Page 113 - Hunter - The Vigil

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C CHAPTER THREE: HUNTER ORGA N I Z A T I O N S
— are all over 90 years old. They meet once a week and compare that happened, all bets are off. Whether it’s a faction of magicians
notes collected by their small group of secretaries, deciding which who were proved to have supported the Nazis, or a vampire who
to disseminate and which to act on. These three surviving Loyalists meddled with the experiments in the death camps, they have to
have only each other, and each hates the other two passionately, as a die. Even the mildest-mannered scholar takes an active part in her
reminder of his guilt and the task he’s set himself. The few Loyalists quarry’s destruction.
who have met them face to face reckon they’re only holding on to see Ordinary human hate groups fall under the same category
the others give up and die fi rst, locked in a kind of eternal three-way as monsters. A witch with something of the ideology of a Savitri
staring match with decrepit, remorse-laden lives as the stake. Devi may be more interesting than a neo-fascist demagogue in
The Loyalists have to know. They find the truth about the mystical terms, but to the Loyalists, both deserve the same fate.

monsters, and they pass it on. If they can save the human race, Originally, the Loyalists were wholly about collecting knowl-
maybe they can atone for their part in the making of a century that edge, about learning secrets. But what point is knowledge if it’s
almost destroyed us. not used for something? By learning the secrets of the monsters,
Not all are as dedicated as others. Some have to work for the they become indispensable, earning enough respect so that if
Loyalists because they’re blackmailed into doing so. And sometimes, their colleagues ever learn who they are, they may understand at
people join who find out about the Loyalists’ Völkisch past and are least that they’re needed in the Vigil.

just a little too enthusiastic about it; they don’t last long. Neo-Nazi
ideologies are the one thing wholly verboten among the Indebted, Hunters
and those who express them, or even who only suggest that may- You’re old now. You came to join the Loyalists thanks to your
be shame has had its day, don’t get much of a hearing. Some fi nd father, who was wracked with guilt about his part in what hap-
themselves walking into the middle of a nest of dangerous creatures pened in Germany back then. He made you share his guilt. You
only to realize that all of a sudden, they’re completely alone. Some can’t bear to think of him, but you have no choice. He forced you
find themselves surrounded by colleagues holding long knives, and into his mold, and you’re too old to stop now.

given one very brief chance to explain themselves. You’re young. You were a nerdy kid at school, fascinated with
Many of the Indebted think their job is hopeless, that it’s im- archaeology and mysticism. You stumbled upon a monster, and a
possible to equip humanity against the monsters, especially from strangely knowledgeable history teacher showed you how to de-
an organization whose whole reason for being is a guilt-ridden se- stroy it. Then he got you stealing stuff. Then he let you into a
cret. But then, an impossible task is the only thing that can even secret. You understand why he did that, but you don’t have to like
hope to make up for an unforgivable sin. it. Now you and he work together. You’re in the fi eld, checking
out weird stuff while trying to finish your college course. He’s in

The Enemy the library, helping you out with essays and letting you know what

The Loyalists of Thule are scholars first, above all. They aim to do when the next monster turns up.
to know. They’re investigators: archaeologists, antiquarians, stu- You’re white, you’re middle class and you had a liberal edu-
dents of academic ritual magic, detectives. This isn’t to say that cation. You operate on white middle-class liberal guilt. It informs
they’re not capable of being physically adept — they have their and controls everything you do, and after working alongside one
share of tomb raiders and two-fisted investigators of the unknown. of the Indebted who went to your college and met an untimely

Frankly, with the kind of things the Loyalists investigate, it’s not end, you ended up seeking out the Loyalists of Thule yourself,

surprising that even the most closeted scholars eventually learn seeing a kinship that isn’t really there. You’re a firebrand and an
how to handle themselves. activist, and you’re probably going to get yourself killed.
But still, it’s not really the Loyalists’ job to face the enemy. You’re an archaeologist with a collection of guns and the
They exist to equip others to that end. Most of the Loyalists of knowledge of how to use them, thanks to a career spent digging
Thule hook up with other hunters, either individuals or members up artifacts in some of the most dangerous places on Earth. You’ve

of compacts such as the Union, the Long Night or Network Zero. been finding ancient knowledge for over a decade now, in ancient

They sometimes join them in the field, but really they’re the people places, and some of it is essential to your more militant friends.
who give advice on how their companions can defeat their foes.
Understanding is key, and the Loyalists recognize that differ- Philosophies
ent kinds of supernatural creature pose different kinds of threat. The Loyalists seem to be mostly on the same page when

Corpses that consume blood, fl esh and souls to exist receive a lot it comes to methodology: find the supernatural and research
of attention from the Loyalists. Werewolves, particularly the kind it to death (metaphorically and sometimes literally). Simple.
who — apparently — breed true, don’t always pose a threat to It’s the reasons why that vary.
humans if they’re left alone. Demons, ghosts, spirits and the kind Most of the Loyalists of Thule are simply Scholars. They
of eldritch entities that invade from other dimensions, however, collect information about supernatural threats to humanity
have no business existing. They need to be studied and, once their and disseminate it among those who would defeat or destroy
weaknesses are found, the Loyalists need to destroy them or fi nd those threats. They’re cautious and prudent, and although
someone who can. Even if a supernatural creature is not a threat they sometimes end up on the front line, it’s others among
to anyone, it’s still worth studying: knowledge is knowledge, and the Indebted who do the fi ghting.
secrets are always worth knowing. The Penitents are more proactive. They’re the gun-toting ar-
If the Indebted find a creature or organization that either still chaeologists of popular culture, the tomb raiders and barnstormers

ideologically supports Nazi ideals, or even took part in the things who put themselves in terrible danger to learn ancient secrets. It’s
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