Page 190 - Hunter - The Vigil

REGENERATIVE NODULE|BANALITY WORM
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you just have to get the hell away and live to fight again. If the character already has this derangement, it temporarily
To that end, they developed the Quick-Step. Half-manufac- becomes a Phobia instead.
tured, half-grown from the ligaments of swiftly running mon-
sters (werewolves, some vampires, certain demonic entities), Regenerative Nodule (••••)
Quick-Steps give even an ordinary man the ability to shatter As good as the Cheiron Group’s doctors are, they aren’t
Olympic records. It might even be enough to let him get away even close to the recuperative abilities of some of the mon-
from the things in the shadows. sters they track down. Werewolves in particular are obscenely
Benefi t: A character with a Quick-Step implant gets a fast healers — so fast, in fact, that sometimes their bodies
+3 bonus to his Speed. This bonus stacks with the bonus from overcompensate and form little cysts that Cheiron Group
Fleet of Foot, if applicable. In addition, the hunter gains the medics have termed “regenerative nodules.” As far as the
benefit of the 9-again rule on any Athletics rolls related to wolves know, they’re harmless, but Cheiron got hold of a few

moving quickly, such as foot chases. Finally, if the character through some very questionable means, and now the boys in

runs (moving double his Speed in a single turn), he may re- the back room have figured out how to harness the things’
tain his Defense against fi rearms attacks. potential and turn it loose on the human body.
Special: Using the Quick-Step quickly fatigues the char- A Regenerative Nodule looks like a rubbery lump of scar

acter. Every turn in which he uses the 9-again benefit on tissue the size of a golf ball. Before they put it in you, Cheiron
Athletics rolls or moves more than his Speed counts as three scientists put a little plastic shunt into the core of the nodule
hours without rest (see The World of Darkness Rulebook, p. — a tricky proposition since the incision heals over almost
179). Apply this fatigue at the end of the current scene, and instantly. When it’s sewn into the lining of your gut, it’s al-
only roll Stamina + Resolve to stay awake once. For example, most invisible, even though you can still feel the lump. Give
if a hunter has been awake for 12 hours, then engages in a that lump a press, and the shunt puckers open and dumps into
six-turn foot chase during which he gains the 9-again rule on your system pure…well, whatever the hell makes werewolves
Stamina + Athletics rolls, he is treated as though he has been heal so fast.
awake for 30 hours. He must roll Stamina + Resolve at a -1 Benefi t: In addition to pressing on the lump of the im-
penalty or immediately fall asleep, and he suffers a -1 penalty plant, the character must spend a Willpower point to activate
to all dice pools until he sleeps for nine hours. the Nodule. Once activated, the nodule heals the character’s
The character may choose not to gain the 9-again rule on injuries at a terrifying rate: one point of bashing damage heals
his actions if he wishes to avoid the fatigue. every turn, while one lethal wound disappears every 15 min-
utes. This healing is refl exive, and the accelerated healing rate
Twitcher (••••) lasts until all bashing and lethal wounds have been healed.
It looks harmless enough — like a little stick bug made Once the character’s Health boxes are entirely free of bashing
out of wires and protein sacs filled with a pink goo. It wriggles or lethal wounds, the Regenerative Nodule is completely spent.

a little bit when disturbed, even before it’s implanted. When It falls inert and cannot be activated again for one week.
they stick it in the base of your spine, it curls around your The Regenerative Nodule has no affect on aggravated
spinal column and nests there, pumping pure nervous energy damage.
into you. When your life is in danger, it twitches, massaging Special: Werewolves draw the energy to heal themselves
your spinal cord and ramping your reflexes up to a terrifying from some as-yet-unknown metaphysical source. Ordinary

degree. That’s almost worth the nightmares, and the crushing people, lacking such a source, must fuel the regeneration with
sense of paranoia that comes along with them. their own bodies. Every point of bashing damage the Nod-
Benefi t: A character with a Twitcher implant uses the ule heals counts as one day without food. Every lethal wound
higher of his Wits or Dexterity to determine his Defense, in- healed counts as one day without food or water (see The
stead of the lower of the two. When surprised, or attacked World of Darkness Rulebook, pp. 175–176). If the character
by an unseen foe, the hunter uses the lower of his Dexterity suffers damage from this deprivation, the Regenerative Nod-
or Wits as Defense, even though a normal person would be ule does not (and cannot) heal it, and still shuts down after all
denied Defense completely. The Twitcher has no effect on wounds not inflicted by deprivation are healed. Many hunters,

Firearms attacks except at point blank range. while healing, eat voraciously to try to stave off damage from
Special: Each night when a character with a Twitcher im- deprivation. Doing so necessitates the hunter gorge on food
plant goes to sleep, he must roll Resolve + Composure versus and liquid constantly (doing nothing else during the healing
the implant’s dot rating (4 dice). If the character earns more time) and without interruption.
successes, he sleeps peacefully and regains a point of Willpow-
er as normal. If the implant gets more successes, his sleep is Banality Worm (•••••)
wracked with nightmares of being endlessly hunted, always a There are dimensions beyond this world that we perceive

hair’s breadth away from death. These nightmares prevent the with our limited five senses. The Cheiron Group knows this,
hunter from regaining a point of Willpower from restful sleep. even if it doesn’t entirely understand the how and why of such
In addition, any time the character is surprised in com- places. Sometimes, though, things leak through from those

bat, he must succeed on a Morality roll or develop a tempo- other worlds, and Cheiron agents find them. The resulting
rary Suspicion derangement that lasts for the rest of the scene. experiments are very...enlightening.

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