Chapter 6: Laws Of The Hunt (Rules)

And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee
out of the hand of the terrible.
Jeremiah 15:21

All games have rules. In most games, rules delineate the boundaries of
fairness, define cheating and ensure that everyone starts on equal footing. In
a storytelling game such as this one, rules take a back seat to the story, but
they still have a very important role. Rules give structure to your game and
allow your storyteller an unbiased method of determining the outcome of
character actions in those situations where fairness is a factor. Your storyteller
can also fall back on the rules and have you and your fellow players roll dice
to add randomness to your story's events. The dice, in this case, represent
fate. Sometimes things just don't work out as planned. Fate's fickle finger
touches your story through rolls of the dice.

Hunter: the reckoning rules, presented in this chapter, help you coordinate
combat scenes as well as any number of other situations that might occur in
your game. Offered as a guideline only, they're as flexible as you want to
make them in the end, your storyteller has the final say in all things. He uses
the rules like a tool, to tweak here, to snip there, always with the progression
and benefit of the story in mind. Some storytellers use the rules to the letter,
with strict and regular application. Others forego the rules entirely and guide
the story interpretively. Both methods are valid; most storytelling approaches
fall somewhere between these two extremes. The game is yours to do with as
you please.

The Basics Time

Time flies when you're having fun, or so they say. In a storytelling game, time
not only flies, it slows, crawls and warps. During the course of your game,
you'll find that time does some strange things. How you control the passage
of time affects the smoothness of play. You and your players imagine events
as they transpire, talking them out and rolling results. Thus, real time and
your game's imaginary time differ. When your characters enter combat, it
may take real-time minutes to roleplay mere seconds of game time.
Alternately, you may wish to cover weeks of game time in just a few real-time
minutes, assuming nothing worthy of attention occurs in that period. As in a
novel, the authors of the story -you and your players- can gloss over intervals
between important events or slow the progression to a crawl when detailing
critical moments.

Six basic units describe the passage of time in Hunter. Like puzzle pieces,
these small units combine to form larger images until you can see the big
picture

-Turn-The smallest increment, and often the most important, a turn ranges
anywhere from three seconds to three minutes, depending on the pace of
events. It's the amount of time it takes a character to perform one action.
When your Storyteller announces that play is measured in turns, he
determines the length of time that passes during those turns, and it's crucial
that he hold everyone to the same standard. To have one character live
through three minutes in a turn while another lives through only three
seconds makes no sense. The length of a turn can vary between events;
however it must remain constant for all at any one particular moment.

-Scene-A scene in a roleplaying game resembles a scene in a theatrical play.

Your Storyteller sets the stage, and the players take their roles. The scene
evolves in one location and usually encompasses a single, specific event. The
flow of time within a scene may vary greatly. It may be played out in turns, it
may run parallel to real time, or your Story-teller and fellow players may
choose to fast-forward through parts of it, so long as the location and the
general events do not change.

For example, a scene may begin with combat, which is measured in turns. It
may then slip back into real time as your characters discuss what to do with
the bodies of the monstrosities they just killed. After a fast-forward through
loading the bodies onto a truck, the scene may return to real time as your
characters argue over who will drive. All events occur in the same scene, at
the same location, but time warps throughout to focus on the fun and
important parts. Your Storyteller determines when one scene ends and
another begins.

- Chapter- For the most part, a chapter represents one game session. From the
moment you sit down and assume your role to the moment you pack up your
dice, you play out a chapter in the story. Your Storyteller has specific
challenges planned for the night's episode. The end of each chapter should
leave you wanting more, asking questions, and with a sense of the session's
relative completion.

-Story- A story tells one entire tale, whether it comprises several chapters or is
completed in a single session. It has an introduction, a plot arc that involves
rising conflict, and a climax that brings events to a conclusion.

-Chronicle-In the big picture, the term “chronicle” refers to a collection of

stories, a saga. Your Storyteller has a goal in mind for the chronicle, a possible
destination for your characters, a theme or overarching plot line that connects
all chapters of the proverbial novel together. As your game progresses, you
and your fellow players write your chronicle, linking parts and pieces together
and developing a full-blown epic.

-Downtime- When your Storyteller decides to fast-forward and skim over a

period of time, he invokes “downtime.” You may summarize events that
transpire during downtime, but you do not actually play them out. Your
Storyteller may say something like, “Okay, you spend the night in the
warehouse. At dawn, voices in the alley outside awaken you. "Nothing
happened while your characters slept, so there's no reason to play it out. Your
Storyteller leaps ahead to the next interesting event.

Simple Actions

You play your character by describing the things he does, the “actions” he
performs. These activities may be as simple as looking at something or as
complex as flying a helicopter. Depending on the challenge of the action, your
Storyteller may request that you roll dice to determine whether your character
succeeds. In Hunter, a single action that occurs in one turn is called a simple
action. Other types of actions are described below. In most instances, your
character's actions succeed automatically by virtue of their ease. For
example, speaking is not normally challenging. However, if another character
intimidates yours into silence, a die roll may decide whether your character
perseveres to speak his mind.

Reflexives

Certain feats that your character attempts do not count as actions and thus
do not take up an entire turn. These “free actions,” called reflexives, occur
instantly and require no thought or direction from your character. Examples
may include using Conviction (hunters' vigor for their war) to perceive the
supernatural, risking Conviction in an edge roll, spending Will-power (to
ensure that an attempted action succeeds, no matter what) or soaking
damage (to ignore or avoid wounds). Reflexives do not interfere with your
character's regular action that turn. Their instantaneous, instinctual and
autonomous nature makes them occur even though other activities occupy
your character's attention.

Rolling Dice

Your Storyteller has two options when deciding the outcome of your
character's proposed action: (1) He can simply make the call himself,
announcing the outcome that he feels enriches the game, or (2) he can
request that you roll appropriate dice to determine the course of events
randomly.

Hunter uses 10-sided dice that you can purchase in any game store. Each
player needs about 10 of these dice, while your Storyteller needs more.

Ratings

As explained in Chapter 4, you begin to describe your character by

distributing points to his Traits. These point values represent your character's
innate abilities, learned aptitudes and life experience. Your character has
certain strengths and weaknesses, just like a real person. Your character may
be a crack shot with a rifle or he may not know one end of a gun from the
other. You assign a point value from zero to five to each of your character's
Traits, based on the following scale:

None
Abysmal
Poor
Average
Good
Exceptional
Superb

Using Abilities as an example, no points (dots) in a Trait means that your

character has never learned that particular Skill, Talent or Knowledge. One dot
represents a basic understanding of it. Two means your character falls into the
average human range in his grasp of the ability. With three to five dots, your
character surpasses the average human being and is said to have honed the
ability to good, exceptional or superb degrees.

Your character's Trait ratings determine how many dice you roll when your
character attempts actions related to those Traits. The Storyteller decides
which Traits apply to a proposed action. He announces these Traits and you
roll one 10-sided die for each dot you have assigned to those Traits. The
number of dice that you roll is called your dice pool. The number of dice in
your pool varies based on the nature of the action and the applicable Traits.

A dice pool typically consists of a number of dice equal to your character's

relevant Attribute rating (a measure of strength, intelligence or charm), plus
that of an appropriate Ability. That is, you use both your character's innate
Attributes and learned Abilities to determine how well she succeeds at the
attempted action. For simplicity and game balance, your Storyteller should
never allow you to combine more than one Attribute or Ability in a dice pool.
Example: Pauline states that her character, Kara, attempts to punch her
opponent. The Storyteller decides that Kara's Dexterity Attribute and Brawl
Ability apply to the situation. Pauline adds up the dots she has in Dexterity
and Brawl, picks up that number of dice and rolls versus a difficulty
determined by the Storyteller (see Difficulties, below).

If your character has no dots in an applicable Ability (Talents, Skills or

Knowledges), your Storyteller may allow you a dice pool equal to your score in
the Attribute relevant to the action attempted. Your character's innate
Attribute still offers you a chance to succeed, albeit a small one. The
Storyteller determines which Attribute Trait applies to a specific action, and he
may increase the difficulty number (see Difficulties, below) by one to
represent the increased challenge. However, your Storyteller is not obligated
to let you roll an Attribute score alone if it doesn't make sense in the situation.

Example: Pauline wants Kara to attempt to charm a police-man into not

issuing her a speeding ticket. Kara has no points in Subterfuge, but the
Storyteller may allow Pauline to roll a dice pool equal to Charisma only. In this
case, Kara's natural Charisma applies to the situation, even though she has no
special talent for talking her way out of trouble.

Now, if Kara wanted to perform surgery on someone but didn't have the
Medicine Ability, the action could not be at-tempted at all.

Some Traits, such as Willpower, have maximum ratings of 10, which is higher
than Ability or Attribute Traits can be. Your Storyteller should not usually
combine these special Traits with others to produce your dice pools. For the
most part, these high-rated Traits stand alone. The exception for a hunter is
your character's Virtue Traits-his Zeal, Mercy and Vision. Your character's
Virtue ratings are often combined with Attributes to form dice pools when
using hunter edges, the powers of the imbued.

Other Traits, such as certain Backgrounds (see Chapter 4) replace Abilities in a

dice pool to add variety to Trait use. Your Storyteller always decides when you
roll and which Traits form such a dice pool.

Difficulties

When you roll your dice pool, you need a target, a difficulty number that you
have to meet or beat. This number ranges from 2 to 10. Your Storyteller
determines this number for you. Once you know your difficulty number, you
roll your dice pool and each die that matches or exceeds the difficulty number
gives you one success. The number of successes you roll tells you how well
your character completes the attempted action. You need only one success to
pull off a task minimally. The more successes you roll, the more easily and
completely your character triumphs.

Example: Pauline states that she wants to have Kara attempt to pick the lock
to an apartment, the home of a suspected vampire pawn. Pauline's Storyteller
advises her to gather a dice pool representing the number of dots she has in
the Intelligence Attribute and the Security Ability, and to roll them versus a
difficulty of 6. Pauline adds her total dots and rolls her pool of six dice. She
gets 2, 4, 6, 7, 7 and 9. Pauline achieves four successes. Kara manages to
break into the apartment quite easily.

The default difficulty of any task is 6. Obviously, lesser difficulties make a task
easier; higher ones make a task harder. Any time this rulebook or your
Storyteller fails to give you a difficulty number, assume it to be the average,
6.

Your Storyteller has the final say on difficulty numbers. He determines

whether the attempted action is nearly impossible or impossibly easy, based
on the situation. A difficulty number of 10 represents an almost
insurmountable challenge- you have an equal chance of botching (see below)
as you do of succeeding. On the other hand, a difficulty of 2 represents a task
so easy that your character barely has to think about it to accomplish it, and it
isn't even worth rolling. These extremes should be rare. Difficulty numbers fall
in the 3 to 9 range most of the time. Many modifiers and situational factors
may play into this decision.

Ultimately, a result of 10 is always a success, no matter the difficulty number.

Successes, Failures And Botches

There's a catch to counting your successes in Hunter. Isn't there always a

catch? You don't get to keep them all. Any"1s" that you roll must be
subtracted from your total number of successes. It doesn't matter how many
successes you roll, if you roll enough"1s" to cancel them out, your character
fails the attempted action. If you roll no successes at all, but roll at least
one"1, " the result is a botch (see below), and that's a very bad thing.
Storytellers love botches; players hate them.

Example: Kara has just learned the hard way that the world is home to horrific
affronts to nature and sanity. Now, she desperately waves a hastily grabbed
board in the face of a monstrosity that, by all rights, should be dead. Pauline
announces that Kara attempts to hide her terror and, with luck, drive the thing
away.
The Storyteller asks for a Manipulation+ Intimidation roll with a difficulty
number of 6. Kara has two dots in Manipulation and two more in Intimidation.
Pauline rolls her four-die pool and gets 1, 4, 6 and 8: two successes. However,
she also rolls a"1. "It cancels out one of her successes, leaving her with a total
of one success. Kara marginally succeeds at her attempted action. The
Storyteller describes how the zombie narrows its eyes at Kara, appears
frustrated at choosing a difficult mark and shambles away. Pursuit does not
even occur to Kara, who nearly collapses with fear.

Failures

It's a shame when it happens, but it does happen. You either roll no successes
or roll more"1s" than successes. If either occurs, your character fails his
attempted action. Quite simply, he blows it. His shot misses, he can't figure
out what is wrong with the car engine, or he turns onto a dead-end street and
screws up his attempt to outrun the cops. Whatever the case, a failure may
disappoint, but it doesn't hold the same catastrophic potential as a botch (see
below).

Example: Kara overhears a conversation among what seem to be street

people. Normally, the odd word about eating would be understandable, but
"feeding on blood?" She wants to sneak closer to hear better.

The Storyteller asks Pauline to roll Dexterity+ Stealth, difficulty 6. Pauline rolls
her dice pool: 2, 2, 4, 4 and 5. No successes. The Storyteller describes how, as
Kara approaches the window, old boards at her feet groan slightly. The sound
doesn't seem audible enough to alert the strangers, but Kara doesn't want to
take another step for fear of making more noise. She halts her attempt at
silent approach.

Botches

If a failure hurts, then a botch tortures. If you roll even a single"1" but no
successes, you botch and bad things happen to your character. A failure
simply means that your character does not accomplish his attempted action,
but nothing truly horrid occurs. A botch takes that one step further. Not only
does your character fail his attempted action, his life gets a lot more
complicated.

Your Storyteller decides what results from a botch. The possibilities are
endless. In most situations, a catastrophe occurs. If you botch while your
character attempts to shoot a gun, the weapon may jam. If you botch while
your character jumps from one roof to another, he may fall. Simply failing
these rolls might mean that your character misses the shot or barely latches
onto the far roof by his fingertips. Degree of danger differentiates between a
failure and a botch. A failure usually results in a mild threat, whereas a botch
lands your character in deep trouble.

Difficulties
3 Easy-running on flat pavement
4 Routine-finding a number in the phone book
5 Straightforward-telling a little white lie to a stranger
6 Standard-firing a gun, highway driving, tracking
7 Challenging-driving in city traffic
8 Difficult-driving in a car chase
9 Extremely difficult-maneuvering a U-turn at $60 mph
Degrees Of Success
One Success
Two Successes
Four Successes
Five+ Successes
Marginal-good enough for now
Moderate-you did okay
Complete-task accomplished perfectly
Exceptional-you get a bonus
Phenomenal-nobody does it better

Botches allow the Storyteller to create odd but interesting consequences for
your abysmal failure. Instead of making your gun jam, the Storyteller may
decide that the bullet ricochets off a brick wall and hits an innocent bystander.
Instead of leaving your character dangling precariously from the roof, the
Storyteller might let him cross-only to find himself the middle of a Mafia
execution!

Botches don't necessarily mean your character has to die, only that fate has
thrown a gigantic monkey wrench into the works. A clever Storyteller uses a
botch to raise tension a notch and introduce new opponents or provide
impetus for character development. How would your character come to terms
with shooting an innocent child accidentally? Botches make for good drama.

Example: Kara has always had an overactive imagination and an

overconfident attitude. Standing on a bridge that overlooks the river, she sees
a hulking figure drag a little girl into the cabin of a boat. Pauline announces
that Kara attempts to jump from the bridge onto the deck of the boat as it
passes beneath her. The Storyteller asks Pauline to roll Dexterity+ Athletics,
difficulty 6. Kara has 3 Dexterity and 1 Athletics. Pauline rolls: 1, 3, 3 and 5.
She achieves no successes and one “1.” She botches.
The Storyteller describes how Kara climbs over the railing and prepares to
jump. As the boat passes beneath, she slips and falls to the deck, where she
lies stunned and immobile. The hideous figure looms above her, laughing at
her pathetic display. It raises a gaff into the air and swings it at her head.

Automatic Successes

Who wants to spend the entire game rolling dice? They detract from the
game's flow and turn player attention from story to rules. Hunter therefore
offers a quick and easy method for determining success without rolling dice.
In situations where your dice pool exceeds the difficulty number of the
attempted action, the feat succeeds automatically. You succeed only
marginally, though, the equivalent of rolling one success. If you want greater
success, you have to roll, but risk failing or even botching. You cannot get
automatic successes during combat or stressful scenes; you have to roll.
Automatic successes apply primarily to situations where the attempted action
could be accomplished easily, without resistance.

There's also another way to get an automatic success on a roll: Simply spend
a Willpower point (p. 125). You can do this only once per turn, and since you
have a limited supply of Willpower you can't do it too often, but it can
certainly help when you're under pressure to succeed.

Multiple Actions

Your character has to act fast. Can he do two things at once? That remains to
be seen, but he can certainly try. Let's say your character needs to dodge
around a corner while shooting at the "corpse" in pursuit-two actions, one
turn. Both actions suffer from the attempt to perform them simultaneously.

In order to attempt multiple actions, announce all the things you want your
character to do and the order in which you will roll them. Your character can
attempt as many feats as you want him to try, though the more he divides his
attention, the less chance he has of succeeding at any of them. Use an
appropriate dice pool for this first action. From it, however, remove a number
of dice equal to the total number of actions you want your character to
attempt this turn (two if she's trying two actions, three if she's attempting
three actions). Then, roll the first attempted action from the reduced dice
pool.

Once you have determined the outcome of the first action, prepare to roll the
second. Take the appropriate dice pool, remove a number of dice equal to the
total number of actions attempted, as before, but also remove one more die.
For each consecutive action after the second, continue to remove an
additional die, cumulatively, from the pool. Thus, the third action loses two
extra dice; the fourth action loses three dice, and so on. If your dice pool is
reduced to zero, you cannot attempt that action.

Example: Pauline wants Kara to attempt a drive-by shooting. Kara must not
only fire her weapon, but she must also keep her car on the road. To
complicate matters, someone shoots back at her and she wants to dodge by
ducking down in her car. Three actions. Pauline decides that Kara would give
most of her attention to driving, then shooting, then dodging.

Pauline's Storyteller determines that Wits + Drive make up Pauline's dice pool
for the first action. Kara has 3 Wits and 2 Drive. Pauline's primary dice pool
consists of five dice. She removes three dice because Kara attempts three
separate actions in one turn. Pauline rolls two dice to control the car.

For the second action, Pauline's Storyteller calls for a Wits+ Firearms roll. Kara
has 3 Wits and 3 Firearms. Pauline's primary dice pool contains six dice. Three
dice are removed because Kara attempts three separate actions in the same
tum. She also loses one extra die, because this is the second of those actions.
Pauline now has a dice pool of two.

On the last action, the Storyteller announces that Pauline's primary dice pool
consists of Dexterity + Dodge. Kara has 3 Dexterity and 4 Dodge. There are
seven dice in Pauline's initial pool. Three are removed because Kara attempts
three separate actions. Two more are removed because this is the third of
those actions. Pauline once again rolls two dice.

Conviction

Exclusive to hunters, your character's Conviction score represents her

determination, passion and vigor in the fight against that which should not
exist. You establish your character's Conviction rating during character
creation. Once per scene, you may risk any or all of your character's
Conviction points, thus adding a number of dice to a dice pool equal to the
number of Conviction points you wager.

The limitation here is that Conviction is spent to increase dice pools when
hunter edges are used. Conviction cannot be used like Willpower to gain an
automatic success, nor does it add extra dice to "mundane" actions such as
jumping, researching, driving or shooting. Conviction can be used to increase
edge dice pools only.

For a more detailed explanation of Conviction, see p. 132.

Trying It Again

Persistence often pays off, but prolonged failure can result in frustration,
fatigue and diminished self-confidence. When your character fails an
attempted action, the Storyteller may choose to let her try again.

In most situations, the task gets more difficult with each successive attempt
after a failure. To represent these diminishing returns, the Storyteller
increases the difficulty number for each subsequent attempt by one,
cumulatively. The more your character fails and keeps trying, the more
difficult the task becomes. Barring in-game time constraints, your char-acter
may keep trying for as long as the Storyteller allows.

However, continued failure eventually renders the task impossible. The

difficulty number gets so high that the chance of success is eliminated, and
your character ends up beating his head against the proverbial wall. If you
botch, the Storyteller might not allow your character to continue trying and
may even rule that he ruins his tools permanently, loses the evidence
irrevocably or destroys the object completely.

The nature of the action determines whether this rule applies. It might if your
character attempts to pick a lock, persuade someone of something, parallel
park, research a topic at the library or wriggle free of ropes that bind her. It
does not apply if your character fails an attempt to shoot someone, to detect
an ambush, to catch a baseball, to notice a clue or to do anything else at
which she has only one chance to succeed.

Example: Kara manages to break into the office of a suspect businessman.

She turns on his computer and weeds through files to search for the names
and addresses of the firm's associates. The Storyteller requests that Pauline
roll Intelligence+ Computer, difficulty 6. Pauline rolls and gets a failure.

The Storyteller allows Kara to keep trying, as she has all night to rifle through
the computer. However, the Storyteller adds one to the difficulty number of
the second attempt. Pauline has to meet or beat a 7. She fails again.

Kara becomes tired and frustrated, but keeps at it. On the third attempt, the
Storyteller raises the stakes and tells Pauline she must now roll versus a
difficulty of 8. The longer Kara persists without success, the more careless she
becomes. She begins to think the information probably isn't even in the
computer and tires of looking through the files. Her chances of success
gradually diminish.

Complications
The basic rules, described above, are all that you need to begin play.
Everything hereafter clarifies and expands on those rules by offering more in-
depth methods of dealing with specific situations. The following three sections
describe general approaches to complex situations that might arise. For
plenty of situation-specific complications, see Chapter 7.

Extended Actions

At some point, your character may attempt an action that requires prolonged
success, such as climbing a cliff or tracking a feral creature through the
woods. A single die roll doesn't do the task justice. Even though your
character may succeed partially, that doesn't mean he's able to reach his
ultimate goal. That's where the extended actions rules come in. Compared to
a simple action, which requires only one success to achieve, an extended
action requires multiple successes for a marginal victory. It may require you to
roll multiple times, as well.

When your character attempts an extended action, the Storyteller decides

how many successes must be rolled for marginal success. You then roll once
for each applicable period of time that passes, as determined by the
Storyteller, until you have accumulated enough successes to accomplish the
task. This method not only determines whether your character succeeds, it
establishes how long it takes to complete the attempted action. Your Story-
teller may call for a roll for each in-game turn, hour or even day that passes.
The time factor depends upon the nature of the task. It is discretionary, based
on how long the task might take under normal circumstances.

Example: Kara tries to repair her motorcycle. The Storyteller announces that
the action requires a total of 12 successes from start to finish. Pauline rolls
once per in-game. hour that passes, accumulating her successes until she's
rolled 12 total. She gets three successes in the first hour. Four in the second.
Two in the third. She fails in the fourth hour and adds nothing to her total. In
the fifth hour, she rolls two. And, finally, in the sixth, she rolls three more. It
takes Kara six hours to repair her engine.

In most cases your character keeps trying for as long as you like, though you
may play a harried game of beat-the-clock. Time may be short; the sun may
set in only a few hours. If your character takes a break from his task to
accomplish something else, the Storyteller may decide that some of the
successes gained are lost because your character has to reorient herself. You
may even have to start counting from scratch again.

The more times you have to roll, the greater the chance that you might botch
and your character bundles the attempt completely. On a botch, the
Storyteller may decide that you cannot start again; your character simply
fails, he destroys his equipment or catastrophe strikes.

Example Of Extended Action

Biologist Jeremy Hodge tries to find the anti-dote to a strange poison that's
killing his friend Tamra. The Storyteller has several decisions to make. He rules
that Jeremy's player, Travis, must roll Intelligence+ Medicine against a
difficulty of 7. He then decides that Travis must accumulate a total of 10
successes. Finally, though he keeps the information to himself, the Storyteller
establishes that Tamra has only four days to live, and that Travis may roll only
once for every in-game day.

Travis has 4 Intelligence and 4 Medicine, for a dice pool of eight. He gets three
successes on his first roll. His research starts well and he has high hopes for
saving Tamra.

On the second night, Travis rolls a whopping five successes, giving him a total
of eight. The Storyteller announces that Tamra's condition worsens, but that
Jeremy's experiments seem to be going well.

On the third night, Travis fails, rolling no successes. He consoles himself and
Tamra's player with the fact that it's not a botch, but Jeremy's progress falters
nonetheless. The Storyteller describes how Tamra has slipped into critical
condition.

On the fourth night, Travis rolls again, counting his successes. He scores
three, giving him a total of 11 successes. The Storyteller describes how
Jeremy administers the antidote and just barely manages to save Tamra's
life...such as it is for a hunter.

Resisted Actions

Sometimes, your character's actions are resisted by someone who wants to

keep him from accomplishing his goals. When two characters go head-to-head
in this way, a simple dice-pool roll doesn't represent the situation adequately.
Called a resisted action, this type of conflict pits the Traits of two characters,
as each attempts to overpower the other. As a simplified example, people in a
tug-of-war are in a resisted action. You and your opponent roll your dice pools
against a common difficulty number, or sometimes against a difficulty equal
to an appropriate Trait (or Traits) belonging to the other. The opponent who
garners the most successes wins.
When totaling the final result, each of your opponent's successes cancel out
one of your own, just as “1s” do. If, for example, you score four successes and
your opponent scores three, then you've succeeded but with only one
success, indicating a marginal accomplishment. Although your opponent can't
stop you this way, he can still put a kink in your style and slow you down.
Gaining an out-standing success on a resisted action rarely occurs.

At times, a combination of resisted and extended rolls may suit the situation.
Certain resisted actions-car chases, debates, drinking contests or kick-boxing
matches-extend over a period of time and require a series of rolls to
determine success. In these cases, you and your opponent both roll several
times according to the resisted action rule above, but you add your successes
over the course of a number of rolls. The first to reach the total set by the
Storyteller prevails.

Sometimes, the Storyteller may forego multiple rolls on what may seem like
an extended action if dice rolling threatens to overshadow roleplaying. A
single, resisted roll often suffices to determine the final outcome.

Example Of Resisted Action

A group of hunters meets in Ramon's apartment to discuss surveying a

warehouse where a shambler is believed to be hiding. Ramon has a plan, but
Brandon disagrees strongly and has an-other idea. They debate; a power
struggle ensues to see which plan the hunters follow.

The Storyteller tells the two players to roll Manipulation+ Leadership versus a
difficulty of the other person's dice pool. Ramon has 4 Manipulation and 4
Leadership, for a dice pool of 8, which also becomes Brandon's difficulty
number. Bran-don has 3 Manipulation and 2 Leadership. His dice pool contains
five dice, so Ramon rolls versus a difficulty number of 5.

Ramon's player gets four successes. Brandon's player gets three. Ramon's
player wins, but only by a margin of one success. The Storyteller describes
how both men have good points, but Ramon convinces the other hunters to
follow his lead. His one success means they're skeptical, though.

Teamwork

In certain situations, it makes sense for people to work together to improve

chances of success. Teamwork can apply when characters try to lift something
heavy, research a particular subject, break down a door, intimidate someone
or figure out a puzzle. All players roll their own dice pools and add their
successes. You do not, however, add your dice pools together and make one
big roll. Each player must roll separately and then you combine all the results.
If anyone botches, the entire attempt may fail utterly.

Action
Example/Description
Simple
Throwing a punch, dodging a bullet
A one-shot chance of success or failure; success is determined by a single roll.
The Storyteller deter-mines the difficulty and the Traits that form the dice
pool. Automatic success is possible.
Extended
Mountain climbing, tracking in woods
Task stretches over a period of time and each stage renews the chance for
failure or success. You make several rolls with the goal of collecting a stated
number of successes. This procedure increases the chance that you might
botch.
Resisted
Pickpocketing or disarming someone
Action pits two characters against each other. Each player rolls versus a
common difficulty number, or one based on the opponent's Traits. The two
compare successes and the difference between those determines the degree
of success.
Extended & Resisted
Tailing someone evasive, wrestling
Using the resisted-action rule, the players roll repeatedly in order to acquire
successes. The first to reach the total set by the Storyteller wins.

The Goldenrule

The most important Hunter rule to remember is that you control your own
game. If a rule doesn't work for you, don't use it or change it to suit your
needs. The Storyteller has final say in house rules. Just remember that rules
consistency enhances players' enjoyment.

Consider the rules laid out in this book to be a flexible guideline. Every Hunter
game is different. Some focus entirely on consent, in which all actions and
their success or failure are determined by player decision, with the ultimate
goal being the richness of the story. Others follow a strict regimen of
randomness, with dice used extensively to intro-duce excitement and tension
to the story. You decide which method to use, or whether you walk a path
somewhere between.

The Golden Rule is simple: “Play and have fun, above all else. "
Try It Out

There you go. You have the basic rules. If you learn the preceding and
understand it, you're ready to play. All the rest simply expands on the basics
and allows you to customize for particular in-game situations. Give it a try or
run through some of the examples below if you want a little practice.

Example 1: Lucas, an ex-ganger turned hunter, searches through garbage

bags behind a free clinic where he suspects the doctors have an illicit
connection to some kind of blood cult. He tries to spot anything out of the
ordinary. As his Storyteller, what do you do?

Answer: Ask Lucas' player, Mark, to roll Intelligence + Alertness against a

difficulty number of 6. Lucas has 2 Intelligence and 3 Alertness. Mark rolls five
dice, looking for any"6s"or higher, and subtracting any"1s" from the total. The
resulting balance represents how well Lucas succeeds or fails. Mark rolls and
gets 1, 2, 4, 6 and 7: two preliminary successes minus one for the"1, " for a
total of one success. Lucas succeeds marginally.

You describe how Lucas searches through the trash, gagging on the smell. He
finds very little until he gets to the very bottom, where he finds a piece of
paper with a phone number on it. However, a corner of the paper is torn and
part of the number is missing.

Example 2: A mysterious and devious opponent has created a bomb that

looks like an ordinary mind-teaser puzzle. Boyd and Anna must solve the
puzzle in order to defuse the bomb-or they go boom. What happens?

Answer: The Storyteller plays the bomb's manufacturer. His skill resists Anna
and Boyd's chances of solving the puzzle, and time is running out. Their effort
could therefore be considered a resisted and extended action, and is also
accomplished through teamwork. You inform the players that they need a
total of 10 successes to solve the puzzle, and that they have three turns in
which to do so. They must roll Wits+ Demolitions versus a difficulty number of
6.

In the first turn, they get a total of six successes between them. However, you
also roll for the puzzle-maker, getting three successes. Removing his
successes from the players' total, they end up with only three successes that
turn. In the second tum, they get a total of five successes. Your puzzler gets
two successes, which leaves the players with three that they add to their
cumulative score, for a total of six successes overall.

The players begin to sweat; they have to get at least four successes in this
last turn to keep the bomb from exploding. In the final turn, Boyd's player fails
to roll any successes, but he does not botch. Anna's player rolls a whopping
five successes. You roll for the bomb's maker and fail the roll as well. You
describe how Anna saves the day by dramatically solving the puzzle when
Boyd is stumped. The little red light quits blinking. Boyd and Anna can breathe
again.

Examples of Rolls

As your game unfolds, characters will attempt all kinds of actions. The rules
systems try to account for most things and are purposely designed to be
flexible for your needs. More than 270 combinations of Abilities and Attributes
give you an incredible range of options when determining which of them
applies to a given situation. You may even want to make up your own Talents,
Skills and Knowledges to fit more specific character capabilities. The examples
below illustrate the diversity of actions you may encounter in your game.

- You have to remove a fallen tree limb from the road before a pursuing car
arrives. Roll Strength+ Athletics (difficulty 8).

- The director of an art gallery invites you to a reception. You have to impress
him with your style and grace to win his trust. Roll Manipulation+ Etiquette
(difficulty of the director's Perception+ Etiquette).

- You've managed to break into an office building, but the guard will make his
rounds any minute. Now, where is that file? Roll Wits+ Computer once per
turn(difficulty 8). You have five turns before the guard shows up, and you have
to gain a total of 12 successes.

- It would really suck if that rotted fucker caught you sneaking around in his
hideout. Roll Dexterity+ Stealth, resisted by the bastard's Perception+
Alertness (difficulties equal opposing dice pools). If you succeed, you get out
undetected.

- If you could get elected to the city council, you would be one step closer to
the behind-the-scenes powers that control the town. It all hinges on this one
speech. Roll Charisma+ Expression (difficulty 6).

- You know that crack house is around here somewhere, but it's gonna be
tough to find. Make an extended Perception+ Streetwise roll (difficulty 7)
every five minutes with a target of 10 total successes.

- Twelve more hours to go on this cross-country drive, and you're the only one
who can handle the eighteen-wheeler. Roll Stamina+ Drive (difficulty 7) for
every hour; you need 12 successes to arrive safely at your destination without
having to make a lengthy stop.

- You have to distract the crowd while your allies sneak out the back. You get
up on the club's stage and proceed to hurl profanities at the mob. Roll
Appearance+ Performance (difficulty 6).

- That congressman is dirty. You can see it in his decaying face. If you could
figure out what all his double-talk means, you could anticipate his real political
agenda. Roll Intelligence+ Politics (difficulty 6).

- Dammit! The gate is closed when you come back. Those twisted dogs are
out there sniffing for you, probably smelling your very fear. Can you force the
gate back open without giving yourself away? Roll. Strength+ Stealth
(difficulty 8).

-The leader of the gang is dead and someone has to take his place at the
meeting tonight. You're volunteered. Do you come off as a convincing leader?
Roll wits + subterfuge (difficulty of opponent's perception + subterfuge).

-The time for talking has passed. It's time to shoot. Roll dexterity + firearms
(difficulty 6).

-This deranged scientist has the information you need. Can you trick him into
telling you what you want? Roll manipulation + science (difficulty 8).

-That dog with the red eyes doesn't look too friendly can you make friends roll
perception + animal ken (difficulty 7).

-You know the answer lies somewhere in this mutilated body. Question is, do
you have the will to perform a full autopsy before it's too late? Roll stamina+
investigation once every hour (difficulty 7) until you gain a total of 15
successes.

-You're banking on the fact that everyone loves a pretty face. That cop just
pulled you over, but you can let him find the stash of weapons in the trunk.
Can you sweet-talk him into believing you're just a college student on her way
back to school? Roll appearance subterfuge (difficulty of the cop's perception
subterfuge).

-Someone has infected your computer with a virus. It's slowly eating away all
the information you've stored. Can you track the virus before it destroys
everything? Roll intelligence or wits + computer once every five minutes
(difficulty 6) until you gain a total of 10 successes. The longer it takes. The
more information you lose.

-You dropped your cell phone and it fell apart can you fix it? Roll dexterity +
technology (difficulty 8).

-Street people are disappearing but none of them want to talk. Can you
convince one of them that you want to help? Roll charisma+ streetwise
(difficulty 7).

-Does that walking corpse see you, or is it smiling because it has no lips? Roll
Wits+ Empathy (difficulty 7) to guess at the zombie's intentions.

- You've managed to get a pass into a high-security building. Can you

determine what kinds of security systems are used in anticipation of returning
uninvited? Roll Perception+ Security (difficulty of the security company's
Intelligence+ Security).

Game Terms

Words, words, words. This list defines some of the terms used in this book,
especially in the rules.

- Ability: A type of Trait to which you assign point values when creating your
character, and which deter-mines how many dice you roll. Ability Traits
represent things for which your character has a natural Talent, as well as Skills
and Knowledges he's acquired. Examples include Empathy, Firearms and
Medicine.

-Action: An action is any single activity or feat undertaken by your character,

including loading a gun, driving to the gas station or scrutinizing something.
When you describe something your character does or wishes to attempt,
that's an action. The length of time it takes to perform different actions varies.

- Advantages: This catch-all category includes Back-grounds as well as the

more mystical capabilities that hunters possess.

- Attributes: A type of Trait to which you assign point values when creating
your character, and which determines the dice you roll. Attribute Traits
represent your character's innate characteristics, such as how strong
(Strength), personable (Charisma) or smart (Intelligence) she is.

- Background: A type of Trait chosen at character creation that defines aspects

of your character's life not directly related to his Attributes or Abilities.
Examples of Backgrounds include who your character knows (Contacts, Allies),
how much money he has (Resources), or how famous he is (Fame).

- Botch: When you roll absolutely no successes and at least one “1” shows up
in the roll, you botch and your character catastrophically fails the attempted
action. If there are any successes-even those canceled by “1s” in the roll- it is
merely a failure, not a botch. A botch is much worse than a simple failure.

- Character: In order to play Hunter, you write up a character, a fictional

person whom you then control in the game. Your character has statistics that
represent his capabilities, history and personality. Storytellers likewise create
fictional characters, who populate the setting and interact with your character.

-Chronicle: The grand scheme of your game, its overall picture, a chronicle is
any story you build from start to finish with a central element of one city, one
set of characters or one main, underlying plot line.

- Conviction: A Trait that measures your character's energy for the hunt and
for the hunter cause. It is spent and, unlike other Traits, is risked to add dice
to your dice pools when using hunter edges (see p. 132).

- Dice Pool: The number of dice you roll to deter-mine the success or failure of
your character's action. Relevant Traits dictate this number, plus or minus any
modifiers. Your Storyteller tells you which Traits apply.

- Difficulty Number: A value, assigned by the Storyteller, that a player must

equal or beat on each die rolled to achieve successes toward an action.
Certain modifiers may affect an action's difficulty number.

- Downtime: An imaginary period during the course of the game when nothing
of significance happens. Players can skim over the events that occur during
downtime and fast-forward to the next important event.

- Experience Points: Through the course of the game, your character earns
experience points, which you spend to increase his Traits. Experience points
represent training, study and honing of capabilities. See p. 140 for more on
experience points.

- Extended Action: This type of action requires that you accumulate a certain
number of successes over a series of rolls and a period of time.

- Failure: If you roll no successes and no"1s, " or enough"1s" to cancel out all
your successes, your character fails his attempted action. A failure, unlike a
botch, simply means your character has not succeeded, and nothing
extremely catastrophic occurs.
- Health: This indicator, which represents how wounded your character is,
modifies your dice pools.

- Points: Certain Traits, such as Willpower, rise and fall temporarily throughout
the course of play. In order to differentiate between your character's
permanent score and his current level in a Trait, we call the permanent value
the Trait rating, and the current value the points or pool. Mark permanent
rating in the round dots on your character sheet and mark current level of
points in the boxes.

Conviction also rises and falls throughout a game as points are risked or
spent. However, there's no such thing as a Conviction rating. Your character's
current score is his pool.

- Rating: Whereas points represent the temporary score of certain Traits, the
term "rating" refers to the permanent value of those Traits. This designation
applies to such Traits as Willpower.

- Reflexive: A situation in which dice might be rolled, but that does not count
as an action for the purposes of calculating dice pools. Examples of reflexive
rolls include soak rolls, Willpower rolls and spending or risking Conviction.

- Resisted Action: When another character op-poses your character's

attempted action, he creates a situation called a resisted action. You both roll
and compare the number of successes gained. The one with more successes
wins.

- Scene: A period of action usually set in one location and a particular time
frame. A scene is often broken up into turns, though not always.

- Simple Action: An action that requires only one success to accomplish and
that usually involves only one player. More successes indicate a higher level of
achievement.

- Story: The combination of several interconnected scenes. A story is usually

characterized by an introduction, conflict, climax and resolution.

- Storyteller: One of the players in a roleplaying game takes the responsibility

for creating the fictional environment and guiding the story. You describe the
setting, make decisions regarding rules and assume the roles of the main
characters' friends and enemies. You oversee the game and are the final
judge on all rules calls.
- Success: Any die roll that equals or exceeds the stated difficulty number.

- System: Any specific set of rules used in a certain situation for guiding the
roll of dice to simulate dramatic actions.

- Trait: During character creation, you assign point values to varying

descriptive elements. These qualities, called Traits, define your character's
learned abilities, innate attributes and worldly means.

-Troupe: Your group of players, including your Storyteller.

-Turn: An increment of time from three seconds to three minutes in duration

used to resolve complex actions and events. A turn is roughly the time it takes
your character to perform one action, and it should be kept consistent for all
characters in the scene.

- Virtue Traits: At character creation, you assign point values to the three
Virtues (Zeal, Mercy and Vision). These Traits reflect your character's goals in
the hunt.

- Willpower: A measure of your character's self-confidence and internal

control. Willpower works differently than most Traits- it is often spent rather
than rolled.

If you've found this site, you're either my ally or my enemy. In consideration of

my ignorance, I will speak to you both. In brief, I seem to have been granted
powers by a mysterious entity. Others have benefited likewise. With these
powers comes knowledge, and thus the end to which they should all be used.

I have built this website for the benefit of half of you. (Hopefully, the other
half won't take it seriously until it's too late.) I feel the role I'm to play in the
war-that seems the only appropriate word-now brewing is one of investigation
and discovery. This website also has a secondary benefit of allowing us
imbued to communicate. Yet the site's primary function, its “mega-function,”
if you will, is to provide me with data. Without input, I cannot provide output.
Without nutrients, a flower will not bloom. The news likely to be posted here
will not conjure thoughts of roses, but a free world by any other name would
smell just as sweet.

Chapter 7: Tools Of The Hunt (Systems)

And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are
come.
-Genesis 42:12
Hunter: The Reckoning focuses on roleplay and story development. Although
dice take us out of the story and remind us it's just a game, they can also help
develop the story. Dice rolling brings random chance into the mix and
represents the effects of character strengths and weaknesses. Although most
people choose to minimize dice-rolling as much as possible, certain situations
may call for it. This chapter covers a number of specific dice mechanics,
including general dramatic systems, combat, injury and recovery.

The systems here provide a foundation for covering some of the possible
situations that might arise in your game. Written for ease of play, they allow
you to return to the story as quickly as possible. If you have alternatives for
these systems that work better, use them instead. Furthermore, if a player
attempts a particularly clever or inspired approach to a problem, the
Storyteller may award an automatic success rather than roll dice.

Dramatic Systems

Your story unfolds through the actions and interactions of the characters. One
of the Storyteller's jobs is keeping events organized, guiding the characters'
actions so that they remain logical in both order and time, and describing the
imaginary consequences of those actions. The Story-teller determines the
difficulty of actions and oversees dice rolls to make sure that they represent
events accurately.

Many factors may modify dice rolls. Difficulty numbers may change based on
the situation. Perhaps your action is opposed directly or your character's
mental and physical condition is impaired or heightened. The Attributes and
Abilities that form your dice pool may also change according to situational
factors. The Storyteller makes a number of decisions when requesting rolls.
These may seem over-whelming at first, but the systems provided here help,
and they can be mastered quickly. When all else fails, rely on common sense
to resolve situations and have fun. Even after the dice have tumbled,
characters with a specialty (p. 101) in a particular Ability may roll extra dice if
any "10s" turn up.

Attributes and Abilities are typically combined to determine dice pools in the
following systems. However, a character might not have an Ability called for.
The player can either roll versus the Attribute only (with one point possibly
added to difficulty to reflect the increased challenge) or another Ability could
be used that also has application to the situation.

Many of these systems involve more than just simple actions; some activities
can demand a lot of time and effort. You may try a number of them again if
the first attempt is unsuccessful, although subsequent attempts might impose
a difficulty penalty at the Storyteller's discretion (see Trying It Again, p. 171).

Automatic Feats

Unlike reflexives, automatic feats use up your character's actions, but they
don't require dice rolls. They take time and demand a moment of your
character's attention. However, because of their general ease, rolling dice
would be superfluous to determine success. Your character has no trouble
accomplishing the following actions under normal circumstances.

- Getting to Your Feet: Your character may rise to his feet from the ground or
from a seated position without a roll as long as he's not hindered from doing
so. In situations where it matters, rising takes one turn and is considered one
full action. If your character attempts another action at the same time such as
firing a weapon, the multiple-action rule applies (see Multiple Actions, p. 171):
Dexterity+ Athletics (difficulty 4) to stand successfully.

- Movement: Your character may choose to walk, jog or run. Simply walking,
he moves seven yards in one turn. When jogging, he moves (12+ Dexterity)
yards per turn, and when running at full speed he moves (20+[3xDexterity])
yards per turn.

Your character may move up to half maximum running speed and then take
another action that turn. Although this is not considered a multiple action, the
Storyteller may impose a penalty to the action's difficulty number or to your
dice pool. On the other hand, if your character moves while attempting a
second action, such as crossing a room while shooting his crossbow, each
yard covered subtracts one from the other action's dice pool.

Injured characters (p. 140) cannot, of course, move at maximum speed.

- Readying Weapon: Whether your character draws a knife or reloads his gun,
he must spend a turn arming himself. Doing so usually requires no roll,
although your Storyteller may request one under certain circumstances. If
your character readies his weapon in conjunction with another action, your
Storyteller may ask you to reduce your dice pool for the other action (see
Multiple Actions, p. 171) and roll Dexterity+ Melee or Firearms (difficulty 4) for
the readying attempt.

- Starting Car: It takes a turn to start a car and certain situations may make
this more difficult, thus requiring a dice roll. We've all screamed at the movie
screen when someone panics during efforts to start a car to get away from a
killer. Invariably, keys get dropped or won't go into the ignition. A Wits+ Drive
roll (difficulty 4) may come into play. Common sense determines whether a
roll is called for.

- Yielding: The Initiative rules determine who goes first in a situation (p. 189).
However, you may choose to yield your turn to a player or players following
you in the order established. Basically, you hold off to let the other character
go first. You may still act later, but you reserve action until then. If everyone,
including your Storyteller's characters, yield during a turn, no one does
anything and time moves forward to the next turn.

Physical Feats

The following systems present options related to the three Physical Attributes
(Strength, Dexterity and Stamina). Actions involving these Attributes usually
require dice rolls. Difficulty numbers vary based on the situation.

-Climbing [Dexterity+ Athletics]: Your character may attempt to climb any

number of things such as rocky cliffs, steel fences, building facades, fire
escapes, dumpsters or trees. In most cases, climbing is best dealt with as an
ex-tended action. If the object has available handholds and presents few
complications, your character moves 10 feet for every success. Thus, your
character could climb into or over a dumpster with only a marginal success.
However, it may take several rolls to scale a cliff or climb a fence.

Your Storyteller may adjust this rate based on the difficulty of the climb. For
example, she may decide that an easier climb such as a ladder may allow
your character to move 15 feet per success, whereas a more difficult climb
such as a coconut tree may allow your character to move only one foot per
success. Many factors may affect rate of travel, including the number of
handholds, the smoothness of the surface or even the weather. In certain
situations, a short and difficult climb may present the same challenge as a
long and easy one. Your Storyteller has final say in determining all these
factors.

As with any extended action, you roll until you have accumulated enough
successes. Botching on a climbing roll can prove extremely disastrous, though
your character need not necessarily fall to her death. She could get stuck
halfway up or she may slip and lose altitude that she has to recover. Or she
may fall to serious injury or death.

- Driving [Dexterity/ Wits+ Drive]: A single dot in the Drive Skill gives your
character the ability to drive a basic, manual-transmission car. (All characters
of age are assumed to be able to drive an automatic, unless you specify
otherwise. ) Under normal circumstances you don't have to roll to determine
successful driving. However, bad weather, the vehicle's speed, obstacles and
complex maneuvers can challenge even the most competent drivers.

The difficulty number of a driving roll increases as conditions become more

hazardous. The Storyteller may, for example, increase the difficulty number
by one if your character attempts to drive in heavy rain or icy conditions.
Speeding in an attempt to lose pursuers may increase the difficulty by two.
Factors add up, too. If your character maneuvers in heavy traffic she faces
a+1 difficulty. But if your character also has a broken windshield, the
Storyteller may make it+2, for a total of+3 difficulty.

If you fail a driving roll, your character is in trouble. You must make another
roll to determine whether your character crashes or loses control. A botch
usually indicates a major malfunction, a skid out of control or a disastrous
collision. If your character has no Drive rating she may still attempt to drive;
you may have to roll based on Dexterity or Wits alone at an increased
difficulty for every change in course, procedure or speed. Furthermore, if your
character has only one dot in Drive she may still attempt to drive a large truck
or even a race car, but the Storyteller may ask you to make repeated rolls, as
in an extended action, to determine whether she maintains control of the
vehicle.

Vehicle Types

Vehicles handle differently. The following chart is a guide to some of the ones
your character might attempt to drive. For every 10 mph over the safe speed,
increase the difficulty of the roll by one. Bold stunts and bad road conditions
may also add to difficulty.

There is a maximum number of dice that you may have in your dice pool, as
shown below in the Maneuver column. This limit represents the vehicle's
limits. A Ferrari handles better than a dump truck, no matter how skilled the
driver.

-Encumbrance [Strength]: A hunter would be a dangerous foe to any night-

creature if he could carry anything he needed all the time. Unfortunately,
that's unrealistic. Though some players love to weigh their characters down
with every weapon, explosive device, electronic doodad and piece of
equipment that might be needed, the Storyteller can set limits. We are talking
about mortal humans, after all.

Your character can realistically carry/ tote 25 pounds per point of Strength
without penalty. If she attempts to carry more, every action involving physical
exertion incurs an automatic+1 difficulty. Furthermore, every 25 pounds she
piles on beyond what she can carry easily. reduces her base movement by
half. If your character tries to carry double her Strength allocation, she can't
move at all. Perhaps she can actually lift it all, but she can't go anywhere with
it. Your Storyteller makes the final call on what a character may carry
realistically.

- Intrusion [Dexterity/Perception+ Security]: Intrusion covers both sides of

security-related actions: preventing others from breaching your established
defenses, or breaching others' defenses. Sample actions include evading or
installing security cameras, cracking or creating codes, lock-picking or making
a lock pick-proof, and avoiding or designing laser movement detectors.

When breaching security set by another, your roll must succeed on the first
attempt if an active security system is present. Failure to do so may activate
alarms, put your character on camera, or set off internal defense systems. If
no alarm is present, such as when your character simply attempts to pick a
lock to an apartment, your character may continue trying. The difficulty
number of an intrusion roll ranges from 5 to 9, depending on whether your
character assaults a standard lock or Fort Knox. Certain tasks may require
that he have at least one dot in the Security Skill, and possibly more, to have
any chance of succeeding. Furthermore, many intrusion attempts require
special tools such as lock picks or electronic monitoring devices. On a botch,
your character bundles the attempt and is in hot water.

When your character attempts to install a security system, roll only once as a
simple action. The more successes you get, the better your character's
security system is and the more trouble others have in overcoming it. The
Storyteller may add your successes to the base difficulty of any future
attempts to breach your system.

-Jumping [Strength, or Strength+ Athletics for a running jump]: You make

simple jump rolls versus a difficulty of 3. Your character manages to jump two
feet vertically or four feet horizontally for every success you achieve. If your
successes do not add up to at least the distance between your character and
her destination, your character fails the at-tempt and lands short. This could
be dangerous if, for example, she attempts to leap a chasm. However, on a
failure you may make a Dexterity+ Athletics roll (typically difficulty 6) to grab
onto a ledge or other protuberance. A botch, however, has far worse
repercussions. Your character may be injured seriously or may even fall to her
death.

You may attempt a Perception+ Athletics roll (difficulty 6) prior to a jump to

determine whether your character can gauge the distance. If successful, you
learn how many successes you need for the leap. This way, if the jump seems
impossible you know it in advance and you can change plans before it's too
late.

- Lifting/Breaking [Strength]: Stories abound of people who have performed

amazing feats of strength in emergencies. There's a limit to what your
character can lift or break, as shown on the chart below. However, she may
manage to exceed her normal ability in extraordinary circumstances. If the
Storyteller feels your character has enough adrenaline, drugs or
determination running through her veins to allow for super-strength, he can
ask you to roll a dice pool equal to your Willpower, difficulty 9. Each success
temporarily adds one dot to your character's Strength and moves your
character up the chart for the duration of that single action.

Bear in mind that even as your character damages an object, she likely
damages herself as well. The human body can take only so much abuse. Your
character's body probably gives before a more solid object does, unless she
uses a tool such as a crowbar or hammer. She manages to punch through a
door, but she also skins her knuckles or breaks bones in the process. Common
sense dictates the outcome of such attempts. The more challenging feats on
the chart assume the use of a blunt object of some sort.

If your character fails the action, nothing happens. She simply cannot lift or
break the object. If you botch the roll, your character may strain a muscle,
break bones or drop the item on herself. A botched attempt to lift an object off
someone else may end up inflicting further damage.

Several characters can team up to lift or break an object. Individual players

roll separately, as per the Teamwork rules (p. 173) and combine their
successes. Their combined Strength scores determine the minimum of what
they can do without rolling Willpower.

- Opening/ Closing [Strength]: In order to have your character break down a

door with brute force, you must make a Strength roll (difficulty 6 to 8,
depending on the door). Standard wooden doors with basic lock mechanisms
require only one success to ram open or slam shut. Breaking down a
reinforced door may call for as many as 10 successes, whereas a vault door
may take 20 or more. Your Storyteller may deem this an extended action, with
your character throwing herself at the door multiple times until it breaks. Any
resistance makes this a resisted action, too, and pits characters against each
other. A botch may cause a health level of bashing damage to your
character's shoulder, may cause your character to give up, or may send her
flying as the door suddenly opens-and she stumbles right out the window on
the opposite side of the room.
As with most actions, teamwork makes it easier. Particularly solid doors may
require a minimum Strength score even to dent. This system also applies to
opening or closing other objects such as locked cabinets, boarded windows or
coffins.

- Pursuit [Dexterity+ Athletics/ Drive]: The thrill of the chase doubtless recurs
periodically in your game, whether it's the hunter pursuing a target or a
supernatural predator turning the tables on the hunter. In many cases, the
formulas for calculating movement speed determine the outcome of the chase
(see Movement, p. 181); If your character clearly moves faster than the other,
she eventually catches up with or escapes the other. Sometimes, situational
factors tip the scales. For example, your character might reach safety before
being caught, she might know the territory better or find a shortcut, or she
might even lose a pursuer.

A basic pursuit is an extended action. Both players roll over the course of
several turns to see who reaches a target total of successes first. That person
either gets away or catches up. The pursued receives a number of free extra
successes based on her distance from the pursuer when the action begins. On
foot, your character receives one free success for every two yards head start
she has on her pursuer. In a vehicle, she receives one free success for every
10 yards head start. When the pursuit involves a mortal and a supernatural
creature, the Storyteller should remember that mortals tire whereas
supernatural creatures do not tire as quickly, if at all.

As you accumulate successes, your fleeing character outdistances her pursuer

and increases her chances of losing him. Your opponent may have to make a
Perception roll if your character extends her lead far enough to lose her
pursuer. This Perception roll is modified based on the pursuit rolls you've
made: Add one to Perception difficulty for each success you have gathered
beyond your opponent's pursuit total. If your opponent fails this roll, he loses
your character in a crowd, on a side street or in a maze of hallways and doors.
On a Perception botch, the pursuer has no chance of finding your character
again. If, on the other hand, you botch any of your rolls your character may
end up in a dead end or may trip and fall. Caught!

- Shadowing [Dexterity+ Stealth/ Drive]: When your character follows, stakes

out or otherwise seeks to keep tabs on someone without being detected, she
shadows that person. Shadowing suspicious people or monstrosities is a
hunter staple; mortals have to know their prey before striking.

Many factors play into how this system is handled. The Storyteller can call it a
resisted action (see Resisted Actions, p. 172) and ask you to roll versus a
difficulty number based on the target's Perception+ Alertness (to avoid being
seen) or on his Dexterity+ Stealth or Drive (if the target is actively evasive).
You roll with those same Traits. You and your opponent compare successes to
determine the outcome. A tie means the stalker remains undetected.

The Storyteller may also call shadowing both a resisted and an extended
action (see Extended Actions, p. 172). Or, to make the roll fast and easy, you
could both roll the appropriate dice pool versus a difficulty of 6 (modified
based on the environment). In this last case, your opponent must get at least
one more success to spot your character. Shadowers who have trained
together can combine their separate rolls into one success total through
teamwork.

Hunters who make an effort to recognize monsters for what they are through
second sight (see Conviction, p. 132) may have an easier time of spotting
their quarries. The image of a ghost hovering over a possession victim is hard
to miss. Difficulties for shadowing are reduced by one or more (Storyteller's
discretion) when second sight is used in a scene.

- Sneaking [Dexterity+ Stealth]: The hunter who survives knows when to fight
and when to simply hide. When your character sneaks, attempts to pass
unseen or hides, roll Dexterity+ Stealth as a resisted action against Perception
+ Alertness rolls from anyone in the area who has a chance of detecting him.
The difficulty on all rolls is usually 6, though certain situational elements may
modify it in favor of either the sneak or anyone who might notice him.
Unstable footing, unsecured gear or lack of cover can all modify Stealth
difficulty, just as high-tech security devices or superior vantage points can
add dice to the Perception + Alertness rolls of potential spotters. If your
sneaking character fails, he isn't necessarily discovered, but he may make a
noise that causes guards to become more alert for the next roll. On a botch,
your sneaking character runs right into the people he is trying to avoid.

- Swimming [Stamina+ Athletics]: Your character must have at least one dot
in Athletics to know how to swim. Otherwise, she never learned. Short swims
require no roll. Long-duration or long-distance swims may. Your Storyteller
may approach a long swim as an extended action with a difficulty based on
your character's attempted speed, the weather conditions and the body of
water itself. You may have to roll several times to achieve enough successes
to meet the target. If you fail a roll, your character may falter, lose some of
her total successes or have to make extra rolls. Perhaps the current is
stronger than she assumed. Your character runs into serious trouble on a
botch: a cramp, a shark or even a boatload of enemies attempting to shoot
her in mid-stroke.

- Throwing [Dexterity+ Athletics]: When your character throws something (be

it a knife, an ax, a grenade, a crystal ashtray or a frying pan), distance and
accuracy determine whether it hits the target. Your character can throw
anything that weighs three pounds or less up to a distance of (Strength x 5)
yards. Each additional two pounds decreases the total possible distance by
five yards. If your character can pick up an object, but its potential throwing
distance drops to zero or below, the best she can do is hurl it to one side,
approximately one yard. Obviously, if your character can't lift an object, she
can't throw it (see Lifting/Breaking, p. 183).

The Storyteller may reduce throwing distances if the object is particularly

awkward, or increase them if it is aerodynamic. To throw an object, roll
Dexterity+ Athletics versus difficulty 6(if target is closer than half the
maximum range) or difficulty 7(if the target is located between half and
maximum range). The Storyteller may adjust the difficulty based on wind
conditions, obstacles or whether the target moves or is stationary. On a botch,
your character may hit an innocent bystander, release too late and hit herself,
or simply succeed in putting her weapon in the hands of her enemy.

Mental Feats

The following systems cover tasks involving the three Mental Attributes
(Perception, Intelligence and Wits). Occasionally, dice rolls related to the
Attributes also involve Willpower. Difficulties may vary based on situational
factors.

- Hacking [Intelligence/ Wits+ Computer]: Comput-ers may hold a wealth of

information that can help hunters stalk and destroy their prey. In order for
your character to hack into a computer, roll Intelligence or Wits (depending on
the urgency of the job) + Computer versus a variable difficulty based on the
complexity and security of the target system. Standard computer systems call
for a difficulty of 6, whereas it could go as high as 10 for military or
megacorporation mainframes. The number of successes you achieve is the
number of dice (up to your normal dice pool) that you can roll thereafter to
interact with the computer.

If someone or the system itself actively attempts to block your hack, a

resisted action is rolled. The contender who gets the most successes wins. On
a botch, your character may be traced and may face repercussions.

- Investigation [Perception+ Investigation]: Investigating a crime scene, rifling

through an office for clues, or performing an autopsy all fall under the general
system Investigation. The Storyteller may call for an extended action when
only one clue exists to be found. When more than one clue or varying degrees
of information await the investigator, a simple action may be appropriate. In
the latter case, the number of successes rolled determines how much is
found. One success reveals small details, whereas multiple successes provide
major clues or even allow your character to make deductions based on
physical evidence. Teamwork certainly helps in investigations. On a botch,
your character overlooks clues, interprets them erroneously or destroys them
accidentally.

- Repair [Dexterity/ Perception+ Crafts/ Technology]: Depending on your

character's specialty, the Crafts and Technology Skills cover repairs as well as
creations, everything from pottery to VCRs. Before your character can repair
something, she may need to determine what's wrong with it. Obviously, a
cracked vase is cracked, but it's much more difficult to see the reason a car
won't start. Use a standard Research roll (see below) to analyze the problem.
Once your character knows what's wrong, the Storyteller sets the difficulty of
the repair. This rating depends on the severity of the problem, the complexity
of the broken item, the availability of tools and replacement parts, and
whether adverse conditions exist. Darkness could seriously hinder repair. An
exceptional research roll may reduce the difficulty, if appropriate.

As a general rule, changing a tire has a difficulty of 4, whereas rebuilding a

car's engine may have a difficulty of 9. The amount of time it takes to repair
something also varies, and your Storyteller may treat the repair as an
extended action. On a botch, your character may injure herself, irrevocably
damage the object she's trying to repair or waste a good deal of her time.

- Research [Intelligence+ Occult/ Research/ Science]: Your character may do

research through computer databases, at the library, by studying a particular
object or by talking to people. This effort may take time and a good deal of
energy, though you typically make only one roll. The Storyteller determines
how long research takes. The number of successes on the roll determines how
much information your character manages to dig up. One success means she
finds basic information, whereas multiple successes provide more details. The
Storyteller may vary the difficulty based on the obscurity of the information
sought. If you botch a research attempt, your character may discover nothing
at all, or worse, find completely misleading information.

- Tracking [Perception+ Survival]: Tracking is different from shadowing in that

your character attempts to pick up the trail of someone or something,
following physical evidence such as footprints, broken twigs, blood trails or
tire marks. Tracking may be treated as an extended action with the possibility
that the tracker could lose the trail at some point. The action might also be
treated as a single roll with the number of successes determining the amount
of information the tracker garners. In the latter case, multiple successes earn
your character an understanding of the target's speed, estimated weight,
shoe size, type of tire or even whether the target is alone.

The quarry may attempt to cover her trail with a Wits+ Survival roll. Each
success on this roll adds one to the difficulty of tracking her. Other factors
may also affect tracking difficulty, such as weather, ground conditions or
available light. If you botch, your character not only loses the trail but
destroys it as well, removing any chance that anyone else could spot the
signs.

Remember that the trails of some beasts are easier to follow than others. A
shambling, mindless corpse doesn't take pains to gather rotted skin, lost
digits or congealed blood. A wolf, however, could disguise its path very well,
through a delicate touch or false scents, in urban or wilder-ness settings. The
Storyteller should modify tracking difficulties based on the type of prey
stalked.

Social Feats

This section covers tasks involving the three Social Attributes (Charisma,
Manipulation and Appearance). Many social situations progress best through
roleplaying, so you're encouraged to avoid rolling dice in social situations. Act
them out instead.

- Carousing [Charisma+ Empathy]: It pays to be the life of the party at times.

Your character may want everyone to like her, and, whether she reciprocates
or not, it may be beneficial to have the barflies on her side in a moment of
truth. Some of the most poignant information can come from the mouths of
drinking buddies and loose-lipped friends. The ability to carouse and show
others a good time comes in handy. If your character wishes to win someone
over by carousing, roll Charisma+ Empathy, difficulty 6. The Storyteller may
modify this difficulty if your character faces a particularly surly crowd or
resistant individual. The target's Nature (Bon Vivant or Curmudgeon, for
example) may also affect the difficulty number. On a botched roll, your
character says or does the completely wrong thing and manages to piss off
everyone.

- Credibility [Manipulation/ Perception+ Subterfuge]: The Subterfuge Talent

covers both attempts to deceive and to see through a deception. When your
character perpetrates a scam, roll Manipulation+ Subterfuge, whether he tries
to impersonate someone trustworthy, use forged documents or propagate a
lie. If your character attempts to detect a scam, roll Perception+ Subterfuge.
Both parties roll versus a difficulty of 7 and, as with any resisted roll, the one
who achieves more successes prevails. On a tie, the lie remains undetected.
Particularly expert documents or other props may increase the difficulty for a
character to perceive a scam, although teamwork increases the chance that
someone sees through it.

The Storyteller may call for hacking or intrusion rolls during the preparation of
the scam, depending on how it's set up. If you botch, the plan falls to pieces
and, chances are, your scheming character is found out.

- Fast-Talk [Manipulation+ Subterfuge]: When in the hot seat, baffle them with
bullshit. Perhaps the other person believes your character's lies, is distracted
from melee by your character's banter, or grows irritated and lets your
character go. This scenario should be roleplayed as well as rolled. Use
Manipulation+ Subterfuge in a resisted action. Your opponent's dice pool
equals his Intelligence+ Subterfuge. Both roll versus a difficulty of 6. Whoever
achieves more successes wins. Your fast-talking character gets no-where on a
tie, although his opponent pauses to listen. On a botch, the fast-talker goes
too far and makes his situation more dire.

- Interrogation [Manipulation+ Empathy/ Intimidation]: Asking questions is

easy. Asking poignant questions with the right amount and type of coercion
takes skill. When your character interrogates someone gently (Manipulation+
Empathy), he asks strategic questions that lead the target to trust him and
reveal information without realizing she's doing it. This system requires a
resisted action. Roll Manipulation+ Empathy, whereas the target gets a dice
pool equal to his Willpower, both versus a difficulty of 6. The one with more
successes prevails. The Storyteller may also request multiple rolls throughout
the course of an interrogation or may simply have opponents roll once at the
beginning or at the end of it all.

Not all interrogation is gentle and manipulative. Some-times, interrogators use

violent and direct methods to force information from their subjects. This
approach involves a resisted roll as well. Whether he uses torture of the body
or the mind, the interrogator rolls Manipulation+ Intimidation, and the subject
rolls a dice pool equal to her Stamina+3 or Willpower (whichever is higher).
Difficulty is 6 for both. Torture may also be treated as a combination of
resisted and extended actions. In-game time between rolls may vary,
depending on the nature of the interrogation. The Storyteller determines how
much time passes.

The victim suffers one health level, bashing or lethal, for every roll his player
makes during serious physical torture (whether the interrogator is successful
in gaining information or not), or loses one Willpower per roll of mental
torture. Combining mental and physical torture has devastating effects on a
victim. A botched roll can destroy her mind, cripple her for life or even kill her.
For every success, an interrogator (whether gentle or violent) gains above his
subject's success total, he drags out additional information. If the
interrogator's extra successes exceed the victim's permanent Willpower at
any point, the subject folds completely and divulges everything she knows.
Your Storyteller determines the relevancy and extent of information gleaned
through interrogation, as a victim often gives a skewed account based on her
own perceptions and on what she thinks her interrogator wants to hear.

If two or more interrogators combine efforts, they add their successes. This
rule applies even if they are playing "good cop/bad cop, " with one player
rolling based on Empathy and the other on Intimidation.

Hunters who torture supernatural subjects must re-member that their victims
are not necessarily human or even alive. Conventional forms of harm may not
faze the creatures, whereas seemingly innocuous treatment could terrify
them. Research or Occult may be required to learn about a monstrosity's
weaknesses- or it may not have any at all.

- Intimidation [Strength/ Manipulation+ Intimidation]: Intimidation has a

passive and active side. Passive intimidation is used when your character's
presence alone causes people to give him a wide berth, stay out of his way,
avoid talking to him or provide whatever he requests. The higher your
character's Intimidation Trait, the more people try to avoid annoying him. No
roll is required.

Your character can also use Intimidation to actively coerce someone into
doing something or not doing some-thing. This effort can be a glare, a snarled
threat or a gesture, but the threat is evident. In this case roll Manipulation +
Intimidation as in a resisted action. Your opponent rolls her Willpower rating.
Both roll against difficulty 6. The target player must achieve more successes
than you do or she bends to your will. If you botch, your character only
embarrasses himself or seems full of hot air. No one is impressed.

A character could forego threats and physically man-handle the target to

intimidate her. Roll for a physical attack according to the combat rules, then
roll for Intimidation.

Although a hunter may be impressive or frightening as people go, night-

creatures probably aren't impressed by his presence alone-unless they know
who and what the human really is. The hunter must establish a reputation. If
he hasn't done so by word of mouth, he probably needs to establish one right
away by defaulting straight to physical intimidation.

- Oration [Charisma+ Leadership]: Many situations call for a character to

make a speech, from convincing the police to investigate a corporate leader
to convincing the public that a politician does not have its best interests at
heart. Whatever the reason for your character's speech, roll Charisma+
Leadership, usually versus a difficulty of 6. The Storyteller may increase or
decrease the difficulty based on how receptive the audience is to the ideas
expressed. If you fail your roll, the crowd rejects the character's ideas. If you
botch, your character may damage her reputation severely or the crowd may
even decide to swarm her.

In the event that your character has time to prepare a speech in advance, the
Storyteller may roll the character's Intelligence+ Expression (difficulty 7) on
your behalf. Success on this roll reduces the difficulty of the upcoming
Charisma + Leadership roll by one. Failure changes nothing; a botch indicates
the material is inappropriate or offensive to the listeners.

- Performance [Charisma+ Performance]: Although hunters live bizarre, tragic,

perhaps even secret lives, they had normal lives before their spirits were
touched. They may even try to maintain some semblance of past passions,
may use stage skills to hide their other lives or may try to bait monsters who
appreciate the arts. When a character performs live before an audience, roll
Charisma+ Performance (difficulty 7). As with oration, the audience's mood
can increase or decrease this difficulty, as can the show's complexity. One
success indicates an enjoyable if uninspired effort, while additional successes
make the performance a truly memorable event for even the surliest crowd.
On a botch, your character forgets lines, hits the wrong chord or otherwise
flubs.

Combat Systems

Into every life, a little rain must fall. Hunters are caught in a downpour. Like it
or not, the scales have been torn from their eyes. The violent world they
already know and struggle to survive in is now revealed to crawl with
abominations, unspeakable horrors that stalk the unwary and ignorant. These
monstrosities have such a stranglehold over humanity and even reality itself
that efforts to expose the world for what it really is are ultimately futile.
Therefore, hunters must take up the burden of their knowledge and do
something about it.

As one of the imbued, you are a living weapon. You draw the line, not only in
the sand, but in the trash-strewn streets and in the claustrophobic wilds- and
then you cross it. In the name of anything sacred, enough is enough!

Combat is an inherent part of Hunter: The Reckoning. Eventually, after your

character stalks a target, learns its secrets and its patterns, she must come
face to face with evil incarnate. When that happens, there's no room for
second-guessing, reason or even hope. If she intends to survive, she must
bring all her arms to bear on the obscenities that prowl the night. If she
doesn't, she'll die. Hell, your character might die either way. But at least she'll
have made a stand to protect the world she once thought she knew and now
can only long for.

Combat doesn't have to-nor should it-rule your game. There are many
methods of warring against demons. Some have bank accounts or credit
histories that can be erased. Others rely on minions who are far easier to take
out than their masters. Some need shelter that can be denied. These guerrilla
tactics are often necessary to wear down a foe before a direct confrontation
(and they can mean the difference between imminent death and a fighting
chance). However, combat ultimately plays an undeniable role in your stories.
The following section details a combat system true to the dynamics,
limitations and brutality of real battle, while still leaving enough room for high
drama and creativity.

Describing The Scene

Part of your Storyteller's job is making sure players have an accurate mental
picture of the environment and events surrounding your character. She
describes the setting, weather, time of day, lighting and the actions of any
Storyteller characters involved in the scene. This responsibility is crucial in
combat situations, where you need to know the dangers your character
perceives and the options from which she may choose.
During combat, the Storyteller describes the changing environment after each
turn. Once all players have acted, the Storyteller explains what each character
sees and feels. They may all have access to the same information, or each
may have his own perspective on transpiring events. These descriptions
should be as detailed and creative as possible. This is the Storyteller's chance
to show off his narrative talents and turn a series of dice rolls into a dramatic,
amusing and entertaining story for the benefit of all.

Feel free to ignore or change any of these systems, especially ones that
create conflict among players or that interrupt the game's progress. The
Storyteller can maintain a realism in combat through event description,
without resorting to tedious rolls for every little move. Use the automatic-
success rule (p. 170) where appropriate, and always strive for an out-come
that's best for your story.

Remember that hunters are human, despite the powers bestowed or inflicted
upon them. When a character might die, the dice keep things fair and prevent
accusations of favoritism or bulldozing. Though no one wants her character to
die, the dice ensure that events transpire without hard feelings.
Types Of Combat

Two basic types of combat occur. Both utilize the same fundamental system,
with minor differences.

- Close Combat: Up close and personal, this includes unarmed combat

(Dexterity+ Brawl) and Melee (Dexterity+ Melee). Unarmed combat includes
something as raucous as a barroom fight or as organized as a boxing match.
Opposing characters use their bodies to fight and must be within reach of
each other (one yard). During Melee, opponents use hand-held weapons,
which may include knives, broken bottles, tire irons, swords or hastily
snatched chairs. Maxi-mum fighting distance ranges from one to two yards.

- Ranged Combat: This type of armed combat involves projectile weapons

(Dexterity+ Firearms) such as guns, crossbows, spear guns, or thrown objects
(Dexterity+ Athletics). Range varies based on the weapon, though the target
must be in sight.

Combat Turns

Combat scenes can sometimes be extremely confusing because so much goes

on at one time. Keeping all the actions and repercussions straight is
challenging. Combat almost always progresses through a series of three-
second turns. The system for handling combat turns is further divided into
three stages: initiative, attack and resolution. This division helps the
Storyteller track characters' actions and their results.

Stage One: Initiative

Who gets to go first? You don't have to resort to going clockwise around the
table, unless it works for you. We suggest the following, instead. At the
beginning of each turn, all players roll one die and add the result to their
initiative ratings [Dexterity+ Wits]. Your Storyteller rolls for any characters she
controls in the scene. The player with the highest result acts first, followed by
the others in descending order of result. If two characters tie, the one with the
higher initiative rating goes first. If both have the same initiative rating, they
act simultaneously. Your character's wound penalties (p. 140) subtract directly
from his initiative rating.

Next, all players announce their characters' intended actions. Declare these
proposed actions in reverse order of initiative so that faster characters have a
chance to decide their actions based on what they hear; a fast character has
the opportunity to react to a slower character's actions. During this phase,
players announce any multiple actions, activation of edges, teamwork, use of
Willpower or Conviction points, or even a delay of action to see what other
events unfold. The Storyteller may ask for clarification of your character's
action to paint a complete picture.

Three possible exceptions may change the initiative order. If you choose to
delay your character's action, you may act at any point after your designated
place in the initiative queue. Called yielding, this option allows your character
to pause and wait, allowing others to act first. You can even interrupt another,
slower character's action. If two players both yield and finally decide to act at
the same time, the one with the higher original initiative placement goes first.

Defensive actions may also interrupt the normal stream of initiative (see
Aborting Actions and Defensive Maneuvers, p. 191). You can have your
character defend herself at any time as long as you have an action left and
either make a successful Willpower roll or spend a Willpower point. A
defensive action takes place at the same time in the turn as the attack
against which your character defends. You trade your normal action for the
chance to protect against the attack. Your character may defend herself only
(block, dodge, parry), though the Storyteller may decide that your character's
defensive action does damage to the attacker.

Finally, all multiple actions occur after everyone else has gone, no matter
where your character falls in the initiative queue. If both you and another
player take multiple actions, you go in order of your initiative ratings.
However, multiple defensive actions- those taken to defend against multiple
attacks-occur at the time that the attacks take place.

Stage Two: Attack

Initiative establishes order and players announce their characters' intentions

prior to the attack stage. The attack stage determines the outcome. Players
roll for success one at a time, in order. The Storyteller guides you through this
process, decides difficulties and which Attribute/ Ability combinations apply,
and approves the use of Willpower or Conviction. If your character doesn't
have an appropriate Ability, she can still attempt the attack, but the dice pool
is drawn from the Attribute only.

Most combat falls under one of two categories: close or ranged. For close
combat, roll either Dexterity+ Brawl (unarmed) or Dexterity+ Melee (armed).
In the case of ranged combat, roll either Dexterity+ Firearms (guns) or
Dexterity+ Athletics (thrown weapons). Any weapon used may modify your
dice pool or difficulty, depending on its special or inhibiting aspects such as a
targeting scope, antiquity or rate of fire.
Most attacks call for a default difficulty of 6. Situational modifiers (weather,
lighting, range or cramped quarters) may adjust this number. If you fail the
roll, your character misses and does no damage. If you botch, your character
not only misses, but misery strikes. Perhaps the weapon jams or explodes, the
blade breaks, your character punches a brick wall instead of her opponent, or
she hits an ally or innocent onlooker.

Stage Three: Resolution

Once you determine that the attack hits, calculate the damage your character
inflicts on his opponent. The type and amount of damage done depends on
the method of attack. All attacks have specific damage ratings that indicate
the number of dice (the damage dice pool) you roll to determine how much
pain and injury your character causes.

The weapon used influences your damage dice pool, as do other situational
factors. Any additional successes (i.e., all beyond the first one) gained on an
attack roll, add an additional die to the damage dice pool. Your character not
only hits his opponent, but he lands the blow with greater accuracy or power.
If it's your character who's wounded, you may attempt to soak damage,
rolling to determine whether her natural constitution offsets any harm. The
rest of this chapter offers more detailed information on determining damage.

After you determine the damage your character inflicts upon her target, the
Storyteller portrays that damage in descriptive terms, narrating the outcome
of the attack. Rather than simply say, “Okay, the guy loses four health levels,”
the Storyteller makes events interesting. He might announce, "You plunge
your knife into his rubbery flesh and pull upward, wrenching until the blade
hits bone. The bastard screams in agony, but there's no blood. You watch as
his chest collapses and begins to decay at an accelerated rate." By being
evocative, your Storyteller creates atmosphere, entertaining you and lending
a sense of narrative continuity to what would otherwise be a series of dice
rolls.

Combat Summary Chart

Stage One: Initiative
- Everyone rolls initiative. Declare actions in descending numerical order,
including multiple actions, activation of hunter powers or Willpower use. The
character with the highest initiative attempts her action first. You may yield
your turn until later in the initiative queue. With a successful Willpower roll or
the expenditure of a Willpower point, your character can defend against an
attack in exchange for her normal action. This defensive action takes place at
the same time as the attack, no matter when your established initiative falls.
Stage Two: Attack
- Unarmed close combat, roll Dexterity+ Brawl.
- Armed close combat, roll Dexterity+ Melee.
- Ranged combat (guns), roll Dexterity+ Firearms.
- Ranged combat (thrown weapons), roll Dexterity+ Athletics.
Stage Three: Resolution
- You determine the damage inflicted by attacks, based on weapon type or
maneuver, adding any extra dice gained from successes on the attack roll to
the damage dice pool.
- Targets may attempt to soak damage, if possible.
- The Storyteller describes the attack and wounding in narrative terms.

Damage Types

Different types of attacks have different damage ratings that indicate the
number of dice you roll to determine how much pain and suffering your
character inflicts. Called the damage dice pool, it takes many factors into
consideration, including the attacker's Strength or the nature of any weapon
used.

Damage rolls are made against a base difficulty of 6. Each success inflicts one
health level of damage to the victim. The victim may attempt to resist this
damage by making a soak roll (see Soak, below). Based on the nature of the
attack, two different types of damage may result:

- Bashing: Your character punches, hits with a blunt instrument or otherwise

pummels her victim. This type of damage probably doesn't kill the target
instantly, though repeated damage could certainly do so. Use your character's
Stamina rating to resist bashing effects. Bashing damage heals fairly quickly
(see Bashing Damage, p. 200 for more detail).

- Lethal: Gunshots, blades and even crushing damage may prove instantly
fatal to your character. You may not use Stamina to resist lethal effects, and
lethal injuries take quite a while to heal by normal means.

Your damage dice pool, whether bashing or lethal, must always have at least
one die, no matter the modifiers. Even the weakest attack has a chance of
inflicting a minor amount of damage. Furthermore, you cannot botch a
damage roll. If you botch on a damage roll, it simply indicates that your
character gives her victim a weak slap that does no real harm. Specifics of
applying damage effects appear on p. 199.

Soak
Your character's natural resilience aids her in resisting damage under certain
circumstances; she can "soak" damage. Your soak dice pool equals your
character's Stamina rating. She can resist only bashing damage, unless she
has special protection such as armor. Many supernatural creatures may soak
lethal damage, but normal humans don't have that kind of fortitude.

During the resolution stage of combat, you may roll your soak dice pool to
resist damage that your character incurs from attacks. As a reflexive action,
this does not cost an action; it occurs automatically. Soak rolls use a difficulty
number of 6 unless modified by your Storyteller. Each success you roll
removes one from the total damage inflicted. As with damage rolls, you
cannot botch a soak roll, only fail.

Example: Fowler eats a mouthful of zombie fist. His at-tacker scores two
successes on the damage roll. Fowler has 4 Stamina; he's pretty tough as
mere mortals go. Fowler's player rolls Stamina versus a difficulty of 6 and
earns two successes, which cancel out both the levels of damage inflicted by
the rotting cadaver. The Storyteller describes how Fowler reels back,
nauseated by the decaying hand coming anywhere near his face. On his tum,
Butch splatters the zombie's nose all over its dead face.

Optional Rule: Soaking Lethal Damage

Normal humans- including hunters- in the World of Darkness cannot normally

soak lethal damage. However, if you want your game to have a bold, heroic
flavor, you can let hunter characters soak bashing and lethal damage. The
mechanics are the same for both: Roll Stamina, difficulty 6, to reduce damage
successes achieved against your character. Perhaps that knife stabs your
character in the arm instead of the chest, or those claws inflict a flesh wound
instead of a disemboweling. The Storyteller decides if lethal dam-age can be
soaked, depending on the theme and style of his chronicle.

Armor

A very important tool for hunters, armor comes in many shapes and forms.
From a bullet-proof vest to a trash-can lid stuffed inside a jacket, armor
increases your soak dice pool. Add armor's rating to your character's Stamina
score when determining the number of dice in your pool. Armor can help
protect against both bashing and lethal damage. Appropriate types of armor
are required to resist lethal damage. Against lethal attacks, your soak dice
pool consists of armor rating alone, not your character's combined Stamina
and armor.

Attackers may make targeting rolls to hit unprotected portions of a defender

and thus ignore armor. The Storyteller assigns the attack's difficulty modifier-
typically+1 or+2.

No armor is indestructible. If the damage rolled in a single attack equals or

exceeds double the armor's rating, the equipment is destroyed.

Armor may hinder mobility, too. It subtracts a number of dice from dice pools
related to bodily coordination and agility (most Dexterity-based dice pools).
Dice pool penalties are provided on the Armor Chart (p. 198). Hunters must
weigh mobility versus protection when they stalk the unknown. Is it better to
take most damage and walk away, but be a lumbering target? Or is it better
to hunt unencumbered, to attack freely, but to risk life and limb at all times?

Armor types, their ratings and other specifics are on p. 198.

Combat Maneuvers

The following systems are options that characters may use during combat. If
you visualize your character's moves-rather than just roll dice for a generic
“attack”-the story becomes more interesting and the drama more intense.
Most of these maneuvers take one action to accomplish.

General Maneuvers

- Aborting Actions: At any time during a turn, you can abandon your stated
action to block, dodge or parry an incoming attack. You must either make a
successful Will-power roll (a reflexive action) using Willpower rating as a dice
pool, difficulty 6; or you can spend a Willpower point to be allowed to defend
automatically. If your Willpower roll fails, your character may not defend and
must follow through with her originally declared action on your initiative.

You enact your defense at the moment the attack occurs, even if the attack
occurs before your place in initiative comes around. If your character has
already acted this turn, she may not defend against the attack. (See
Defensive Maneuvers, below, for descriptions of blocking, dodging and
parrying.)

- Ambush: To have your character sneak up on or secretly lie in wait for her
quarry and get a surprise attack, roll Dexterity+ Stealth with a resisted roll
against the target's Perception+ Alertness. If you score more successes than
the victim, your character may stage one free attack against him, and you
add any extra successes beyond the first in the ambush roll to your attack
dice pool. On a tie, your character still attacks first, but the target may defend
with a block, dodge or parry. If the target gets more successes, he sees your
character coming and both parties roll initiative normally. Targets already
involved in combat cannot be ambushed.

- Blind Fighting/ Fire: Situational factors-pitch darkness, blindness or physical

damage- inhibit vision during combat. Attacking while blinded incurs a+2
difficulty to the roll, and ranged attacks cannot be made accurately at all.
Certain hunter edges may offset some of these challenges.

- Flank and Rear Attacks: If your character attacks from the side or flank of his
target, add a single attack die to your dice pool. If your character attacks from
the rear, add two extra attack dice to your pool.

- Movement: A character can move half her running distance (see Movement,
p. 181) and still take an action in a turn. She may follow that movement with
an action, as well. Your character moves half the distance she could normally
cover, then acts. Though this is not considered a multiple action, the
Storyteller may impose a penalty to the difficulty number or to your dice pool
for the action. On the other hand, if your character moves while attempting a
second action, such as crossing a room while trying to reload her gun, each
yard moved penalizes the other action's dice pool by one.

- Targeting: If you want your character to attempt a called shot or to aim for a
specific location on the target, the difficulty of the attack roll increases.
However, your character can bypass armor or cover, or can inflict extra
damage by calling a shot. A successful targeted shot, punch or stab can have
dramatic results beyond simply inflicting damage: the destruction of an
object, blinding of an enemy or disarming of an opponent.

If your character uses a blunt object that would normally cause bashing
damage, but she targets the victim's head specifically, the resulting damage
may be considered lethal at the Storyteller's discretion. Refer to the following
chart when determining difficulty and damage modifiers for aimed attacks.

Target Size
Medium (leg, arm, briefcase)
Small (hand, head, weapon)
Precise (eye, heart, padlock)
Difficulty
Damage No modifier

Defensive Maneuvers

When under attack, your character may defend rather than follow through on
her intended action. So long as your character has not yet acted in this turn,
he may attempt to dodge, parry or block an incoming attack. To attempt a
defensive maneuver, you must either make a successful Willpower roll versus
a difficulty of 6 or spend a Willpower point (see Aborting Actions, above). If
your Willpower roll fails, your character may not defend and must follow
through with her originally declared action on your initiative.

Your character can defend against almost any type of attack by using a
dodge, block or parry maneuver. Not all of these options work in all situations,
though. Dodging may prove impossible in a confined area. Your character
doesn't know to block or parry if surprised. The Storyteller decides whether
your character may realistically attempt a defensive action or not.

All defensive maneuvers use the same basic system. Each is treated as a
resisted action; your defense roll is compared to the opponent's attack roll. If
the attacker rolls equal or fewer successes, he misses. If the attacker rolls
more successes than the defender, he subtracts the defender's successes
from his own. Any leftovers are added to his damage dice. In this way, even
though the defender does not prevent the attack, he reduces the amount of
damage he takes from the hit.

- Block [Dexterity+ Brawl]: Your character uses her own body to deflect a
hand-to-hand bashing attack. Lethal attacks cannot normally be blocked
unless the defender wears armor. Your character cannot block ranged attacks.

- Dodge [Dexterity+ Dodge]: Your character bobs, weaves, ducks or dives to

avoid an attack. It's assumed that she has the room to maneuver. If not, the
Storyteller may disallow a dodge. In melee or brawl combat, the successful
defender ducks out of the way of the attack. During a ranged attack, such as
in a firefight, the successful defender moves at least one yard and ends up
behind cover or prone on the ground. (For advice on what might happen next,
see Cover, p. 196.)

- Parry [Dexterity+ Melee]: Your character uses a melee weapon to deflect

either an unarmed or armed close-combat attack. When your character
parries with a weapon that can cause lethal damage, the attacker may
actually be injured. If you roll more successes on the resisted action, add the
weapon's base damage to the number of extra successes you earn on the
defense roll. This total forms your damage dice pool, which you roll to
determine how much injury the defender inflicts on the attacker.

Defense Complications

Although characters' actions in a turn follow a particular order based on

initiative rolls, it's important to remember that all the combat in one turn
occurs over a period of only three seconds. This makes events nearly
simultaneous. As a result, your character may defend against attacks that
occur later in the initiative queue if you announce that she intends to use a
multiple action to either take both a nondefensive action and a defensive one,
or to just defend for the entire turn. This differs from what would happen if
you wanted to abort your regularly scheduled action to have your character
defend against an earlier attack. In the case of aborting, you give up your
regular action and cannot defend against subsequent attacks.

If you do a multiple action involving both nondefensive and defensive actions,

your character attacks when your place in the initiative queue comes up, and
then also defends against any attacks thrown at her by characters that follow
her in the queue. All of your character's attacks take place on your initiative,
but she can continue to defend other incoming attacks until the end of the
turn. The multiple-action system applies, though, and each subsequent
defensive action be-comes more difficult (see Multiple Actions, p. 171).

Example: Pauline wants Kara to perform a multiple action. Kara attempts to

pick up a book lying on a table, thrust a knife into the corpse rushing at her,
and defend against one other subsequent attack that turn. Pauline makes
grabbing the book the priority and rolls Dexterity (3) + Athletics (3), for a total
of six dice. She reduces her pool to three because Kara attempts to perform
three actions this turn. Pauline makes the attack's Dexterity (3) + Melee (4)
roll with a dice pool reduced by four because this is the second of Kara's
multiple actions. These two actions occur during Kara's regular action phase
because neither is defensive in nature.

The next person in the initiative queue then acts; the Storyteller's character
takes a swipe at Kara. Kara now gets to defend. However, Pauline is still
bound by the multiple-action modifiers. She begins with a dice pool of
Dexterity (3) + Dodge (4), but reduces it by five, because this is the third of
Kara's actions this turn, leaving her with only two dice to roll in Kara's
defense.

Note that naming multiple opponents to defend against complicates matters

further and adds to defense rolls' difficulty numbers (see Multiple Opponents,
p. 194).

Rather than attack and defend in the same turn, your character can choose to
do nothing but defend against attacks. As with the system above, this differs
from aborting your turn to defend against an attack that occurs prior to your
regularly scheduled action. Instead, you defend against only those attacks
that occur simultaneously with or follow-ing you in the initiative queue. Your
character may not defend against attacks that happen prior to her regular
action. If your character does nothing but defend in this manner, do not use
the multiple-action system. Rather, you have a full dice pool for the first
defensive action and lose one die from it for each subsequent defensive
action made in the same turn. When you run out of dice, your character may
no longer defend against attacks. It's tough to avoid several incoming attacks.

Example: Pauline wants Kara to spend her entire turn dodging (Dexterity+
Dodge). Kara may not defend against any attacks that occur prior to her
action. Pauline must wait and begins Kara's defense only when Pauline's name
comes up in the initiative queue. The first attack comes from the next person
in line and Kara defends against it with her complete pool of seven dice. For
the second attack, she reduces her pool by one, down to six. For the third, she
removes another die bringing her total down to five. Several characters later,
on the fourth attack, she resists with a dice pool of four. She rolls three dice
against the fifth attack, two against the sixth and one against the seventh. On
the eighth attack she has no dice left, so she can no longer defend.

Maneuver Characteristics

You usually roll combat maneuvers against a difficulty of 6. Certain special

combat effects and situational factors may modify your attack roll, difficulty
number or damage dice pool. The following categories explain maneuver
characteristics in this chapter's rules.

- Traits: The recommended Attribute + Ability Traits used for the maneuver. If
your character doesn't have the appropriate Ability, default to the Attribute
alone.

- Accuracy: Some maneuvers add dice to attack rolls. A "+3" adds three dice
to the attacker's dice pool for that attack.

- Difficulty: Some maneuvers impose modifiers, positive or negative, to an

attack's difficulty. Base difficulty is 6; any modifiers listed add to or subtract
from it. A "+2" indicates that the attack's difficulty-initially 6- increases to 8.

- Damage: This category is the damage dice pool.

Close Combat Maneuvers

This is simply a list of the common maneuvers used in close combat. Your
character can create his own; the Story-teller determines the appropriate
Traits, difficulty, accuracy and damage involved. All brawling combat inflicts
bashing damage unless stated otherwise. Weapon type determines the
damage inflicted in melee (see the Melee Weapons Chart, p. 198). Damage
inflicted using a weapon is typically considered lethal, though blunt objects
such as clubs or bats deliver bashing damage.

The Storyteller may modify the difficulties and dam-ages of the maneuvers
described in this section, depending on the combat style your character uses.
Always remember that what works best for drama and the story takes
precedent over rules.

- Bite: It's surprising how much damage a person can do simply by biting. Of
course, a great deal depends on where and whom the hunter bites, but he can
cause damage with clamped teeth nonetheless. The Storyteller may require
that your character grab her victim successfully before a bite can be
attempted. Your character may target a specific body part such as the nose,
an ear or finger. Difficulty of the roll increases by +1 or +2, depending on the
situation. Biting may be considered bashing or lethal damage based on the
location and nature of the bite.

Traits: Dexterity + Brawl

Difficulty: Normal
Accuracy: Normal
Damage: Strength

- Clinch: Your character grapples her target. She applies a clinch with a
successful attack roll. Roll Strength damage in the first turn. In subsequent
turns, your character and his opponent act in order of placement in the
initiative queue. The attacker can attempt to inflict damage automatically by
squeezing (Strength); no further attack roll is required. The victim can try to
escape the clinch with his action. Neither may perform any other type of
action until the victim breaks free or is released. Make resisted Strength+
Brawl rolls for the victim to escape a clinch. If the escaping character gets
more successes, he breaks free. Otherwise the two continue to grapple.

Traits: Strength + Brawl

Difficulty: Normal
Accuracy: Normal
Damage: Strength

- Disarm: A character can knock a weapon out of an opponent's hand by

making an attack roll at+1 difficulty (usually for a total of 7). If successful, roll
damage dice. If damage successes exceed your opponent's Strength score,
your character knocks the weapon free. Your opponent takes no damage; the
attack focuses on the weapon rather than the wielder. If you botch, your
character may drop her own weapon or get in the way of a blow instead.
Traits: Dexterity+ Brawl/ Melee
Difficulty: +1
Accuracy: Normal
Damage: Special

- Hold: This maneuver resembles a clinch, but without intent to do damage.

Your character immobilizes but does not injure the target. If your roll
succeeds, your character manages to hold her target until the target's next
action. Both players roll resisted Strength+ Brawl at that time. If your
opponent gets more successes, he is free. If he does not, the victim remains
immobilized until his next action- at which point he may try again.

Traits: Strength+ Brawl

Difficulty: Normal
Accuracy: Normal
Damage: None

- Kick: A simple knock to the shins imposes a+1 modifier to difficulty and
inflicts the attacker's Strength+1 in damage. The Storyteller may increase
these numbers if your character attempts a spinning martial-arts kick to the
head or something equally complex.

Traits: Dexterity+ Brawl

Difficulty: +1
Accuracy: Normal
Damage: Strength+1

- Multiple Opponents: When fighting multiple opponents, your character

suffers attack and defense difficulties of +1, cumulative for each opponent
after the first, to a maximum of +4.

- Scratch: Women have used their nails against aggressors for centuries. It
works for men as well in some cases. If your character targets a specific body
part such as eyes, scratching may have secondary effects. The Story-teller
may increase the difficulty of the attack by +1 or +2 for called shots.
Scratching is considered bashing damage for healing purposes.

Traits: Dexterity+ Brawl

Difficulty: Normal
Accuracy: Normal
Damage: Strength

- Strike: Your character simply punches. The base attack is a simple action and
inflicts your character's Strength in damage. The Storyteller may wish to
increase the difficulty and/ or damage dice if the attack is more complex or
targeted at a specific location.

Traits: Dexterity+ Brawl

Difficulty: Normal
Accuracy: Normal
Damage: Strength

- Sweep: Your character attempts to knock her opponent off his feet with a
sweep of the leg or use of a weapon such as a staff or chain. If your roll proves
successful, your character's opponent takes Strength damage and must roll
Dexterity + Athletics (difficulty 8) to avoid a knockdown (see Maneuver
Complications, p. 196).

Traits: Dexterity+ Brawl/ Melee

Difficulty: +1
Accuracy: Normal
Damage: Strength; knockdown

- Tackle: Your character rushes her opponent in an attempt to tackle him to

the ground. Your attack roll suffers a+1 difficulty modifier. If successful,
Strength+1 damage is inflicted. However, both combatants must roll Dexterity
+ Athletics (difficulty 7) or suffer a knockdown (see Maneuver Complications,
p. 196). Even if your character's target succeeds at his Athletics roll, he is still
unbalanced and suffers a+1 difficulty to his actions in the next turn.

Traits: Strength+ Brawl

Difficulty: +1
Accuracy: Normal
Damage: Strength+1

- Weapon Length: When an opponent wields a sword, staff or other long melee
weapon, your character finds it difficult to get within range to punch, kick or
stab. The difficulty of your attack roll increases by+1 as the opponent fends
off your character.

Traits: Dexterity+ Brawl

Difficulty: +1
Accuracy: Normal
Damage: Per weapon type

- Weapon Strike: Your character uses a weapon to slash, thrust or jab in

melee. See the Melee Weapons Chart, p. 198, for particulars.
Traits: Dexterity+ Melee
Difficulty: Normal
Accuracy: Normal
Damage: Per weapon type

Ranged Combat Maneuvers

A number of strategies affect ranged-com-bat maneuvers. Many physical

conflicts involve ranged weapons, and the following systems offer ways to
deal with them. Feel free to create your own maneuvers. The Ranged
Weapons Chart, p. 198, provides more specific information.

- Aiming: For each turn that your character aims at her target, add one die to
your attack pool. The maximum number of dice that can be gained this way
equals your character's Perception, and your character must have at least one
dot in Firearms to perform this maneuver. If the weapon has a scope, add two
more dice if your character aims. Your character must focus on aiming during
this time and can perform no other actions. Taking an action before shooting,
even to defend, cancels the benefits of time spent aiming. Furthermore, your
character cannot aim at a target moving faster than a walk.

- Automatic Fire: A weapon unloads its entire ammunition clip in one attack
against a single target. You make one roll, adding 10 dice to the weapon's
accuracy. However, difficulty in-creases by+2 due to recoil. Extra successes
beyond the first add to your damage dice pool, which is still treated as
equivalent to that of one bullet. When using automatic fire, your character
may not target a particular part of the body or object, and she may at-tempt
the maneuver only if her weapon's clip is at least half-full when she fires.

Example: Victor un-loads a full AK-47 clip at the raging, hairy demon bearing
down on him. Victor's player, Jim, rolls Dexterity (4) + Firearms (3) + 10 (for
the maneuver) for a total of 17 dice in his pool. The Story-teller sets the
difficulty at 8 (6 for short range + 2 for re-coil). Jim gets six successes and the
creature doesn't dodge. Jim now rolls 12 dice for damage-7 (the base damage
for an assault rifle) + 5 (for the extra successes). The clip is completely empty
and Victor must reload-assuming the creature lets him keep his hands.

Traits: Dexterity+ Firearms

Difficulty: +2
Accuracy: +10
Damage: Special

- Cover: Your character may duck behind a wall, lie flat on the ground or use
another character as a shield. All these maneuvers constitute cover. It makes
your character more difficult to hit, but it may also make it awkward for your
character to attempt other actions. The difficulty to hit a character behind
cover increases according to the chart, below.

By the same token, the difficulty to fire back from the safety of cover
increases; your character must pop up, fire, then duck down again. If your
character fires back from shelter, the difficulty modifier to your roll is one less
than the modifier listed on the chart below. Thus, if the difficulty listed below
is+1, you suffer no increase to your difficulty for firing back.

If both combatants take cover, difficulty modifiers are cumulative. If your

character hides behind a car and her target hits the dirt- prone- your attack
difficulty is modified by +2 (+1 for firing at a prone target, and +1 for firing
from behind a car). Your opponent's difficulty is also modified by +2 (+2 for
firing at a target behind a car, though he takes no modifier for firing from a
prone position).

Cover Type
Light (lying prone, behind streetlight)
Good (behind car)
Superior (around a corner)
Difficulty Increase

- Multiple Shots: Your character can take more than one shot in a turn; it's a
multiple action. The first shot's dice pool is reduced by the total number of
shots fired, and each subsequent one is reduced by an additional die,
cumulatively. The weapon's rate of fire limits how many shots your character
can get off in a turn.

Traits: Dexterity+ Firearms

Difficulty: Normal
Accuracy: Special
Damage: Weapon type

- Range: The Ranged Weapons Chart, p. 198, lists each weapon's short range.
All attacks at short range call for a difficulty of 6. A weapon's maximum range
is double its short range. Attacks from a range greater than short, but less
than maximum, have a difficulty of 8. A target within two meters of the
attacker is at point-blank range. Roll point-blank shots versus a difficulty of 4.

- Reloading: Your character must spend one full turn to reload her gun. She
may reload while doing something else as a part of a multiple action at the
Storyteller's discretion.
-Strafing: Firing a full-automatic weapon across an area rather than at a
specific target adds 10 dice to a standard attack roll, and empties the clip.
This maneuver, called strafing, covers a maximum of three yards.

Make one attack roll and, if successful, divide your successes evenly among
all targets in the designated area. The successes assigned to a particular
target are added to your damage dice pool for that specific target, as well. If
there is only one target within range or area of effect, only half the successes
affect him. If you roll fewer successes than there are targets, you or the
Storyteller assign one per target until all have been allocated. (Your Storyteller
may prefer to allocate successes randomly; other targets remain unaffected).
Dodge rolls versus strafing are at+1 difficulty.

Traits: Dexterity+ Firearms

Difficulty: +2
Accuracy: +10
Damage: Special

- Three-Round Burst: Your character fires three shots from the weapon's clip at
a single target, and you gain two additional dice on your attack roll. Only
certain weapons have the capacity to fire this way; see the Ranged Weapons
Chart. Recoil adds +1 to the difficulty of your attack roll. As with automatic
fire, your damage dice pool is formed as if only one bullet had been fired from
the weapon.

Traits: Dexterity+ Firearms

Difficulty: +1
Accuracy: +2
Damage: Weapon type

- Two Weapons: Your character gains a distinct ad-vantage by firing two

weapons at once, although this maneuver has its share of complications.
Considered a multiple action, the maneuver imposes the standard reduced
dice pools for total shots fired. Recoil modifiers apply as well. Additionally,
your attack rolls suffer+1 difficulty for her off hand, unless she's
ambidextrous. Your character may fire a number of shots equal to the
weapons' rates of fire.

Traits: Dexterity+ Firearms

Difficulty: +1/off-hand
Accuracy: Special
Damage: Weapon type

Maneuver Complications
Combat can be complicated by numerous events, several of which are listed
below. Your Storyteller should feel free to come up with others as a situation
warrants.

- Blinded: If your character acts against a blind opponent, you gain two extra
dice on any attack rolls. On the other hand, blind characters receive a+2
modifier to the difficulty of all actions.

- Dazed: If, on any single attack, your damage successes exceed the target's
Stamina (for humans) or Stamina+2 (for supernatural beings), the victim is
dazed. Only successes left over after the defender's soak attempt apply and
are com-pared to the defender's Stamina. A dazed victim loses his action,
whether this turn or the next; he can neither act nor defend during that time.
The character may still trigger reflexives, though.

- Immobilization: When your character attacks an immobilized victim who can

still struggle (held by someone, for example), add two dice to your attack roll.
All attacks hit automatically if the victim is completely immobilized (tied up or
somehow paralyzed).

- Knockdown: Your character falls or is forced off his feet. Make a Dexterity +
Athletics roll to determine whether he can stand immediately. However, his
initiative is reduced by two in the next turn. If the roll fails, your character's
next action can be to rise. In case of a botch, your character falls hard or at an
odd angle and suffers one bashing health level of damage automatically.

Your character may use certain maneuvers such as sweep or tackle to knock
down an opponent. Other particularly powerful attacks-a solid punch or hit
with a bashing weapon-may also knock a target flat. Your Storyteller decides if
a knockdown occurs in these in-stances. They happen only when cinematic or
appropriate to the story.

- Stake Through Heart: Hunters can rarely identify the creatures they confront,
let alone know their weak-nesses. And yet, there are the classic Hollywood
solutions to monsters: fire, garlic, religious symbols-and a stake through the
heart. Whether the last actually works or has any bearing on the heart at all is
unknown without extensive research or occult knowledge. After all, wouldn't a
stake through the heart kill just about anything? Hunters have to learn
whether the legend is true the hard way, and they might not survive to teach
the lesson.

To stake an opponent, an attacker must target the heart (difficulty 9). The
Storyteller decides whether any special effects result, if any.
Ability: Dexterity+ Melee
Difficulty: +3
Accuracy: Normal
Damage: Strength +1

Close Combat Maneuvers Table

(C): The maneuver carries over into successive turns.
(K): The maneuver causes a knockdown.
(R): The maneuver reduces an opponent's attack successes.

Ranged Combat Maneuvers Table

Melee Weapons Chart

Weapon: Your character may use many other items as weapons (meat
cleaver, pencil, razor, chair). Apply the listing above that approximates the
weapon used.
Concealment: P= Can be carried in pocket; J= Can be hidden in jacket; T= Can
be hidden in trench coat; N= Cannot be concealed at all.
+ Blunt objects inflict bashing damage unless targeted at the head (see
Targeting, p. 192). If so, they may inflict lethal damage.
*The attacker must target the heart (difficulty 9).

Armor Chart
Class One (reinforced clothing)
Class Two (armor T-shirt)
Class Three (Kevlar vesta)
Class Four (flak jacket)
Class Five (full riot gear)

Ranged Weapons Chart

Damage: Indicates the damage dice pool. Firearms deliver lethal damage
against mortals. The type of damage may vary against supernatural enemies
(see Chapter 9).
Range: This number represents the practical shot range in yards (difficulty 6).
Your character may fire at twice this distance, but attacks are considered long
range (difficulty 8).
Rate: The maximum number of bullets or three-round bursts a gun can fire in
a single turn. This rate does not apply to full-auto or strafing attacks.
Clip: The number of shells a gun can hold- the +1 indicates a bullet can be
held in the chamber, ready to fire.
Concealment: P= Can be carried in pocket; J= Can be hidden in jacket; T= Can
be hidden in trench coat; N= Cannot be concealed at all.
*Indicates the weapon is capable of three-round bursts, full-auto and strafing.
**Crossbows require five turns to reload. A character may use a crossbow to
attempt to stake a creature with a targeted shot

Health

As a hunter, your character puts his life in jeopardy the moment he decides to
do something about the horrors that stalk the world. They've been in power
for who knows how long-decades, centuries, millennia? They have abilities
beyond his worst nightmare. Meanwhile, your character is human and has
only just woken up to the truth. How can he expect to stand for long against
impossibly powerful, bizarre, ageless creatures? Most hunters can't. They're
beaten, maimed, broken and left for dead-and those are the lucky ones.
Getting hurt-perhaps badly-is a forgone conclusion. But when those creatures
are still out there, committing obscenities and playing with the lives of the
unwitting, what's one more person's pain and suffering? You may have no
choice but to fight on, regardless of the cost.

Your character's Health Trait represents how healthy or wounded he is. When
your character suffers damage, every success removes one level of Health
from him. As your character becomes progressively more injured, his wounds
affect his ability to perform actions (modifiers are applied to the dice pools of
certain tasks). If he's hurt badly enough, he may become incapacitated, need
hospitalization or even die. And if he lives, months may pass before he heals
fully. The following section explains Health in detail.

The Health Chart

Track your character's current physical condition on the Health chart located
on your character sheet. This chart indicates the penalties imposed to your
dice pools for each level of injury your character sustains. As he suffers more
injuries, his health declines, his actions become more difficult and he may
eventually fall unconscious or die.

Every character has seven health levels ranging from Bruised to

Incapacitated. If he has no injuries at all- no Health levels checked off on the
sheet- your character is in perfect health. If he falls below Incapacitated, he's
dead. Whenever your character's attacker scores a success on a damage roll,
mark off one health level on your character's Health chart. Multiple successes
deliver multiple levels of damage. For example, if your character's attacker
achieves one success on a damage roll (after your soak roll) and your
character is currently in perfect health, that damage success reduces him to
Bruised. You mark off the first box on your character sheet (Bruised).
The number to the left of the lowest box marked indicates your current dice
penalty. The more damage your character takes, the more difficult it becomes
for him to act at full capacity. Subtract the dice penalty listed beside your
character's current health level from your dice pool for every action your
character performs (including initiative rolls, but excluding reflexives such as
soak rolls) until the wound heals. These penalties also affect movement,
impairing it based on the level of injury.

Incapacitated

When your character's Health drops to Incapacitated, your character may or

may not be conscious, at the Storyteller's discretion. He may request that you
make a Stamina roll to determine whether your character remains awake. If
unconscious, she may not perform any reflexives related to her Conviction or
Willpower, though she may still attempt to soak any further damage. If your
character manages to remain conscious, she may continue to perform all
reflexives, though she has fallen and can't get up-at least not until some of
her wounds have healed. She may also speak, but even that may prove
difficult. The Storyteller may request a Willpower roll or expenditure for your
conscious character to say anything at all.

Health Chart
Slightly contused; your character suffers no movement or dice-pool penalties.
Superficially hurt; your character suffers no movement penalties.
Hurt; your character's movement is impaired slightly (halve maximum running
speed)
Significantly hurt; your character may not run, though he may still walk or jog.
Badly hurt; your character may hobble no more than three yards per turn.
Extremely hurt; your character may crawl no more than one yard per turn.
Direly hurt; possibly unconscious; your character may do nothing, take no
actions and, if unconscious, only certain reflexives such as soak may be
attempted.
What more is there to say? What will your next character be like?

Applying Damage

Your character can sustain two different types of dam-age: bashing and lethal.
Bashing damage includes any wounds inflicted by blunt instruments, punches,
kicks or other similar trauma. Lethal damage comes from knives, bullets or
any type of attack that actually pierces or cuts flesh. All types of injuries are
cumulative and the resulting total determines your character's current health
level. Specifics on each type of damage are provided below.
When marking your character's damage on his char-acter sheet, record a "/"
for bashing damage and an "X" for lethal damage. These marks go in the
boxes beside the different health levels on the Health chart. Mark the top
square first and work your way down, filling them in as your character
becomes more wounded.

When your character acquires a mixture of lethal and bashing damage, mark
the lethal damage at the top; it pushes any bashing damage down. For
example, if you mark that your character has taken a level of bashing damage
in the Bruised box, and she then takes a level of lethal damage, mark the
Bruised box with an "X" for the lethal damage and move the bashing damage
down by putting a “/” in the Hurt box. Any further bashing damage goes in the
Injured box and beyond. Any further lethal damage pushes the entire thing
down again until all the boxes are marked with either “/” or “X.”

Once all the boxes are marked, any further damage, whether lethal or
bashing, causes existing bashing damage to turn into lethal damage on a one-
to-one basis. Once all the boxes are marked, it isn't necessary to continue
pushing bashing damage downward. Any further lethal damage simply marks
over existing bashing damage.

Example: Kara runs down a dead-end alley. Several walking dead surround
her. One of them hits her with a lead pipe causing one level of bashing
damage. Pauline marks that on Kara's character sheet by putting a "/" in the
box next to Bruised. Kara manages to fight the first monster to the ground,
but is in deep trouble. Another corpse comes up behind her and rakes her
back with its jagged nails, doing two levels of lethal damage. Pauline marks
this damage with an “X” in the boxes next to Bruised and Hurt, then moves
the original bashing damage down by marking a “/” in the box next to Injured.
Kara, slashed and bleeding, draws her gun and shoots. The zombies back
off...a little.

Health
Bruised
Hurt
Injured
Wounded
Mauled
Crippled
Incapacitated

Bashing Damage

Any kind of damage that does not pierce the body, but that batters against it,
is considered bashing damage. This includes most damage from hand-to-hand
combat, punches, kicks, beatings with a blunt instrument and even falling or
being thrown into a brick wall. Certain targeted bashing attacks may cause
lethal damage, at the Storyteller's discretion (see Targeting, p. 192). Use a "/"
when marking bashing damage on your character sheet.

Once your character falls to Incapacitated, mark any further bashing damage
over your existing bashing levels (using "Xs" this time). Skip any boxes
already marked with lethal damage and move down to the first that is bashing
only. Each level that goes from "/" to "X" due to ongoing bashing trauma is
now considered lethal. Once your character goes one level below
Incapacitated with lethal damage("X"), she dies. Your character may there-
fore die from prolonged bashing attacks, but not nearly as quickly as from
lethal damage alone (see Healing Bashing Damage, below).

If bashing damage injures your character to the level of Incapacitated, she

may neither act nor move as dictated by the Incapacitated rules, above.

Example: Kara races out the mouth of the alley, desperate to escape her
attackers. Staggering into the street, she is hit by a passing car and thrown
into a brick wall. She suffers three levels of bashing damage. Pauline marks
these on her character sheet as slashes next to Wounded, Mauled and
Crippled. The new wounds add to the ones Kara has already sustained.

Though seriously injured, Kara stumbles toward a restaurant where she

believes the creatures won't follow. One of the monsters catches up with her
just inside the doorway and slams her to the floor. This attack inflicts another
two levels of bashing damage. Pauline marks one of them on Kara's Health
chart as a"/" in the box next to Incapacitated. She then marks the other one
as an "X" next to Injured. Because the chart is full, she must turn the
uppermost bashing damage already marked into lethal damage. Any further
bashing damage slowly turns those "/" marks into "X" marks-Kara is in dire
straits. Incapacitated, she can't defend herself.

Lethal Damage

Attacks made with piercing or cutting weapons-such as knives, guns,

crossbows or swords-deliver lethal damage. Fire and electricity also cause
lethal damage. A human, mortal character- all hunters- may not usually soak
lethal damage at all. Such damage is applied directly to your character's
Health chart. Mark lethal damage on your character sheet with an “X.” Once
your character becomes Incapacitated lethally, meaning that you have
marked an "X" in the box next to Incapacitated, any further damage, whether
bashing or lethal, kills your character.
Lethal wounds require immediate medical attention to keep the victim from
bleeding to death. If, while tallying your character's cumulative injuries, you
mark an "X" next to Wounded or beyond, your character suffers one extra
lethal level of damage automatically for each hour that passes thereafter
without medical attention to stop the bleeding. One success on an
Intelligence/Wits+ Medicine/ Survival roll by a rescuer allows the character
administering first aid to stop the bleeding. Extra successes may even allow
the rescuer to treat the character well enough to actually heal some of his
injuries. So long as your character is not Incapacitated, he may attempt to
stop his own bleeding (see Healing Lethal Damage, below).

If, through the course of your character's cumulative injuries, you mark an "X"
next to Crippled or Incapacitated, your character must seek more complete
medical care, or he does not recover at all. A rescuer may manage to stop the
bleeding, but extra successes do nothing to heal any of your injured
character's wounds. If your character has an "X" next to Incapacitated, he is
comatose at worst and delirious at best, and could still die even if all attacks
have stopped. Your Storyteller determines the nature of these injuries and
may even roll for further injury if your character does not receive critical
medical treatment within an appropriate amount of time.

Example: Kara lies on the restaurant floor, stunned, and begs for someone to
help her. The place is deserted. Well, not quite. Her attackers have followed
her and brought friends.

She already has three lethal wounds and is Incapacitated from her bashing
wounds. The walking dead descend upon her again with teeth smashing and
claws rending. One of them bites flesh from her neck, delivering one level of
lethal damage (as decreed by the Storyteller and given the nature of her
attackers' jagged teeth and nails). Pauline marks the Wounded box with an "X.
" Because the chart is already full with bashing damage to the level of
Incapacitated (as shown in the previous example, above), she doesn't need to
push down the bashing damage.

Incapacitated, Kara still can't defend herself, so a creature with razor-sharp

claws tears open her abdomen and deals one more level of lethal damage.
Pauline marks the Mauled box with an "X."

The third monster bites a huge chunk from her arm to inflict yet another level
of lethal damage. Pauline marks the Crippled box with an "X." Kara can do
nothing but moan and twitch.

The leader of the unholy pack leans over Kara and leers down at her. He
punches her solidly in the face, inflicting one level of bashing damage. Pauline
marks through the bashing damage next to the Incapacitated box, making it
lethal. She does so because Kara's chart is full and any further bashing
damage marks over what bashing damage is already there. Now, all boxes on
Kara's chart are filled with lethal damage. One more wound, whether lethal or
bashing, will kill her. Fortunately, the cavalry arrives and shoots up the
restaurant, killing everything in it-except Kara. Her friends pull her to safety
and get her to a hospital right away.

Optional Rule: Large Fights

Your Storyteller may introduce nameless and face-less Storyteller characters

to beef up a combat scene and make it more challenging. These people,
called extras, may work for the chronicle's main antagonist or may simply be
thugs whom the hunters encounter. The Storyteller uses extras as a plot
device to provide information, give your characters a combat challenge or to
deliver a message. Extras don't usually appear individually in more than one
scene and interact very little with your characters on a personal basis.

To simplify large fights, the Storyteller may assign only four health levels to
extras: Hurt-1, Mauled-2, Incapacitated and Dead. These levels make combat
quick and enjoyable for players, and still offer an accurate representation of
events.

Healing Times

This flesh is weak. People heal slowly, and hunters are reminded of their
mortality the first time they venture out against the abominations of the
world. Smart hunters never work alone and always have a variety of weapons
to rely upon. The bottom line is that a dead hunter does no one any good, so
most spend their time and energy avoiding the line of fire.

Healing takes time. Although certain hunter edges may decrease that time
(see Chapter 5), an injury can remove your character from action for months.
It pays to work with others and to have an ally with special healing powers or
abilities. Healing may occur during downtime (see p. 167), but only if nothing
else of importance occurs during that period.

The following sections explain how humans heal. Every level of damage
(whether bashing or lethal) must be recovered individually. Thus, a character
Incapacitated by bashing damage must spend a full 12 hours at that level
before he can even hope to be only Crippled. Once he has healed from
Incapacitated to Crippled, he must spend another six hours at Crippled before
he heals to Mauled, and so on.
Healing Bashing Damage

Bashing damage involves injuries that do not pierce the body, but simply
bruise it through a blunt attack such as brawling combat, use of a flat weapon
or a fall. Bashing damage does not require medical attention. The wounds
eventually heal on their own. However, serious injuries may have greater
consequences. Your character's vision or hear-ing may suffer due to
concussion; she may experience excruciating pain from internal bruising, or
even lose muscle control in a limb. Appropriate medical attention, whether
edge-related or mundane, can negate some of these effects.

Healing Times For Bashing Damage

Health Level
Bruised to Wounded
Mauled
Crippled
Incapacitated
Recovery Time
One hour each
Three hours
Six hours
12 hours

Healing Lethal Damage

Lethal wounds can kill a hunter quickly; being fed upon, disemboweled, shot,
impaled or dismembered has disastrous implications. If the original wound
doesn't kill the hunter, blood loss might. Further complications such as
infection, nerve damage or broken bones can have long-term effects.

Any lethal damage past and including Wounded requires medical attention to
prevent further damage. Your character must find a way to stop the bleeding
immediately. She continues to suffer one lethal health level for every hour
that passes without first aid to stop her bleeding. Your character may attempt
to stop her own bleeding as long as she is not Incapacitated. A single success
on an Intelligence/Wits+ Medicine/ Survival roll allows a character to either
halt her own bleeding or someone else's.

If your character is injured up to and including Mauled with lethal damage, she
may recover at home with rest and care-once the bleeding has been stopped.
However, if Crippled or beyond with lethal damage, your character must
receive more complete medical treatment at a hospital, doctor's office or
other appropriately equipped facility. Otherwise, she continues to suffer one
health level of lethal damage for every day that passes without treatment.
Although no longer under attack, your character could still die from the
complications of her wounds.

Thus, a hunter reduced to Crippled or Incapacitated loses blood and requires

complete medical attention for his wounds. If neither is tended to, the
character bleeds to death before his critical wounds overcome him.

Healing Times For Lethal Damage

Health Level
Bruised
Hurt
Injured
Wounded
Mauled
Crippled
Incapacitated
Recovery Time
One day
Three days
One week
One month
Two months
Three months
Five months

States Of Being

The World of Darkness is a deadly place. It was before hunters were

confronted with the truth. Now that they know monsters-raging beasts and
lingering spirits-exist, the world poses a threat to body and soul. The following
systems present a variety of ways in which characters can suffer harm,
whether physical or mental.

Derangements

Derangements are behaviors that occur when the mind is forced to confront
intolerable or conflicting feelings, such as overwhelming terror or profound
guilt. When the mind is faced with impressions or emotions that it cannot
reconcile, it attempts to ease the inner turmoil by stimulating behavior such
as megalomania, schizophrenia or hysteria to provide an outlet for the tension
and stress that the conflict generates.
The mental stress that hunters suffer, thanks to their very existence, makes
them highly prone to derangements. Indeed, many imbued think themselves
delusional the moment they first witness the supernatural, and they certainly
question their own sanity when the world seems monstrous. The first days
and weeks after being imbued prove the hardest, as hunters seek to come to
grips with who they are. It's only when they discover others who see the same
and can sympathize that some relief comes. But it's short-lived, for the
existence of other hunters only proves that the world is monstrous.

Even if a hunter can reconcile the voices and signs he experiences, the
creatures he perceives and the disturbing abilities he possesses, his faculties
must still contend with the hunt. Witnessing the depredations of monsters is
enough to drive the stoutest of the imbued mad. Grisly murders, terrifying
magical displays and the (frequent) seeming futility of the war can drive
hunters over the edge.

And if a hunter endures all this hardship with even a mote of sanity intact, all
his resilience can ultimately seem for naught. The truly accomplished among
hunters, those who achieve high Virtue scores, seem to spiral away from
normal human thought processes. The hunt takes on new meaning and
purpose for them-directions that other, less immersed hunters cannot fathom.
Hunters who achieve this intensity manifest a variety of derangements,
perhaps as what remains of their minds tries to cope with apparently
otherworldly visions and concepts.

“Lesser” hunters speculate that the Heralds take direct control of such
extremist imbued. Others claim these fanatics truly understand hunters'
mission, and the knowledge drives them mad. It's no consolation for hunters
who remain to realize that being lucky enough to survive the mission can
ultimately cost one's humanity itself. Fortunately, such fringe elements seem
just as uncomfortable around “stable” hunters. These people simply fade from
hunter circles altogether, pursuing whatever bizarre agendas and objectives
that they conjure. At least, that's what appears to have happened to the few
extremists who made noisy exits from the hunter subculture.

Hunters gain derangements when their Virtue scores reach 7 and higher (see
Virtues, p. 127). Others can gain derangements when subjected to intense
terror, guilt or anxiety. Further examples of derangement-inducing events
include killing a loved one in battle, being tortured or watching fellow hunters
fall to the supernatural in particularly grotesque ways. Generally, any
experience that causes intense and unpleasant emotion or that thoroughly
violates your character's beliefs or ethics is severe enough to cause a
derangement. The Storyteller decides whether your character suffers an
ailment, and decides which he receives, choosing (or creating) one
appropriate to your character's personality and the circumstances of the
event that cause the disorder.

It must be noted that people who are “crazy” are neither funny nor arbitrary
in their actions. Insanity is frightening to people who watch someone rage
against unseen presences or hoard rotten meat to feed to monsters. Even
something as harmless-sounding as talking to an invisible rabbit can be
disturbing to observers. (Is it any wonder that normal people take all hunters
for mad?)

The insane, however, respond to a pattern only they know, stimuli that they
perceive in their own minds. To their skewed perceptions, what happens to
them is perfectly normal-to them. Your character's derangement is there for a
reason, whether she saw her own children devoured alive, or she begins to
believe that humanity must be culled to diminish monsters' feeding stock.
What stimuli does her insanity inflict upon her, and how does she react to
what happens? Work with the Storyteller to create a pattern of provocations
for your character's derangement, and then decide how she reacts to such
provocation.

Derangements are a challenge to roleplay, but a little time and care can result
in an experience that is dramatic for all involved.

Obsessive/Compulsive

The trauma, guilt or inner conflict that causes this derangement forces your
character to focus nearly all of his attention and energy on a single repetitive
behavior or action. Obsession relates to an individual's desire to control his
environment-keeping clean, keeping an area quiet and peaceful, or keeping
undesirable individuals from a place. A compulsion is an action or set of
actions that an individual is driven to perform to soothe his anxieties: placing
objects in an exact order, constantly checking to make sure a weapon is
loaded, praying every few hours to give thanks for surviving that long.

If your character has an obsessive or compulsive derangement, determine a

set of specific actions or behaviors, as described above. Your character follows
them to the exclusion of all else, even if they interfere with the mission or
endanger his life or others' lives. The effects of obsessive/compulsive behavior
can be negated for the course of one scene by spending a temporary
Willpower point. If a hunter is forcibly prevented from adhering to his
derangement, he may lose control amongst enemies or allies and attack
either (or both) indiscriminately.
Multiple Personalities

The trauma that spawns this derangement fractures your character's

personality into one or more additional personas, allowing her to deny her
trauma or any actions the trauma causes by placing the blame on “someone
else.” Each personality is created to respond to certain emotional stimuli-an
abused person might develop a tough-as-nails survivor personality, create a
“protector,” or even become a murderer to deny the abuse she suffers. In
most cases, none of these personalities is aware of the others, and they come
and go through your character's mind in response to specific situations or
conditions.

You and the Storyteller must agree on how many and what kind of
personalities develop, and the situations that trigger their dominance. Each
personality should be relevant to the trauma that causes it. Not only is each
personality distinct, but in the case of hunters, different personalities might
believe themselves to be normal humans, followers of other primary Virtues,
the Messengers incarnate or perhaps even monsters.

Hunters with multiple personalities can manifest different Abilities or perhaps

increased or diminished Conviction for each identity, but it is the Storyteller's
responsibility to determine the specific details.

Schizophrenia

Conflicting, unresolvable sets of feelings and impulses can cause your

character to develop schizophrenia, which manifests as a withdrawal from
reality, violent changes in behavior and hallucinations. This derangement is
the classic sort, causing victims to talk to walls, imagine themselves to be the
King of Siam, or receive murderous instructions from their pets. Hunters who
turn to conventional medicine for help are typically diagnosed as
schizophrenic. Hunters themselves sometimes have difficulty recognizing the
schizophrenic among their allies. After all, many hunters perceive themselves
apart from mankind, they hear voices and they see walking evil.

Roleplaying this derangement requires careful thought, because you must

determine a general set of behaviors relevant to the trauma that causes the
condition (becoming a more dedicated hunter can count if doing so means
denying previous or commonly accepted values). Hallucinations, bizarre
behavior and disembodied voices stem from a terrible inner conflict that the
individual cannot resolve. Establish a firm idea of what that conflict is and
then rationalize what kind of behavior it causes.

Hunters with this derangement are unpredictable and dangerous- even more
so than usual. In situations that trigger a hunter's inner conflict, a point of
Conviction can be lost until the episode passes.

Paranoia

Your character believes that her misery and insecurity stem from external
persecution and hostility. Paranoids obsess about their persecution complexes,
often creating vast and intricate conspiracy theories to explain who torments
them and why. Anyone or anything perceived to be "one of them" might be
subjected to violence.

Committed hunters are often classified as paranoid, but they have good
reason for being that way. Paranoia about monsters stalking your character
does not classify as this derangement, unless your character takes every
hunter's fear to a new level. Perhaps his obsession leads him to sacrifice
everything he has and everyone he knows to fight his pursuers. Maybe any
cost of human lives is worth the chance to strike at the enemy oppressing
him.

A hunter who suffers from paranoia has difficulty with Social interaction; the
difficulties of all such dice rolls increase by one. Your character is distrustful
and wary of everyone, even hunters alongside whom he was imbued. The
slightest hint of suspicious behavior is enough to provoke a Willpower roll to
retain control, with the difficulty relative to the degree of the behavior.
Examples of "them" beyond monsters are fellow hunters, the Messengers, or
human authorities, whether corrupted or untouched by the supernatural.

Megalomania

Individuals with this derangement are obsessed with accumulating power and
wealth, with salving their insecurities by becoming the most potent individuals
in their environment. Your character is invariably arrogant and supremely sure
of her abilities, convinced of her own inherent superiority. The means of
achieving such status can take many forms, from devious conspiracies to out-
right brutality. Any individual of equal or higher status than your character is
perceived to be "competition."

Hunters with this derangement struggle constantly to rise to the height of

power and influence, by any means necessary, whether against monsters,
fellow hunters or the defenseless. In a megalomaniac's view, there are only
two classes of people: those who are weaker; and those who do not deserve
the power they have, and so must be made weaker. This belief extends to
everyone, including your character's immediate allies. This derangement
lends an extra die to all of the victim's Willpower rolls, due to her towering
sense of superiority.

Hysteria

A person in the grip of hysteria is unable to control her emotions, suffering

severe mood swings and violent fits when subjected to stress or anxiety. For
hunters, that can be all the time. Decide on a particular circumstance that
triggers your character's episode: the presence of children, contact by the
Heralds or perhaps open flame.

You must make a Willpower roll whenever your character is subjected to this
brand of stress or pressure. The difficulty of the roll is usually 6, increasing to
8 if the stress is sudden or especially severe.

Manic-Depression

Manic-depressives suffer from severe mood swings, some-times resulting from

severe trauma or anxiety. Victims may be upbeat and confident one moment,
then uncontrollably lethargic and pessimistic the next.

Hunters with this derangement are constantly on a hair trigger, never

knowing when the next mood swing will strike. Whenever your character fails
a task, the Storyteller has the option of making a secret Willpower roll
(difficulty 8). If the roll fails, your character lapses into depression.
Additionally, your hunter goes into de-pression whenever one of her rolls
botches, or if her Willpower ever drops below two. The Storyteller should roll a
die to determine how many scenes your character remains depressed,
keeping the number a secret.

A hunter in a depressive state loses a point of Conviction (to a minimum of 1)

for the duration of the mental episode. Upon emerging from the depressive
state, the character is energetic, relentlessly upbeat and active (obsessively
so) for a number of scenes proportional to the time spent in depression. When
your character is in this manic state, the difficulty of all Willpower rolls is
reduced by one.

Fugue

Victims suffering from fugue experience "blackouts" and loss of memory.

When subjected to a particular variety of stress, your character begins a
specific, rigid set of behaviors to remove the stressful symptoms. This
syndrome differs from multiple personalities; an individual in the grip of a
fugue has no separate personality, but is on a form of "autopilot" similar to
sleepwalking. Decide on the kind of circumstance or exposure that triggers
this state: the death of a defenseless human, confrontation with a specific sort
of creature, confinement.

Make a Willpower roll when your character is subjected to the appropriate

extreme stress or pressure (difficulty 8). If the roll fails, you must roleplay your
character's trancelike state; otherwise, control of your character passes to the
Storyteller for a number of scenes equal to the roll of a die. During this period,
the Story-teller may have the character act as she sees fit to remove the
source of the stress. At the end of the fugue, your character “regains
consciousness” with no memory of her actions.

Disease

Diseases ravage the World of Darkness. Sadly, nor-mal people are their
primary victims. Hunters are exposed to disease constantly- an occupational
hazard when blood, rotted flesh and ichor start to fly. Tangle with a
bloodsucker carrying HIV and the mortal hunter risks infection. Tangle with a
walking corpse that died of who-knows-what and the mortal hunter risks
infection. Some night-creatures may even knowingly infect humans around
them!

Other diseases- including ebola, cancer caused by exposure to radiation, or

even a simple cold-can also affect hunters. The Storyteller can use the threat
of infection as a plot device to increase tension and introduce socially relevant
topics to a story. She could introduce biological warfare and serial killers using
disease as a weapon to take danger to new heights. Moral issues could arise
as characters face unwitting disease carriers, or deal with the infection of a
friend, family member or fellow hunter.

Characters with appropriate training can research antidotes and cures for
diseases. Perhaps the “disease” that drives people to drink blood or that
keeps their bodies alive after natural death can be undone. Although finding a
cure for HIV should not occur within the framework of your game, an
Intelligence+ Medicine roll (difficulty 7) can allow your character to detect the
presence of HIV, hepatitis or other diseases, assuming your character has
access to the appropriate equipment and a sample of the victim's blood.
Developing a cure can take hours, days or years. Developing an antidote is an
extended action (Intelligence/ Wits+ Medicine), with a goal of 10 or more
successes depending on the elusiveness of the ailment. The difficulty may
vary as well.

If your character suffers from a disease, she may take damage over time
based on her rate of degeneration, her Stamina and the nature of the disease.
The Storyteller determines how often your character must face damage from
the disease, and how many dice are rolled in the disease damage pool. Your
character may resist that damage using a soak roll, though the difficulty of
the soak roll may increase over time as the disease works its way through
your character's body. Extra successes on the soak roll may buy your
character time, or even put the disease into remission, at the Storyteller's
discretion.

Talk on the net has it that those few hunters trained in recognizing and curing
diseases are working on one to fight bloodsuckers and other creatures. The
ethics of introducing a disease to kill a parasite may be dubious at best. Would
an infected human vessel be required to release the contagion? And who
knows what effects the disease might have on people?

Drowning

Some of the creatures that hunters stalk don't seem to need air to survive.
Hunters do. Your character can drown if submerged completely, held
underwater or if a swimming roll botches and the Storyteller is cruel (see
Swimming, p. 184). A hunter can hold her breath as indicated on the following
chart:

Stamina
Holding Breath
30 seconds
One minute
Two minutes
Four minutes
Eight minutes

Willpower can also be spent to continue holding breath; each point grants
another 30 seconds if Stamina is 3 or lower, or another full minute if Stamina
is 4 or higher.

When your character can no longer hold his breath, he begins to drown or
suffocate, as appropriate. A drowning hunter suffers one lethal health level
each turn. This damage cannot be healed with hunter powers until the
character is out of the hostile environment. When your character reaches
Incapacitated, he dies in one minute per point of Stamina.

Electrocution

Electricity does nasty things to humans. Considered lethal damage, an

electrical shock can kill a hunter. If your character comes in contact with a
source of electricity without appropriate insulation, she takes damage. The
Storyteller may ask you to roll Strength (difficulty9) to determine whether
your character can pull away from the current. Armor does not protect from
electricity, though certain other precautions such as grounding might. Your
Storyteller has final say on whether your character's rubber-soled boots help
at all.

The following chart shows the amount of damage delivered based on the
source of the electrical shock. Your character may suffer permanent damage if
she falls to Incapacitated as a result of electrical shock. The results may be
impairment (loss of Physical Attributes), permanent memory loss or brain
damage (loss of Mental Attributes), or disfigurement (reduced Appearance).
The Storyteller decides whether your character's injuries are this severe.

Health Levels/Turn
One
Two
Three
Four
Electrical Source
Minor; wall socket
Major; vehicle battery
Severe; protective fence, junction box
Fatal; main feed line, subway rail

Explosives

A hand grenade can go a long way toward slowing down that shambling hunk
of rotting flesh. Then again, maybe not. Any number of explosive devices
might come in handy, such as pipe bombs, plastique, dynamite or even
fireworks. Some of these do little more than start fires, others have
concussive and even shredding effects, and some may turn monsters into
walking infernos. Characters may use explosives as weapons against their
enemies, or they may use the devices to break down a door or open a safe.

The Storyteller must remember that these weapons aren't widely available,
and many of them are strictly illegal. The Arsenal Background (p. 120) at
sufficient level is required to have personal access to explosives. The
Resources, Contacts, Allies or Streetwise Traits might also be combined to
acquire these weapons. Of course, hunters can always steal what they need.
What do some hunters care about the law when the police are ignorant of-or
party to-the true evils of the world?

Your character may throw explosives, such as grenades or pipe bombs, or set
them in a stationary location and wait for the target to pass, as in the case of
timed or triggered bombs. If your character throws an explosive, roll Dexterity
+ Demolitions/Athletics to determine whether she places it where she intends.
If your character sets the bomb with a timer or trigger, roll Dexterity+ Stealth
to actually put it in place without being detected. Then roll Wits/ Intelligence+
Demolitions to determine whether she configures and detonates the bomb
correctly. A botch while using explosives may put a grenade at your
character's feet or may detonate a bomb during setup.

A grenade or bomb has a damage pool as indicated on the Explosives Chart.

That number is the damage inflicted at ground zero. Reduce damage by one
die for each yard that a potential victim stands from the epicenter. Extra
successes achieved in an explosives attack roll (whether thrown or set) do not
increase the amount of damage done; ground zero is simply more deadly than
are the fringes of the blast radius. Dodge rolls versus explosives are at+1
difficulty.

If an explosives attack roll misses, you probably want to determine where or

when the explosion takes place and whom it does affect, if anyone. The
intended target is assumed to be outside the blast radius. In the case of a
thrown explosive, randomly determine a direction from the target in which the
blast occurs. In the case of a set explosive, determine how much time passes
before the charge does explode, if at all. Watch out; your character or his
allies could wind up the unwitting victims.

Most explosives inflict lethal damage unless stated otherwise. Armor may
protect against impact, but not necessarily against burning.

The Explosives Chart details a few weapons. Many variables play into the
effects of an explosive, so the chart offers only broad suggestions regarding
these devices.

Explosives Chart
*Incendiary devices ignite the target (see Fire, below). Damage delivered by
the explosion is bashing, though damage caused by the fire is lethal.
**Concussion explosives deliver bashing damage and knock the target down
(see Knockdown, p. 197).
+Timed or triggered bombs that hold a variable amount of dynamite,
plastique or other explosive cause damage to surrounding structures and
ignite flammable materials, which complicates damage. The figures listed are
suggestions only.

Falling

Hunters who chase their prey up fire escapes or from roof top to roof top must
be prepared for the consequences. Your character might walk away from a
short fall or never walk again after a long one. The chart below lists the
number of damage dice your Storyteller rolls. If your character falls 30 feet or
less, damage can be diminished by grabbing outcroppings or tumbling upon
impact. Make a Dexterity + Athletics roll against the difficulty listed on the
chart. Each success on this roll reduces the damage dice pool of the fall by
one. Any remaining damage successes are bashing; you can make a soak roll.
If your character falls more than 30 feet, no amount of acrobatics helps, and
damage is lethal; its effects cannot be soaked.

Certain armor types may help your character resist bashing or lethal damage,
at the Storyteller's discretion. Modifiers may also apply based on where your
character lands; concrete hurts a lot more than water, depending on the
altitude of the fall. The numbers on the chart assume a hard surface awaits.

Falling Damage

Fire

The nature, extent and temperature of a fire all affect how destructive it is to
your character's body. The greatest danger arises when his clothes ignite and
he continues to take damage even after the initial flame attack. Stop, drop
and roll! Your character takes damage automatically in every turn that he
remains in contact with the fire, until he escapes or extinguishes the blaze.
(No “attack” dice are rolled for fire; health levels are simply lost as if
successes had been rolled.) Fire causes lethal damage; your character may
not soak it.

Health Levels/Turn
One
Two
Three
Size of Fire
Clothing or hair on fire; body part exposed to torch or similar small fire
Bonfire; half the body exposed to extensive flames
Inferno; entire body engulfed in raging fire

Poisons And Drugs

A poisonous or intoxicating substance introduced into the body limits your

character's ability to perform-at best. At worst, it kills him. It's impossible to
discuss every poison or drug that your character might be exposed to, but the
list below offers direction on how to handle various kinds.
Hunters are human and can easily become addicted to a drug or might even
develop an immunity to a poison. The terrible burden of recognizing evil
personified is enough to drive anyone to pleasure wherever they can find it,
no matter how self-destructive. Some hunters convince themselves that they
can do their job only when drunk or high. Others are so disciplined, so focused
that they believe repeated exposure to drugs and poisons- among other
abuses-makes them stronger for the resultant resistance.

- Alcohol: You subtract one die from any Dexterity, Perception, Intelligence or
Wits dice pool for every drink your character consumes within an hour. This
effect fades at the rate of one die per hour until all the alcohol is purged from
your character's system.

- Marijuana: You lose one die from any Dexterity, Perception, Intelligence or
Wits dice pool for every hit your character takes from a joint or bong within an
hour. This effect fades completely an hour after the last toke, unless your
character continues to “medicate” himself.

- Hallucinogens: All dice pools lose one to three dice depending on the
strength of the hallucinogen. Your char-acter may experience confusing,
frightening or enraging hallucinations, although he may manage to realize
that they exist in his drugged mind only (Intelligence+ Streetwise/Empathy,
difficulty of 6, with the one to three dice penalty in place). Depending upon
the nature of your character's “trip,” you may actually gain dice in a pool for a
relevant Trait that's enhanced by the experience. The effects last for (8 minus
Stamina) hours.

- Cocaine/ crack/ speed: Your character may experience a+1 increase in

Strength or Stamina, though he also may become edgy and paranoid. The
Storyteller bases the effects of the drug on the volume that your character
takes, how pure it is and on your character's state of mind.

- Heroin/morphine/ barbiturates: Pain subsides, but your character enters a

dreamy state for (8 minus Stamina) hours. All dice pools are reduced by two
dice during this time.

-Salmonella (food poisoning): Your character becomes nauseated within an

hour of eating and suffers one health level of bashing damage. He loses one
die from all Dexterity and Strength dice pools for (8 minus Stamina) hours.

-Poison: The nature and strength of the poison deter-mines how much damage
your character suffers. As a general rule, your character takes from one to
three levels of bashing damage per scene or even turn (depending on the
intensity of the poison). The effects last and damage continues to accrue until
the poison wears off or an antidote is provided. Some poisons such as acids
and chemicals may deliver lethal damage if they burn the mouth, esophagus
or stomach.

Temperature Extremes

Extreme heat or cold has an adverse effect on your character. It may reduce
his Dexterity, Strength or even affect his mental acuity by reducing Wits.
Under the worst conditions, it deals damage. Frostbite, hypothermia or heat
exhaustion have dire consequences. The Storyteller can represent extreme
weather conditions through reduced dice pools, increased difficulties or even
the accumulation of damage.

Example Of Play

[Three players gather together on a Friday night to continue the story they
began the week before. Their characters (Marilyn, Kara and Tony) have been
investigating a series of disappearances. They follow clues that lead them to a
carnival passing through the outskirts of their hometown. The characters
agreed to stake out the carnival in the previous session. When they arrive,
they split up to cover more ground, but plan to meet again near the Ferris
wheel in an hour. The Storyteller talks out downtime events with each player
and pauses to begin roleplaying when something interesting happens to one
of the characters.]

Marilyn used to know how to enjoy herself. She used to enjoy listening to
others' laughter. Now she just wishes they'd all shut the hell up. She can
barely hear her own thoughts amid the cacophony of the carnival. The tinkling
music from the carousel, the clamor of talking and cries of wonder, the
children screeching, the screams from the rides and the calls of the barkers all
encroach upon her attention. She needs to stay alert, but it's difficult in this
grating din.

The aromas of sugar, hot dogs and animal dung linger in her nose to
resuscitate childhood memories. A glimmer of that same old excitement
tickles her spine, but then an eerie man passes through her peripheral vision,
and the feeling dies as quickly as it came. She watches him walk by, holding
her breath until it burns. He continues on without so much as a glance. He's
just another of the ignorant masses. Marilyn breathes again.

Her boots sinking into the littered mud, Marilyn stakes out the crowd. She
pays to see the snake-man; ultimately, another normal person, despite his
impressive tongue. She pays to ride through the haunted house, and searches
for anything that may hide its identity among the artificial horrors. Growing
discouraged that she's wasting her time, Marillyn buys a weak lemonade and
a greasy hot dog-the first “meal” she’s had all day. Standing beside a faded
candy-cane-colored tent, she lights a cigarette and discovers that trouble
doesn't always have to be searched out.

“You're a pretty lady,” a small voice says. It comes from the darkness between
the tents.

Marilyn spots an angelic child, a little boy with a heart-shaped face. Feeling
little enthusiasm, she eventually replies, “Yeah, thanks.” She tries to force her
facial muscles into a ghost of a smile and offers, “You lost?” Her cigarette
flares of its own accord, the fire catching a seed. It draws Marilyn's eyes, but
only for a moment. Nothing unusual here.

[The Storyteller makes a secret roll without telling anyone why. He wants to
find out how alert Marilyn is to the boy, but he doesn't want to give anything
away if the roll should fail or botch. He rolls Marilyn's Perception+ Alertness
versus a difficulty of 8. He puts six dice into his pool from her Perception (3)
and Alertness (3) and rolls 2, 2, 5, 8, 8, 9-three successes. The Storyteller
describes how Marilyn gets a strange feeling from the child, a niggling fear.]

The little boy shakes his head. Flashing red and blue lights strung nearby cast
soft hues onto the boy's white-blond curls. His cupid's-bow lips curve up with
the kind of smile that snakes give as a solve to future wounds. Marilyn frowns.
Not even she can explain why, but something strange and surreal in the
child's large, blue eyes makes her spine tingle. She glances around for her
companions, Kara and Tony, but they're nowhere in sight. She debates
whether she's in danger, looks down at the kid again and feels her courage
swell. He's just a little boy.

Marilyn manages to put a smile on her face and ask, "What's your name?"

"Satan. "

Marilyn blinks. Her courage falters in her stomach, threatens to desert her.
"Don't be silly, " she growls to herself as much as to the boy.

The little boy shrugs carelessly, "Don't believe me. I don't give a damn. "

[The Storyteller makes another secret Perception roll for Marilyn to determine
whether she notices any other pertinent information about the child's
demeanor. The Storyteller forms the dice pool from Marilyn's Perception+
Alertness and sets a difficulty number of 8. He gathers a dice pool based on
Perception (3) and Alertness (3), and rolls 2, 4, 4, 6, 7 and 9-one success. This
minimal success gives the character only the most obvious information about
the child.]

Marilyn studies the boy curiously, guessing that he can't be any older than
eight. His brown pants and green sweatshirt fit him well. They're clean. Mud
clings to his white tennis shoes, but then her own boots are covered with the
muck, too. The logo on his sweatshirt reads, “Jesus Loved Me, Once.”

“I'd better go,” Marilyn announces.

“No!” complains the boy. “You gotta come see my mama. " He reaches for
Marilyn's hand, his small fingers grasping. "You got to! "

[The Storyteller states the child's intention to take Marilyn by the hand and,
rather than roll dice for it, Marilyn's player agrees to go along for now,
roleplaying the moment for dramatic effect.]

With a shake of her head, Marilyn tries half-heartedly to pull her hand away,
but the child refuses to release her, using both hands to tug her toward a tent.

"It'll only take a minute, I promise!" the boy whines. "My mama… she's very
sick and I promised I'd bring help. Please! You gotta come see." Tears fill his
eyes.

Marilyn's brow knits as she stares at the child suspiciously, resisting as she
decides what to do. She scans the area, but her companions are still nowhere
to be found. She knows something's not right. She knows she's not supposed
to handle these things alone. But, if she refuses, they could lose the kid, or
worse, the kid could grab someone less prepared to deal with the....

Marilyn shakes her head to escape the awful visions emerging in her mind.
Unwilling to risk losing this potential lead, she goes with the boy. She can
handle it. Right?

The boy sniffles, pulling Marilyn into the tent, into the darkness.

“It's okay,” the boy encourages. “You'll understand in a minute." He smiles

happily, his tears dried up. Pulling aside a flap, he precedes her inside,
tugging her along.

Marilyn leans in across the threshold, refusing to enter any further.

[At this point, the Storyteller gives Kara and Tony's players a chance for their
characters to see Marilyn disappear with the child. He allows Kara's player an
automatic success, as she has seven dice in her Wits (4) and Alertness (3)
pool (the difficulty he chose was only 6). Because he knows Kara will tell Tony,
the Storyteller doesn't bother to make either player roll. Kara notices Marilyn
going with the boy.

[Taking Kara and Tony's players aside, the Storyteller asks them what their
characters do. They head toward the tent. He describes the distance to the
tent and promises to let them know when their characters arrive.

[The Storyteller then asks Marilyn's player to make a roll using her Willpower
score versus a difficulty of 6. The player gathers six dice and scores 2, 3, 5, 6,
8 and 8-three successes. Marilyn has enough courage to face what she finds
in the tent.]

An oppressive darkness looms inside the tent. As large as a two-car garage, it

smells of kerosene, hay and dead skin. Marilyn blinks back the dots before her
eyes as she tries to acclimate her vision. She feels the boy's hand slip from
hers and has the sudden urge to run. Her rational mind fights back the panic,
and she chastises herself for her cowardice.

“Mama.” The little boy's voice comes from some-where in the darkness.

From the far side of the tent a new, feminine voice responds, “That you, my
little angel?” Marilyn turns toward the voice. Its deep rasp lends credence to
the boy's claim that his mother is ill.

"Yeah, mama. I brought a nice lady for you." The boy's tone sings with pride.

“Oh, you are my darling boy. Light the lamp, will you, so I can look at her?" A
moment later, the boy lights a match that illuminates his face with a warm,
orange glow. He lifts the globe to a kerosene lantern and touches the flame to
the wick. The lamp flickers its glow in a wide circle, bringing most of the tent's
secrets into view.

Marilyn's eyes narrow as she takes in her surroundings. A thick pole rises in
the center, supporting the arcked roof. Brightly colored silk scarves decorate
it, swaying slightly in an anonymous breeze. The impromptu living room has
couches and settees, piles of cushions and low coffee tables, all carefully
arranged on the hay-covered earth. In the soft lighting, the furniture has an
otherworldly feel: fringed upholstery and tasseled cush-ions of rich ruby,
emerald, gold and sapphire. Marilyn has the sudden sensation that she has
stepped back to a different time and place, where sheiks rule their subjects
with murderous glee. For a moment, she almost believes that if she turns
around and leaves she'll step into a desert of shifting sands.
A shadow ripples in the far corner where the light doesn't reach.

Swallowing, Marilyn asks tentatively, "Your son says you're ill?" She takes a
step forward. A few feet inside won't be too dangerous. The exit is right at her
back.

A deep chuckle rises, and the other woman announces huskily, “Is that what
he said? Well, yes, I suppose that's one way of looking at it." The little boy's
giggle must please his mother, because she laughs with him. “I try not to fret
about it too much. There's not much I can do at this point. I'm lucky to
be...alive."

Marilyn's hackles rise. She changes her mind about the whole situation. Taking
a step back into the triangular doorway, she slips a hand into her pocket and
offers, “I'd better be going, then. I'm...meeting someone.”

“No you're not,” the throaty voice purrs. “You came here alone and now you're
afraid. Why are you afraid?"

“I'm not afraid.”

“Yes you are. Don't try to lie to me. I can smell your fear." The sound of
sniffing and a pleased sigh come from the obscured corner. “Don’t worry. I
won't eat you.”

A shuffle of hay behind Marilyn alerts her to the presence of a third person.
She turns to see a large man wearing denim overalls and a red-flannel shirt.
His ragged hair fringes down from a bald spot, and his eyes have a limpid
emptiness. He blocks the exit, towering over her.

“Daddy! ”cries the little boy, pleased. The man gives no response, and Marilyn
wonders if he's even aware of the boy.

“Oh, wonderful,” hisses the mother happily, “we’re all here."

The man smiles mindlessly at Marilyn. His bulky arms rise and spread, aimed
at wrapping around her.

Marilyn thinks she cries, “No!”

[Marilyn's player must make a resisted roll versus the Storyteller to determine
whether Marilyn can dodge the lunge. The Storyteller rolls Dexterity (2) +
Brawl (2) for the character, while the player rolls Dexterity (3) + Dodge (2).
Both roll versus a difficulty of 6. The Storyteller scores 3, 3, 4 and 5- no
successes. The player gets 3, 4, 5, 7 and 9-two successes. Marilyn manages to
dodge.]

Marilyn stumbles back and pushes an ornate couch between herself and her
attacker.

"Get th' fuck away from me! " she screams as an initial line of defense.

“Oh, darling, please,” the woman coos patronizingly. “You're being hysterical.
He's just a very...friendly man.”

[Advancing events into combat turns; the Storyteller asks all players to make
initiative rolls for their characters. He rolls for each of his three characters (the
man, the boy and the mother), as well. Marilyn's player adds her Dexterity (3)
+ Wits (3) to get her initiative rating. She then rolls one die and gets a 4,
which she adds to her initiative rating for a total of 10. Kara's player rolls and
adds the resulting 6 to her initiative rating of 7-Dexterity (3) + Wits (4)-for a
total of 13. Tony's player adds his initiative rating of 6 to his die result and
gets a total of 9. The Storyteller's characters go on 12.

[The players declare their actions in reverse order of initiative. Tony's player
announces that his character breaks into a run to get to the tent faster, as he
still hasn't reached it. Marilyn attempts to get to the exit. The Storyteller
decides that the man attempts to grapple Marilyn again. At the same time,
the little boy tries to knock Marilyn down. Kara runs as well, but circles to the
other side of the tent from Tony. The Storyteller reminds all players that Kara
and Tony don't know what's going on in the tent, but agrees that caution is
appropriate.

[Kara and Tony are only moving, so the Storyteller allows them to approach
the tent unhindered during the resolution phase.

[Next, the Storyteller characters act. The man and boy gang up on Marilyn.
Her player decides to forego her action later in the initiative queue in order to
defend against the man, and she makes a successful Willpower roll to do so.
The Storyteller won't let her defend against the boy as well, because Marilyn
is too intent on the first attacker. They roll again, just like before. The resisted
action roll results in Marilyn dodging the father's lunge again.

[The boy tackles Marilyn, but the Storyteller doesn't make it a resisted roll. He
needs only a single success on a Strength+ Brawl roll. The boy succeeds in his
knockdown attempt on Marilyn. The Storyteller then rolls the boy's
Strength+1 (3), difficulty 6, to determine whether the boy does any damage.
The Storyteller scores 2, 6, 9- two successes toward bashing damage.

[Marilyn's player may attempt to soak the damage by rolling a dice pool equal
to her Stamina (2) versus a difficulty of 6. The player rolls 4, 7. The one
success is removed from the damage total, so Marilyn's player marks only one
level of damage on her sheet. She puts a “/” in the box next to Bruised.]

Meaty hands reach for Marilyn as the hulk pursues her with single-minded
determination. She edges around the couch, keeping it between them until a
solid push from one side sends her sprawling on the floor. Blinking, Marilyn
looks up into angelic blue eyes.

"You're a bitch, " the boy announces, plopping down on Marilyn's chest.

"What?" Marilyn gasps. The boy's father looms over her. His mouth is open,
drooling. He has no tongue. He has no teeth. The black ooze of decay covers
his palate and drains over his lips.

[Everyone has taken an actions, so the Storyteller calls for the players to roll
initiative again. Each adds his or her initiative rating to one die to determine
ranks in the initiative queue. The scores fall as follows: Kara (12), Storyteller
characters (10), Tony (9) and Marilyn (8). Marilyn's original initiative, 10,
suffers a two-point penalty because of her knockdown.

[Marilyn's player announces her intention to scream, attempt to push the boy
off her and kick the father. Tony's player decides that he slows down and
sneaks around the tent in hopes of overhearing something or finding the
entrance. The boy and man try to hold Marilyn down while the mother still
remains uninvolved. Kara slows down as well and checks out the other side of
the tent.

[In the resolution phase, the Storyteller allows Kara to find the entrance flap
to the tent first. He describes what Kara sees when she peeks inside. On the
Storyteller characters' actions, neither the boy nor the man does anything,
though they will defend against Marilyn later. In order to reduce die rolls, the
Storyteller allows Marilyn's scream as a non-action and asks her player to
make a resisted Strength (2) + Brawl (3) roll, difficulty 6. The Storyteller rolls
the boy's Strength (2) + Brawl (2), also against difficulty 6, and his successes
reduce the player's total successes. Marillyn's player rolls and scores three
successes. The Storyteller scores none. Marilyn manages to push the child off
her.

[Rather than make the player roll to determine whether Marilyn can kick the
father, the Storyteller opts to simply allow it for dramatic intensity.]
Marilyn screams. She shoves the boy off with all her strength, then delivers a
solid kick to the father's groin. Slipping in the hay, she crab-crawls backward,
watching as the man doubles over. The sounds of the carnival seem distant,
like a faint music box.

"Bitch!" the mother growls. She has moved, unnoticed, to guard the exit.

[All players roll initiative again. The order this time is Kara, Tony, Marilyn and
the Storyteller characters. The players announce their characters' intentions
in reverse initiative order and then the resolution phase begins. None of the
Storyteller characters do anything other than speak. Marilyn distances herself
and grabs the kerosene lantern as a possible weapon. Tony finds Kara at the
tent's entrance, drawing her. 44 Magnum and firing at the misshapen person
standing over Marilyn.

[The Storyteller asks Kara's player to roll Dexterity (3) + Firearms (3) versus a
difficulty of 6. She fires twice-multiple shots-and so reduces her pool by two.
She rolls four dice for the first attempt and gets two successes. On her second
roll, she reduces the pool by another die and rolls three dice, garnering one
success. The gun has a Damage rating of 6. Kara's player rolls 13 dice in her
damage pool (a total of 12 for the two shots fired and one more die for the
extra success achieved on the first attack roll). The damage difficulty is 6.
Kara's player gets only three damage successes. The Storyteller knows that
the carnival woman cannot soak lethal damage, so he places three "Xs" next
to Bruised, Hurt and Injured on her character sheet.

[Sensing an impending finale, the Storyteller arranges the narrative to make it

dramatic, despite the order in which actions are resolved.]

The boy scrambles to his feet and runs to his mother, “I tried to pick a nice
one, mama. Please don't be mad."

Frozen with horror, Marillyn watches as the woman bends to press purple,
swollen lips to the boy's curls. The hand that strokes his cheek is missing two
fingers, knuckle bones extending beyond ragged flesh. Her red nightgown
drips down a body halted in its decay, breasts melting and stomach sagging.
Maggots burrow in a sore on the top of her foot, writhing in the pool of
putrescence they've created for themselves. The mother nurtures all her
children.

Marilyn rolls to her feet and moves deeper into the tent. She holds the
kerosene lamp in front of herself. Suddenly, two explosions resound, and the
mother's body jerks and jolts, exploding outward at the chest, spraying
chunks of rotted flesh and sending a fine mist of pass to test Marilyn's gag
reflex.

[The Storyteller asks Marilyn's player to roll Wits (3) + Streetwise (0), difficulty
6, to determine whether Marilyn is startled by the shots. Because Marilyn has
no Streetwise Ability, she rolls only three dice in her pool. She botches,
scoring 1, 3, 4.]

Startled, Marilyn drops the lamp. It breaks open and fire spreads quickly
across the hay. Chaos ensues.

“Mama!” the boy screeches.

The man turns slowly to watch as the mother topples forward into the blazing
hay. The fire spreads in seconds, encouraged by the straw, kerosene and
abundance of fringes, tassels and canvas.

“Fuckin' freaks!” growls a voice that makes Marilyn want to weep for joy. The
irony of Kara's curse is lost on her.

[But the drama isn't over. The Storyteller requests one last initiative roll from
everyone. Once the queue is determined, he guides the players through the
last part of the scene. The Storytellers' characters take no offensive actions.
Kara fires another few rounds into the mother. Tony, seeing that Marilyn heads
deeper into the tent, runs around to create an exit for her. As the fire spreads,
the Storyteller makes Marilyn's player roll Stamina (2) versus a difficulty of 6
to determine whether the character is overcome by smoke. The roll fails.]

Heart pounding, Marilyn covers her mouth and turns away instinctively as she
heads deeper into the tent. She searches frantically for a way out at the back
wall. The fire crackles, spreading uncontrollably. Blinded by the smoke,
Marilyn runs her hands over the canvas, claws her nails at the seams and
eventually falls to her knees as her strength begins to fail.

Suddenly, a long knife stabs through the tent near her face. The last thing she
sees is the fire reflected in Tony's blade.

[The Storyteller describes how the man and the little boy are caught in the
burning hay and perish there with the mother-assuming they don't rise again
from even this end. The Storyteller agrees that Kara and Tony can drag
Marillyn from the tent and get her home amid the chaos that now permeates
the carnival. Now that combat has come to an end, he lets the players return
to free roleplay. The characters talk and the Storyteller eventually announces
that Marilyn regains consciousness.]
Marilyn awakens with the acrid smell of burned nylon, hay and manure in her
nose. She opens her eyes, takes several moments to focus, and finally blinks
up at a red-haired young woman. Her throat burns and her lungs ache as she
coughs hoarsely.

Kara frowns, offering Marilyn a glass of water. “What the hell were you
thinking, going in there alone?"

Marilyn sits up to take the water.

“Leave her alone, Kara,” Tony drawls from across the room.

Kara turns to glare at him. The sway of her hair reminds Marilyn of the fire.

“Look, you back-assward idiot, ”Kara says, sounding pissed, “she coulda
gotten us killed. " Her Brooklyn vowels come out when she's pissed.

“But she didn't, did she!” Tony has a way of making everything he says sound
like a slow declaration of mystical truth. He shifts as if the conversation is over
and his attention is better directed elsewhere.

“I'm sorry,” Marilyn apologizes quietly, voice rough. “It was just a kid. I figured
I could handle it.”

“Yeah, well you were wrong, weren't ya?” grumbles Kara. “I was all the way
down by the Ferris wheel an’ I could smell his shit. Good thing I saw ya."

Marillyn glares up at Kara. “Look. Back off, okay! Yeah, you saved my life.
Thanks. But that doesn't give you the right to chew me out. You make
mistakes, too." Marilyn doesn't mention specifics, but both know what she
alludes to.

Kara growls and makes a fist, ready to retaliate when Tony intervenes.

“Cut it out!” Tony shouts. He stares them both down, then lowers his voice to
a conversational tone. “Where there's one pack of those things, there's bound
to be more. Tomorrow night we go back to that carnival, and this time, we
stick together. Anyone who wanders off alone dies alone."

"That's right," Kara grants at Marilyn. She points a finger at the other woman,
“You just remember that!”

Marilyn lifts her hands in frustrated surrender and sighs, "I got it. I got it. " She
shakes her head and stands carefully, “I'll get on the computer and see what I
can find out about that carnival...."

While I look it and feel it, I know I'm not immortal. But By God, neither are the
freaks that call us slaves!