Page 175 - Hunter - The Vigil

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C CHAPTER THREE: HUNTER ORGANIZATIONS
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success on his fifth and final roll. He may now re-
roll his degeneration check of three dice. This time
he gets one success, and his Morality increases from THE PHOENIX OR
5 back to 6 as though he had never lost the point. BENNU-BIRD
He likewise loses the fire phobia, just as if he had
never lost the Morality in the first place. Is the Bennu-bird real? In making one
such Elixir, how does one fi nd a phoenix
Elixir of the from which to pluck a feather?
Fiery Heart (••) It can be the focus of an entire story,
Many of the beasts the Ascending Ones of course, locating the ashen nest of
hunt are terrifying in their own right. It takes just such a bird (where a single feather
great courage to face down a deranged slasher may lie in the cinders) or fi nding an
in his darkened murder playground, or to stand actual Bennu-bird.
toe to toe with a ravening beast the size of a Alternatively, it might be a feather
car. But quite apart from natural fear, some plucked from the Goliath Heron, a rare Red
creatures have the ability to fill the soul with Sea heron thought to be the model for the
abject, supernatural terror. Even the strongest Bennu-bird in mythology. Neither feather
heart can quail before such mystical onslaught, is easy to procure. It’s your call, as
which is why the Ascending Ones carry this po- Storyteller, what the truth is.
tent Elixir to steel their spirits against the ter-
rors of the night.
Elixir of the Fiery Heart is a thin, yellowish liquid Action: Instant.
with a smoky taste. It burns the throat as it goes down, like Roll Results

a potent liquor, but instead of fuzzy-headed drunkenness, Dramatic Failure: The hunter is afflicted by a Toxicity
it imparts a kind of clinical disconnect from any sense of 2 lethal poison. This poison may be resisted with a contested
self-preservation. While the effect renders a hunter fear- Stamina + Resolve roll subtracting the poison’s Toxicity.
less, it also makes her prone to rash action. Failure: The hunter is treated as though he has ingested
Action: Instant. a moderate (-2 to all dice pools and traits) dose of heroin.
Roll Results Success: Every success on the activation roll heals two
Dramatic Failure: The Ascending one is afflicted by points of bashing damage or one point of lethal damage. The
a Toxicity 4 bashing poison. This poison may be resisted character has no control over this healing; more severe inju-
with a contested Stamina + Resolve roll subtracting the ries are automatically healed fi rst.
poison’s Toxicity. Exceptional Success: In addition to the immediate
Failure: The hunter is affected as though she had con- healing, the Ascending One heals naturally at double the
sumed two drinks of alcohol in excess of her Stamina. normal rate (one bashing wound per eight minutes, one
Success: For the rest of the scene, any attempt to induce lethal wound per day, and one aggravated wound per four
fear in the hunter (including mundane Intimidation or su- days). If the hunter has the Quick Healer Merit, he heals
pernatural powers of fright) subtracts her Elixir rating from wounds in one third the normal time (one bashing wound
the dice pool. If the power is already resisted by one of her per five minutes, one lethal wound per 16 hours, and one
Traits, her Elixir rating is added to that Trait to determine aggravated wound per three days).
the total resistance.
Exceptional Success: In addition to receiving the ben- A Glimpse of After (•••)
efits of a success against supernatural fear effects, the Ascend- According to medieval historians, initiates into the order

ing One is entirely immune to mundane, non-magical fear. of the Hashshashin assassins would be drugged with a slow-act-
Attempts to intimidate her or spook her that lack supernatu- ing poison such that they felt as though they were dying. When

ral force simply fail. they were given the antidote, they awoke to find themselves in
a beautiful garden, feasted and succored by lovely virgins and
Bennu-Bird Feather (•••) greeted by the grand master of the order. They were told they
Supposedly plucked from the tail of the Bennu-bird, the were in Paradise, but they would be sent back to Earth to serve
Egyptian phoenix associated with Ra, this feather is ground the order as faithful soldiers. If they ever wanted to return to
up, along with medicinal herbs and potent opiates, into a the garden, they would serve loyally and carry out the goals of
thick, gooey paste capable of accelerating the healing process the order without question. Bolstered by the thought of await-
tremendously. ing Paradise, these assassins fought with a fanatic zeal that gave
Bennu-Bird Feather must be smeared over a wound to them the ability to fight far beyond the endurance of ordinary

have any effect, whether an open gash or a mere bruise. The men. While the Hashshashin were not a creation of the Ascend-
unguent smells strongly of cardamom and willowbark, with ing Ones, the conspiracy did sometimes convert members of
an acrid, medicinal tang. the opiate-addled assassins, and with them, this Elixir.
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