction, up to the limit of your character's starting Conviction (based on Creed). The target also suffers one lethal health damage for each single success earned (your character's starting conviction imposes no limit on damage). If your roll botches, your character incurs one level of lethal damage, and the supernatural opponant gains one point of Willpower. Respire can be used against spirits that possess humans, without harming the hosts. It cannot harm humans, and affects only one target at a time.
Becalm, Level 4
A Redeemer radiates his inner calm and tolerance as if it were an energy form. The edge has two simultaneous effects. The first is physical: Becalm makes it difficult for those around your character to act in a sudden or deliberate way. Events occur slowly. Response times are delayed. Actions seem to be performed as if subjects are groggy.
The second effect is emotional: Becalm stifles anger, alleviates fear and tension, and generally makes subjects gain perspective and relax — at least somewhat. This effect doesn't make the becalmed lose their will to fight or survive. The power doesn't change motivation, it just makes events seem less urgent.
Becalm does not affect normal actions such as speaking or moving slowly, as long as those actions do not have explosive or violent results.
System: Spend one Conviction point and roll Manipulation + Mercy, diff 7. The effect lasts a number of minutes equal to the number of successes rolled. During that time, anyone who tries to perform any sort of violent attack or sudden movement has to make a Stamina, Strength or Dexterity roll (whichever is highest), difficulty 8, per person. Even pulling a trigger is affected for the outburst that results. The effect extends five yards in every direction for each point of Mercy your character has. In addition to interfering with or stopping fights, this edge can be used to halt physical seizures or hysterical fits of any type, and can bring supernatural creatures out of frenzies, whatever the cause. Creatures that hope to maintain a frenzied state, despite the challenge or acting in your character's presence, must make a Willpower roll, difficulty 8.
Becalm affects your character as well as any hunters or normal people in its area of deployment. Humans may not behave hysterically in the presence of monsters while becalmed, but they still typically forget or rationalize what they experience afterward. This edge's effect can be terminated permaturely if you choose, and it ceases altogether if your character is Incapacitated.
Attacks, particularly ranged ones, performed outside the area of effect against targets within it are not affected by Becalm.
Suspend, Level 5
Many hunters believe in other worlds, including Heaven, Hell or Purgatory — perhaps even other dimensions or alien planes. A hunter who proceeds this far along the path of Redemption begins to understand that other realms might exist — and suspects that supernatural creatures are tied to them and can travel to and from places. Certainly, creatures have been known to disappear without a trace, even to hunter sight. This edge denies a monster those escape routes and forces it to face the error of its ways in the here and now. It also protects the world from unspecified "prying eyes." Redeemers who attain this level of dedication rarely discuss what they believe is "watching."
Users and witnesses of the power report sensations like popping ears, nosebleeds and headaches, but also a sense of liberation. Some fear horrendous side effects, such as keeping the souls of the recently dead from traveling to their rightful places — trapping those souls on Earth!
System: Spend two Conviction points and roll Charisma + Mercy, difficulty 8. If any successes result, your character seals the material world he knows from all other possible realms for the remainder of the scene. The barrier arises whenever your character can physically see. No supernatural creatures may escape your character's presence without leaving conventionally. Any power sources that orginate from anotherplane or reality, and that feed the physical world in your character's proximity, are severed.
Likewise, any supernatural creatures that can enter the physical world are suddenly barred from it in your character's vicinity. They must enter in an area beyond his influence. Otherworldly powers on other planes cannot even perceive the physical realm where your character stands.
Your character may undo the effect early if he chooses, but it persists for the scene, even if he's rendered unconscious.
Hunters who act from Zeal believe that they know an obvious truth. Hunters who follow paths of Mercy believe in doing what feels right, over following some personal standard. And then there are a few who believe there is yet another course — it just hasn't been marked yet.
Like Zealots, these hunters set their sites to the distance and try to perceive a big picture. Like the Merciful, they are willing to consider new ideas and sensations with an open mind. Some are dreamers, some are outcasts. A radical few believe there is no truth, beauty or morality beyond what we make ourselves. Hunters on this primary path pursue freedom for all. Rather than fight to win battles against the unknown, they fight to end the war.
Visionaries don't pick one of the most obvious reactions to the Call. If your character doesn't attack, doesn't intervene and doesn't run way at her imbuing, but still does something — probably something clever and unpredictable — she could be a disciple of Vision. If her first response is curiosity, a need to know what the thing is and what it intends, rather than whether it should be destroyed or pitied, she probably sees the forest, not the trees.
She supports no accepted truth that she hasn't tested herself. "Yes, the punishment should fit the crime, but should be punished, the criminal or the society that creates him?" "Of course gravity works, but does my soul rise or fall when I die?" Life is about the search for answers, which lie everywhere. The proponant of Vision simply looks for the right questions. In the fight against the unknown, her foremost question is: "How can this conflict be settled, once and for all?"
There is currently only one creed and path for followers of this Virtue, as least as far as the hunters are able to tell.
Visionary
Visionaries perceive the intrusion of the paranormal into their everyday lives as a sign that the world is a larger and stranger place than they had ever dreamed. Once a firmly held belief — "There are no such things as monsters" — is yanked from its place beneath your worldview, it makes you wonder what order supports are worm-eaten. Visionaries are unwilling to jump to conclusions and dive into half-formed solutions. As a result, they keep their hunter allies on a higher road, thus avoiding pointless switchbacks and literal dead ends.
While Zealots ask, "What can destroy them?" and the Merciful wonder, "How can we help?" Visionaries take a step further back and simply ask, "What are they?" This introspection has earned these hunters several nicknames. Those who respect Visionaries call them "pathfinders" and "wayfarers." Those who have little use for them apply names like "navel-gazers" or simply "fools."
Foresee, Level 1
While most hunters would simply be glad to have this power, Visionaries are compelled to debate its nature. One group suspects that it's a form of telepathy — if such a thing exists — that allows them to anticipate probabilities and the actions of others. Some think Forsee allows hunters a brief glimpse into the future — a look that allows them to choose the best course of action. Either way, your character has a momentary flash of how his choices might affect a situation, and may choose the best option available to him.
System: Roll Intelligence + Vision, difficulty 7. For each success achieved, you may make one extra roll for a specified action and choose the best result. You must announce in advance that one of your extra rolls will be dedicated to a particular action; you can't wait until a roll has been made and then announce that an extra one will be taken. Only one extra roll is allowed per action. You might make two rolls to fire a gun, lift a rock or steer a car. (An attack is considered a single action; an extra roll is made for the attack itself. The better attack roll determines how many damage dice are rolled.)
The Storyteller literally narrates a vision had by your character based on each of the die rolls you make, then lets you choose which occurs. One roll might indicate a missed attack, whereas the other scores a hit. One roll might indicate a marginal success, whereas the other indicates a resounding one. Remember that visions are simply glimpses of short-term possibilities; the course you choose as a result may not have the more desirable results in the long term. Your character might envision that wire to cut to deactivate a bomb, but the building saved might still be possessed by a vicious poltergeist.
Foresee influences only an immediate action performed. A simple action that has direct results can convey clear images. An involved action, such as building a device through extended actions, does not reveal consequences of the final creation or its use. More likely, it indicates the possible results of the effort at your character's current stage in the process.
After you make the extra roll and your character sees a vision of both outcomes, one of the results must be chosen. Your character commits to the action — he simply averts events in time for optimal effect. If both rolls are poor, one of them still takes place. There's simply no good way out of the situation.
Foresee may be used to gain a number of of extra rolls only once per game session. Once those extra rolls are used up, this edge cannot be activated again that session. Re-rolls granted by the Destiny Background cannot usually be combined with Forsee in the same scene.
Activating Forsee is considered a reflexive action. It does not preclude taking actions in the same turn.
Extra rolls gained cannot be doled out to other players. Neither can your character forewarn other characters of impending events or the ramification of actions.
Conviction points invested into a Foresee roll simply increase the number of extra rolls you may gain for a session. Conviction does not affect the outcome of the individual actions to which extra rolls are dedicated.
Pinpoint, Level 2
This edge gives your character insight into the weaknesses of a supernatural creature. Sometimes, the information comes in the form of a vision (usually of a place or object of importance). Other times it is a simple intuition — your character "just knows" that the creature can't use its powers freely under certain circumstances, for example.
Pinpoint is often used after a creature has been detected (through second sight) and recognized (through edges such as Discern, Illuminate or Witness), as part if a plan of attack. The truly informed hunter is the most likely to survive. Thoroughly experienced hunters can also use this edge to identify some monsters through their weaknesses - "It feeds on pain to survive. Mostly zombies do that — mostly."
System: Roll Perception + Vision, difficulty 6. If you get a success, your character learns a weakness about the creature she observes: impalement, sunlight, garlic, cold iron, running water, silver, fire or anything else the Storyteller deems appropriate. The storyteller can also be elusive or vague about the nature of a weakness — "life," "time," or "control." Just because your character asks a question doesn't mean she understands the answer.
Some creatures are tied to particular locations or objects. If you get three or more successes on the roll, your character not only knows that a creature has a lair (or is attached to a specific item), she gets a vague sense of where that object/place is.
Knowing a weakness and capitalizing on it are two different things. Turning fire on an opponent in an oil refinery isn't safe for anyone. A specific variety of ferrous metal to be used as a weapon probably isn't conveniently at hand.
Once your character has determined a specific weakness of a being, Pinpoint does not repeat that failing. It's up to you to remember the flaw. Subsequent use of Pinpoint against the same kind of creature turns up a new weakness, whether concrete or obscure. Of course, there's no telling if a new failing classifies an unidentified creature as anything your character has faced before.
Pinpoint has no effect on mortals. It can be used only once per scene. Whatever force — presumably the Messengers — that provides the information requested doesn't seem to tolerate holding hands. Subsequent uses in the same scene simply draw blanks.
Ultimately, the Storyteller decides how effect this edge is under any given circumstances. The answers is provides may not be any help in the here and now, but may be in the next chapter.
Delve, Level 3
Also known as "Past Viewing," this power lets the user see into the past of a specific area. Whereas other edges (particularly Pierce) allows visions of the past, Delve is more specific and more versatile.
Delve is keyed to place: Your character can see the past of her current location only. However, there is no known limit to how far back she can see. Visions can be commanded according to time (What happened here 24 hours ago?), by connection to a person or object ("Show me what happened when the jewels were taken.") or in connection to an event ("I want to see the murder as it occured.") .
With a supreme effort, your character can even hear what transpired.
System: Roll Perception + Vision, difficulty 6. For each success, your character gets five minutes of "viewing" at the location.
If the event took place more than a year ago, the difficulty increases by two. It increases to 10 for any event that occurred more than five years ago. (Yet one of the truly potent disciples of Vision claims to have witnessed a millennia-old civilization to which he felt a bond. At least, he claimed such a revelation before his disappearance.)
To hear as well as see, you must either spend two Conviction or raise the difficulty by two. Only people with Visionary as their primary path can use Delve to "hear" the past.
The Storyteller ultimately decides how clear an image is. Traumatic events, chaos or intense anger experienced at the time and place witnessed may distort events. The Storyteller may even want to make Delve rolls secretly for players to keep them guessing about the veracity of their insights.
Delve can only be used once per scene.
Restore, Level 4
This is the power to regrow lost or mangled limbs and organs. It's not just accelerated healing. Restore can bring back body parts that were lost completely. It can be applied to your character himself or used on other people. These regenerated limbs are often eerily "perfect" — lacking scars, suntans, wrinkles or, indeed, any signs of aging — as if they're idealized, Platonic manifestations of such body parts. Although Restore is powerful, it cannot bring the dead back to life.
Your character imagines mending sin and knitting bones, or a perfect limb or body part to replace that lost, and it manifests. The few hunters who can use this edge hold it up as proof of an idealized state out there somewhere — a place Visionaries are meant to discover. Perhaps this place or condition is the ultimate object or goal in the war against the unknown. Meanwhile, hunters capable of this power keep it secret for fear of drawing unwanted attention — or persecution.
System: This edge effectively turns lethal damage into bashing damage. It doesn't actually restore any lost health levels, but it does make injuries a lot more bearable.
Roll Stamina + Vision and spend three Conviction points. The difficulty is 6, plus one for each lethal health level te subject has lost (maximum difficulty of 10). If the roll gets even one success, all those levels become bashing immediately. If lost health levels represented massive injuries (mangled eyeballs, lost limbs), they grow back in seconds. The new limbs are sore, weak and bruised until the subject has a chance to break them in.
Restore can be used only once per scene.
Augur, Level 5
Your character can anticipate likely futures at her specific location. All she has to do is concentrate. As with Delve, this power can be based on time frame, person, object or specific event.
System: Spend three Conviction points. The Storyteller secretly rolls your character's Intelligence + Vision score, difficulty 8. For each success achieved, a vision of the future lasts for one minute. Visions of a year or two in advance can come through relatively clearly, but glimpses of the distant future are notoriously vague and disorienting. Unlike Delve, this edge cannot generate sound.
The Storyteller makes the roll in case it fails or botches. On a fail, no vision appears and your Conviction is wasted. On a botch, a wildly inaccurate, deceptively false or devastatingly harrowing vision of the future appears (and Conviction is simply gone when the character attempts to draw upon it next). Even on a successful roll, images could be based on a possible future, as determined by the millions of decisions and coincidental events that transpire to create reality. (Any Conviction points won through a successful roll can be awarded quietly later, so the player doesn't immediately know a vision is legitimate.) The Storyteller should nase images on events as she knows them in the coming chronicle. However, some events may specifically not occur, so no visions can be hard of them, despite successes rolled. If a character's ally has died and he doesn't know it, searching for a vision of when she will next come through his door is futile (at least, that's true for her next living appearance).
Augur can be used only once per scene. Repeated efforts inflict punishing headaches and blurry images at best. Rumor holds that the few hunters supposedly capable of this power are preoccupied with the future and barely manage to exist in the present.
This is the Virtue of hunters who typically have one clear, all-encompassing perspective on and answer to the supernatural. For the most part that response is to "destroy it." If your character's first instinctive reaction to seeing a horror is to take direct action against it, she is probably an adherent of Zeal. She tends to act from notions of capital-letter Right and Wrong. Her principles and maxims may not be usual or even particularly agreeable, but they are hers and she upholds them tenaciously.
Defense
Zeal demands dedication, unswerving loyalty and purpose. Defenders aspire to these qualities and seek to see horrors destroyed. Yet, followers of this primary path recognize the need to protect the people, places and things that must survive the war. If nothing remains when the battle is done, what was it fought for?
Defenders protect the normal people, but not with the heedless abandon of smoe Martyrs. Defenders tend to be the thinkers and strategists who know they can't take the fight to the enemy of their flank is exposed. Destroying the enemy is pointless if they die in the process, or if they can achieve a "victory" only by ruining what they hope to save.
Defenders tend to be optimistic. If a situation looks bad, they make an orderly retreat and live to fight another night. If the enemy brings the fight to their doorstep, Defenders struggle to the last drop of blood.
Ward, Level 1
Whether through sheer determination, monsters' fear, or some invisible barrier, a Defender can keep supernatural creatures at bay. They cannot approach her unless she allows it or their will is stronger than hers. A character using Ward sees and feels a crackling energy radiate from her body. Creatures making contact with her aura spark a static charge; no damage is done, but monsters' limits of approach are demarcated.
System: Roll Stamina + Zeal, difficulty 6, when this power is activated. The number of successes achieved must be exceeded in a Stamina roll for each monsters to approach your character. The distance that creatures are held at bay is one yard in radius for each point of Zeal your character possesses. A monster already within that area when this power is activated receives a Stamina roll immediately. If it succeeds, the creature is unaffected. If the roll fails, the monster staggers back to the power's perimeter.
Ward persists for the remainder of the scene. Each creature is allowed one roll to penetrate it. A Willpower point must be spent for a creature to allow it another attempt. The edge does not affect other hunters or normal humans, and those people may take shelter in yoru character's proximity.
A Defender doesn't have to concentrate on this power for it to persist; she can fight and perform other actions while warding. However, she can fight and perform other actions while warding. However, the power fails if your character is Incapacitated, and it does not interfere with incoming ranged attacks. If a creature is ever forced back and cornered by a character using this edge, the monster may end up inside the Defender's perimeter if the character approaches too close. The monster "breaches" Ward automatically as a result of the Defender's exuberance.
Rejuvenate, Level 2
Defenders are remarkably hard to put down for good. Minor injuries (slight abrasions, bruises) close up and heal visibly. Strained joints stop swelling on their own and pop back into place spontaneously. Even broken limbs straight out, lock into place and heal within days or sometimes hours. Perhaps even more miraculous, Defenders can impart some of their healing upon others.
System: Your character's health levels lost through bashing damage heal at a rage of every 10 minutes.
Lethal damage heals according to the following chart. These rates supercede normal recovery times, but are still cumulative. (It takes 21 hours to fully recover from Injured, for example.)
| Health Level |
Recovery Time |
| Bruised |
Three hours |
| Hurt |
Six hours |
| Injured |
12 hours |
| Wounded |
One day |
| Mauled |
Three days |
| Crippled |
One week |
| Incapacitated |
Three weeks |
The Defender lays his hands upon a subject to heal the injuries of another. Spend Conviction to restore a subject's most severe wound (her "lowest" lost level). One Conviction must be spent to restore a level lost to lethal damage. That health level is restored in the same time it takes a Defender with this edge to recuperate, as indicated above — 10 minutes for a level lost to bashing damage, one day for a Wounded level lost to lethal damage, for example. Healing can be applied to other imbued, humans and even willing supernatural creatures that possess bodies.
Destroyed is destroyed, of course, no matter who the recipient of this power is.
Conviction cannot be used to enhance this edge; its effects occur automatically.
Rejuvenate applies to healing levels only; the edge does not increase recovery time from drug or alcohol abuse, or counteract poisons that do not reduce health levels, for example. Likewise, the edge does not cure any long-term illnesses such as cancer or re-grow lost appendages.
Brand, Level 3
Your character's hand crackles with energy and, when laid upon a supernatural creature, can burn a mark on it. This sign isn't just skin deep; the brand smolders through any clothing that covers it. Sturdy coverings like armor aren't burned through, but do become tremendously hot, possibly enough to damage the wearer.
The brand is about the size of a palm and can be in the shape of any symbol in the hunter image language. "Monster" or "Corruption" are commonly used. The sign is visible to everyone — even mortals who aren't hunters. Furthermore, the brand can be seen even if the target becomes invisible to normal sight or changes appearance (the brand can still be seen by hunters for whom second sight is not currently active).
Defenders use this power to mark the enemy for their fellows to see, and to alienate victims from their own kind (Brand does not affect objects, normal people or other hunters). Although a visible brand doesn't expose a shapechanger or bloodsucker as such, it certainly sets him apart as the one-time opponent of another hunter, and therefore as a possible threat to protect against. To the uninitiated, such as normal people, a brand seems like a disturbing — even ominous — tattoo.
System: To use this edge, your character must touch the target, which may require a Dexterity + Brawl roll if the target resists (no brawling damage can be done; punches are insufficient to place a brand). Then roll Zeal, difficulty 6. The number of successes achieved determines how long the brand remains.
| Successes |
Duration |
| 1-2 |
One day |
| 3-4 |
One week |
| 5-6 |
One month |
| 7-8 |
One year |
| 9-10 |
Forever |
| If no successes are rolled, the sign doesn't take. |
A brand is a constant source of irritation for a creature. A target suffers one lethal health level for each success achieved in your Zeal roll. That damage can be soaked if possible for the creature in question (but at least one lethal health level is always inflicted). All but one level of any damage can be healed, and that last level passes only when the brand fades. The sign persists no matter what form a creature takes. It even marks disembodied spirits that your character passes through. A brand can be removed prematurely, but only by the hunter who placed it.
Investing Conviction into a Brand roll increases your Zeal dice pool.
Champion, Level 4
Sometimes, the best way to protect someone or something is to make the monster come to you. A Defender uses this edge to force his foes to confront him instead of others. Calling the enemy out is always a calculated risk. The Defender doesn't want to sacrifice himself — he's not a Martyr, after all — he simply draws attention to himself in hopes of preserving another person or thing, and with the intent of winning the battle. Indeed, Defenders this far advanced along their path may acquire this edge because they finally have the power to confront the enemy one-on-one, as opposed to when they were newly imbued and kept creatures at bay with Ward.
When this edge is activated, a monster has difficulty focusing his attention on anything but your character, because the Defender appears to be the weakest "prey" among the flock, the most compelling challenge, the most fun to toy with or the most imposing danger. Your hunter's "appeal" is determined by the motives or intentions of the offending creature. This edge is often triggered by feigning weakness or stupidity, or by a simple tanut: "You don't look so tough!" or "Pick on someone your own size!"
By diverting creatures, this edge presents tactical possibilities that Defenders are quick to exploit. It can allow others to slip past monsters unnoticed or lure monsters into well-prepared ambushes.
System: A monster must have continuous and direct line of sight to the Defender for this power to work. Spend one Conviction point and roll Appearance + Zeal, difficulty 6. The Storyteller rolls the monster's Wits, difficulty 6, in a resisted action (if a night-creature is truly ancient or powerful, Willpower may be rolled instead). If your roll wins, the monster focuses his attention on your character alone and disregards others in the area, desipte even its better judgement. If the monster receives more successes, it may behave nromally and address whomever it wishes.
Each point of Conviction spent after the first in a single use of this power causes Champion to affect two additional monsters (one point affects one creature, two can affect up to three creatures, three points can effect up to five monsters). A resisted Wits roll is made for each creature, in turn, against your single Appearance roll. An individual monster may overcome Champion (i.e. win the resisted roll) without disrupting the effect upon its fellows.
Champion can be used against each creature only once per scene. If an effort fails, another attempt cannot be made against the same target that scene.
If a monster has no intention of attacking anyone in a situation, activation of Champion doesn't force the creature to attack the user. The creature might simply focus it's dialogue onto your character alone, ignoring the others in the area. If the creature does intend harm but finds it impossible to attack the Defender — say, the hunter is out of reach — then the effect ends immediately. Thus, you cannot combine this edge with Ward or Burden (the level-two Judgement edge). Neither could your character invoke Champion and then race for concealment. The Defender must stand his ground and be prepared to receive attention or an attack, or remain visible and be accessible to the monster.
The effects of Champion persist until the Defender deactivates this edge (and he may choose to do so at any time), until the hunter is rendered Incapacitated, or until someone else attacks the supernatural. A monster regains control when any of these situations occur. However, a creature can also make a conscious effort to break away while Champion still applies. Make another resisted Wits roll against te hunter's initial Appearance + Zeal successes. Each such attempt costs the creature a Willpower point. One attempt is allowed per turn and costs an action.
Burn, Level 5
When this edge is activated, your character is infused with a searing energy. Visible to all hunters and supernatural creatures alike, this energy looks like a seething, red-yellow glow, almost as if your character has lava running through his veins. Touching (or being touched by) a hunter in this state is painful and damaging.
System: Roll Stamina + Zeal, difficulty 6, and spend two Conviction points to activate this edge. Burn lasts one turn for each success rolled. During that time , when anyone touches or is touched by your character, roll aggravated damage dice equal to the number of successes you achieved. If your character strikes someone bare-handed, burn damage is added to your brawling damage pool (and the whole attack is considered aggravated).
Burn does not damage inanimate objects (such as clothes or tools) but can hurt any animate creature, including normal people and disembodied spirits through which your character passes. Burn can be deactivated at will, or ceases after your successes run out or your character is Incapacitated.
Judgement
Zeal makes demands upon all of its followers: to see the supernatural destroyed. Avengers respond with punishment for the guilty. Defenders answer by singling out that which must be protected or remembered, and damning the rest. Followers of this primary path of Judgement walk the line between. Judges prevail when it's clear that the unknown cannot be tolerated, but when the greatest good is not certain.
A Judge places all his faith in higher values and ideals. However, unlike other adherents of Zeal, the Judge knows that answers aren't necessarily obvious. You can't always cut to the heart of the problem with a single blow. And sometimes protecting something in battle only makes you responsible for it throughout the war. Many Judges, in fact, question the instinctive reactions of their more direct or determined colleagues. Judges don't do what they want, they do what they have to, and they do what's right. If that means sparing even monsters, despite innocent lives lost — perhaps to discover the creatures' master — then that's the price of the greater good.
Discern, Level 1
Your character exhibits a hyper-alertness to supernatural creatures, a surreal perspective that allows her to perceive things about the unknown that most could not. She might notice that a hand laid on a desk leaves no heat impression, that a person's eyes don't dilate with changing light, or that a being simply doesn't breathe. Such information is usually enough to determine the approximate kind of creature a Judge faces.
Also, your character canot be blinded, even if her eyes are closed or she's in utter darkness. This power also permits vision when your character's eyes have been dazzled (or torn out, for that matter). The hunter can see what's in front of her face as if she were in a clear, well-lit room, regardless of the real conditions. Even formerly bad eye-sight is corrected miraculously.
System: This power is typically used under one of two circumstances: When your character tries to identify a supernatural creature, or when she tries to see in the dark or when otherwise blind. In either case, roll Perception + Zeal, usually against a difficulty of 6. The effects of Discern last for 10 minutes for each success rolled. Duration can be extended for another 10 minutes for each Conviction point spent. The power can be deactivated as well.
Second sight reveals creatures that use magic to hide, that disguise themselves in unassuming forms or that are simply not human or alive, but it does not reveal the true natures of those beings. That which does not breathe might be the walking dead. A brutish person with rapid breathing might be a shapechanger. A newly dead spirit has now-obvious deathmarks. A bloodsucker's pawn could have abnormally bulging veins and pallid skin. Assuming a Judge knows what kind of creature such details apply to, she can coordinate an appropriate attack or defense. Discern can therefore be used in conjunction with or can replace need for second sight while the edge is in effect. Discern provides no mind or body-control protection, though.
Furthermore, if abomination activity has occured recently in an area or to a person, your character may sense what kind of creature — restless spirit, walking dead, skinchanger — was responsible with sufficient Discern successes (two or more). This assumes she properly interprets any evidence left behind — hair, blood, a corpse.
When involving blindness, ignore the Blind Fighting rules and fight normally.
This Edge operates only when invoked. It's not "always on."
Burden, Level 2
Your character can imprison a supernatural creature briefly, fixing it to the ground where it stands (in some cases, "freezing it in the space it occupies" might be more accurate). Some Judges theorize that the overpowering scrutiny that occurs with the edge is more than the guilty consciences of monsters can bear, and they're immobilized.
Your character must look at the thing and hold it in her gaze. (Eye to eye contact is not required. Blinking is allowed, but looking away from the monster long enough to attack anything else or pay attention to anything else sets the creature free.) The entity can still act — speak, fight, use any powers it possesses — but it cannot move more than a foot from where it is. More than one creature can be burdened at one time, as long as they can all be seen simultaneously. Some creatures have capabilities that allow them to move into other realms or at supernatural speeds. These powers can sometimes he used to break free of Burden.
System: Your character glares at the creature (The Staff can decide whether multiple targets stand close enough together to all be captured in one look). Roll Stamina + Zeal. The difficulty for an individual creature is Stamina + 3. one roll is also made to immobilize a group. Use the highest Stamina from the group; if the roll fails, none of the creatures is affected. For each success you get, the enemy is stuck for one turn. If your character takes her eyes off the target(s) during that time (or if her gaze is interrupted by some outside influence), the "spell" is broken.
This edge does work on human beings, not even victims of paranormal creatures. However, people who have been changed in smoe way by supernatural entities — given powers or unnatural gifts — can be targetted normally. Thus, a person possessed by a spirit can be liberated with this power if the spirit can be perceived and rooted to the spot. The host may simply be pulled away; the spirit passes through and the victim regains control of her body.
While burdening a creature, your character has to keep his eyes on that being. He can attack it or otherwise interact with it, but attacking anything else frees the being. (And some ferocious attacks staged against the target itself may even break your characters hold if he's forced to look away at any point. The recoil from a shotgun, for example, may cause your Judge to avert his eyes for a moment. The Staff may decide when such an overwhelming attack occurs).
Beasts with powers of unnatural movement — amazing speed, teleportation — can roll Stamina + the relevant Trait to attempt to escape Burden. The difficulty is either 7 or your character's Zeal rating, whichever is higher.
Balance, Level 3
With this power, your character can deny an entity access to its source of strength (usually an energy stolen from humankind). The use this edge, your character must look at the creature and verbally curse it in some fashion. This can be anything from "By my oath, no blood shall nourish you today!" to "Starve, bastard!"
System: Roll Wits + Zeal. Your difficulty is the opponent's Stamina +2. The opponant cannot use any power or perform any function that requires supernatural energy. In the case of the creatures who use Willpower, Willpower cannot be spent to utilize supernatural powers, although it can still be used to perform "mundane" feats such as get an automatic success while performing an action. The effect lasts for one hour per success rolled, even if the creature leaves your character's vicinity.
Pierce, Level 4
A character with this edge is a human lie detector. When she hears a falsehood, she typically experiences a distinct (and very unpleasant) sensation. The feeling is different for each hunter. Some perceive it as a foul smell, others as a queasy feeling, still others as a brief flash of light. Whatever form the warning takes, it is unique cannot be mistaken for anything else.
Furthemore, your character develops a specialized form of postcognition — the ability to share a subject's memories of the past. Specifically, if your character touches a person who has had an encounter with a supernatural being, She has a vision of the person's most recent encounter. if your character touches a supernatural creature, she receives a vision of the creature's past — either looking back on its encounters with a certain object, person or place, or casting back to a specific, short period of time ("What were you doing on the night of July 9, 1994?"). These visions are all silent.
System: Pierce operates for a full scene at the cost of one Conviction. When a lie is told in your character's presence, roll dice equal to your character's Perception + Zeal, difficulty 6. If the power is successful and the statement is a lie, the falsehood is detected, no matter how skilled the liar. If the power fails, your character doesn't know one way or the other. Furthermore, if the roll is successful but no lie is told, the hunter doesn't know that anything is out of sorts (clever Storytellers sometimes make rolls when a character with Pierce hears the truth, just to keep the player honest). If you want to risk Conviction points on a lie-detection Pierce roll, decide how many and incorporate the results into the roll.
To gain visions of the past, the Judge must touch the being concerned. No Conviction points need be spent for this version of the edge. Make a Perception + Zeal roll, difficulty 7 (this difficulty may be increased if the target resists physically or if special measures have been taken to obscure the subject's memories). If the roll is successful, a vision is seen. In the case of a human subject, the vision is his last contact with a supernatural being. Remember, these images are from the subject's memory. He might not have witnessed events that occured around him in his past. Conversely, he might suppress memories that your character can draw to the fore.
In the case of a supernatural subject, you must stipulate a memory associated with a specific person, place or object. Alternatively, your character may witness a creature's memory of a specific time — a day, evening, hour or even moment.
The number of successes achieved in a Perception + Zeal roll to witness memories determines how far back your character can look. A perceived event can have occured as far back as one week for each success rolled.
One roll cannot be made to activate lie detection and to look into a subject's memories; the two effects must be rolled seperately.
Expose, Level 5
When your character uses this edge, the normal people around him become aware of supernatural beings in their presence. The creatures are immediately perceptible for what they truly are, despite how they seek to hide themselves with unnatural powers. This effect does not apply to revealing hunters as anything unusual; most look perfectly normal.
System: Roll Zeal, difficulty 8, and spend two Conviction points. The number of successes achieved indicates how far from your character the effect extends.
| 1 success |
A 15-foot radius |
| 2-3 successes |
A 50-foot radius |
| 4-5 successes |
A city-block |
| 6-7 successes |
An acre |
| 8+ successes |
A one-mile radius |
This edge reveals all monsters in the area with the most horrific aspect of their appearance. This visage is momentary, but enoughto expose a creature as an abomination. A vampire looks like a blood-lusting horror, a shapechanger appears as a man-beast, and a ghost is a looking spectral figure. A creature doesn't actually change in any way; i t's appearance simply alters to human onlookers.
How common people respond to the horrors that they're exposed to depends on the circumstances. Essentially, they see creatures just as your character first saw them upon being imbued. However, normal people still have a sanity mechanism that tells them to run and hide from many monsters, or that rationalizes what they witness to interpret it as harmless. So Exposed doesn't necessarily bring torch-bearing hordes to your character's side. But, then again, the same sturdy people who could contront a cocky or careless hunter who presents himself publicly might just as easily act against a monsterous entity.
Certainly, exposing a creature to human sight undoes all the stealth and secrets behind which the monster hides, so this edge can save a hunter's very life — the creature unveiled may flee rather than remain exposed. And revealing a mayoral candidate as a night-creature can't do his campaign any good, even if people don't quite recall what was wrong with him.
Expose does not create the circumstances required to imbue anyone. Human witnesses do not suddenly become hunters or bystanders. The edge can be used only once per scene; its sweeping effect is taxing.
Vengeance
This primary path takes Zeal and runs with it. Those who follow this path are widely called Avengers, but are also known as punishers, executioners and slayers. In the United States' bible belt, they're sometimes called "Soldiers of God."
Avengers are obsessed with settling the score. Evil must be punished. Compromise is not an option. Without swift, terrible retribution for the guilty, life consists of little more than fear of evil and an unfounded hope for safety. It doesn't matter if revenge isn't pleasant or convenient or safe: It is essential.
Avengers' primary goals are to attack and destroy. The best defense is a strong offense. Sometimes mishaps occur or the wrog people get hurt in the process, but that's the price paid for cleansing the Earth.
Cleave, Level 1
Any melee weapon your character wields suddenly becomes much more potent. The weapon can already be dangerous — a knife, a baseball bat — or be fairly harmless — a stick, a broken bottle. Even your character's own fist or body becomes deadly. There are also stories of hunters brandishing red hot, glowing blades, and a rumor of a one armed hunter growing a phantom limb with which to strike at the enemy. Regardless of the form a weapon takes, it can damage just about anything it touches — werewolves, ghosts, stout doors, intrusive people.
A weapon created spontaneously with this power persists as long as your character wills it to or while she remains conscious. Existing weapons that are empowered can endure only so much punishment before being ruined. An empowered object doesn't necessarily look any different, but it feels warm to the touch to the wielding hunter, and seems to vibrate with energy of it's own. In cases of manifested blades and limbs, only hunters and supernatural beings can see the weapons.
System: Your character empowers a single held weapon or manifests a weapon where none was before. Roll Dexterity + Brawl or Melee to attack, as normal. An existing weapon that's empowered inflicts an additional +2 damage. All damage is also lethal, no matter what is normally appropriate to the item used. A spotaneously manifested weapon does Strength +2 lethal damage. Cleave attacks can harm immaterial beings and normal people. When Conviction is invested in Cleave, the extra dice are added to a single attack dice pool; any subsequent successes are added to the damage pool.
The downside to this power is that hand-held weapons can't endure the energy that courses through them. A crowbar eventually snaps. A baseball bat shatters. A fire ax splits. Once this power is activated, a melee weapon is useable in combat for one turn for each point that it adds to Strength for determining damage. Thus, a knife (Str + 1 damage) lasts for one turn of use with Cleave before breaking. A club (Str + 2 damage) lasts for two turns. An ax (Str + 3 damage) lasts for three turns.
The only way to keep a melee weapon from being destroyed and remaining useable beyond its time limit is to make a Zeal roll, difficulty 6, in every subsequent turn (this roll is a reflexive action). If the roll succeeds, the weapon can be used to attack with Cleave again that turn. If the roll fails, the weapon is ruined. This Zeal roll represents your character's effort to harness and control his passion for the cause.
Cleave applies to melee weapons only, not ranged ones. Spotaneously fabricated weapons are relativelyr are among hunters. Individuals who can create red-hot swords out of thin air somehow believe themselves to be able to twist reality to begin with, whether due to derangements, amazing will or staunch belief in religion or fate. If your character's worldview can't rationalize his defiance of physics — even with the knowledge that monsters are real — then he probably improves upon weapons already held.
Trail, Level 2
Your character touches a supernatural target and causes that person or thing to leave a smokey streamer behind it. This trail is usually visible only to the hunter who places it, although characters using Discern, Witness or Illuminate may perceive others' trails. The streamer roils in the direction in which the subject traveled. A trail can neither be touched or felt. Likewise, it cannot be dissipated by wind, by being walked through or by anything else that would scatter a physical fog.
A creature or person being followed cannot see the trail unless it specifically possesses preternatural perceptions (Storyteller's discretion).
System: All your character has to do is touch (or in some cases pass through) a supernatural target to activate this power. Roll Perception + Zeal difficulty 6. The trail lasts six hours for each success achieved. Duration can be measured in days, instead, if a point of Conviction is spent. All your character's trails are identical.
Some supernatural creatures can pass into spaces different from humanity's physical world. If a creature does so, the trail ends abruptly where the creature phased out or disappeared. The trail resumes when the beast returns to the physical world.
Spotting a trail is difficulty 7 for the Discern, Illuminate and Witness edges. This is also the difficulty for creatures with supernatural perceptions.
This power does not affect mundane people or objects.
Smolder, Level 3
This edge produces a cloud of thick black smoke. Some smolder clouds appear sourceless. Others must be exhaled by the creator. A cloud shields the hunter from all mortal perception and most hearing is baffled. If your character fires a shotgun from concelament within a smolder cloud, the sound of the shot is about as loud as a finger snap.
System: It takes one action to use this edge. Roll Manipulation + Zeal, difficulty 7. The cloud fills a roughly 10-cubic-foot area. For each Conviction point spent, this area increases by another 10 cubic feet (multiple uses of Smolder achieve the same effect, if time permits). Your character can also choose to create a smaller cloud, if she desires, at no Conviction expense. The cloud lasts for one turn for each success achieved in the creation roll, but can be dissipated prematurely if your character desires.
The difficulties of all attack rolls within and into the cloud increase by three. The creator and any other hunters can see through the cloud normally if second sight is active. The Storyteller decides if any supernaturals' particularly applicable senses can pierce the cloud (difficulty 7 if any roll is allowed); most cannot, not even those of many spirits.
Surge, Level 4
A character who uses Surge feels a tingling sensation course through his limbs. With but a thought, this sensation can be directed to different body parts. It can be poured into muscles and used for extraordinary bursts of strength, channeled through the nerves for remarkable speed, or shunted into the bones and skin to absorb damage.
System: Spend a point of Conviction. You now have a pool of points equal to your character's Zeal to allocate on a one-for-one basis to his Strength, Dexterity and/or Stamina. No Attribute may be raised higher than 6, and any excess points are wasted. Attributes remain inflated for the remainder of the scene. Because there are no rolls involved directly with this edge, Conviction points cannot be risked on its use.
Smite, Level 5
The faithful like to call this effect "the Wrath of God." Your character gestures, and something that's not quite lightning an not quite fire erupts from her body and (usually) incinerates whatever she's pissed at. Smite is not subtle: it produces a blazing light, a defeaning crash and an acrid ammonia stench. Electronic equipment within 20 feet is usually scrambled, glass breaks, metal surfaces are discolored and people nearby often suffer nose bleeds.
System: Spend a point of Conviction. Roll Dexterity + Zeal, difficulty 6. Any successes achieved after the first are added to Strength and rolled in an aggravated damage pool. Maximum range equals your character's Zeal score in yards. Supernatural and human targets can be damaged.