Page 201 - Hunter - The Vigil

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C CHAPTER THREE: HUNTER ORGANIZATIONS
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with a better understanding of both its foes and its heritage. The Golden Tablets
That said, this doesn’t just involve any book on demonology: The Ascending Ones keep something known as the
it must be a book considered a part of the so-called “Devil’s Golden Tablets: a list of the names of the world’s alchemical

Library,” a rare, single-print book that defies reproduction and masters, both long dead and still kicking. They’ll let anybody
appears to truly contain gems of wisdom regarding God, the with Status 3 within the group have a look, but anybody with
Devil and demons. These books are singular and should ne- Status lower than that will have to work to get a peek. See,
cessitate a whole story to fi nd. the hunters of the Ascending Ones really aren’t alchemists.
R&D: Possessing and studying a true tome of demonol-
ogy allows the hunter to take a -2 discount to the Endowment They take the potions and smear the unguents. They inhale
the smoke and inject the toxins into their arms or eyes. But
Equation. However, if he cannot possess the book and can they themselves are not manipulating the divine, they’re just
only get in a scene of study, he can still reduce the Practical the faithful receptacles — the crucibles in which the divine is
Experience of the new Castigation rite by two.
made manifest. So, developing an Elixir is, for most Ascend-

Deals with Demons ing Ones, a quest to find the journals of a dead master or, pref-
You’re not supposed to deal with demons — you’re sup- erably, a still-living master from whom to learn potent new
posed to command them. Ask anybody: they’ll tell you that’s recipes that lie outside the grasp of most current Ascending
rule one of Castigation. Except that it turns out to be more rule Ones. A still-living alchemical master, however, doesn’t nec-
one of the Lucifuge. Sure, you make compromises with them essarily look at the Ascending Ones favorably (if he knows of
here and there, and some monsters (like vampires and witches) them at all). Earning the favor of one always takes work, often
are far enough away from classic demons that they can almost in the form of some task (some need corpses or body parts,
be treated as peers. But actual bargains? Where you do service others require a collection of truly bizarre reagents).
for them? It’s frowned upon. But effective. Demons can reveal R&D: If the hunter gets a look at the writings and drawings
each other’s hot buttons and weaknesses, in exchange for ser- of an alchemical master and has a full scene to study them, he
vices that are usually as small as they are loathsome. can reduce the Practical Experience necessary to purchase his
R&D: Deals with demons offer discounts of -1 per level new Elixir by two. Alternatively, working with an alchemical
at which the act required would no longer require a degenera- master earns a -2 discount to the Endowment Equation, but as
tion roll, and may not be greater than 4 or the character’s cur- noted, the master will surely demand the services of the hunter
rent Morality, whichever is less. For example, a character with in some fashion before granting access to his wealth of knowl-
Morality 6, asked to perform an act that would require a roll edge or creating the Elixir that a hunter demands.
for degeneration at Morality 4, would receive a -2 discount in Commune with the Ancient
learning a rite.
Entities exist that are beyond the pale of man and that
Elixirs R&D ken things humanity dares not know. In the desert, a Djinn
made of whirling hematite lives in the darkest canyon. In
Alchemy is, in many ways, the transmutation of one sub- the sewers, a many-armed demon sits atop a throne of rats.
stance into another: lead into gold, life into death, poison into Atop a watertower an angel sits, a qashmal being of divine

nectar. Elixirs are one result of alchemy, and depending on who fire whose body is wreathed in the very wisdom he possesses.
you talk to, is either a mystical gift given through Egyptian These beings can impart their teachings, whether by having
mysticism (or in particular the works of Hermes Trismegistus) them teach a hunter or by pinning them to the ground and
or a bit of divine wisdom passed from Allah to the faithful al- pulling their manifested bodies apart bit by bit until they give
chemists of early Islam. Developing a new Elixir means know- up the goods (some Ascending Ones even claim that they
ing the recipe (you can’t just dump drain cleaner and Phoenix have gained wisdom from such creatures by eating them).
feathers into a mason jar and hope for the best, just like you R&D: In addition to doing whatever needs to be done

can’t throw all the ingredients in a kitchen cabinet together to regarding such an ancient being (finding it, convincing it,
make a tasty stew) and it means testing that recipe so that the hurting it, eating it, and so forth), the hunter must also accept
crucible of one’s body is so infused with faith or mystical power a temporary inhuman burden. Being in such close proximity
it turns a drug or a poison into a divine blessing. to an alien and celestial creature is not healthy. The next roll
Note that once an Elixir is actually discovered, it can to resist degeneration (whenever it comes, be it one day or
usually be recreated by a successful extended Intelligence + 10 years later) is made at -2 dice. In accepting all of this, the
Occult roll, with a number of successes necessary equal to hunter earns a -2 discount to the Endowment Equation neces-
twice the dots in that particular Elixir. Each roll is equivalent sary to create this new Elixir.
to an hour’s worth of creation (often using mortars, pestles,
beakers, burners and all appropriate reagents). However, cre- Drugs and Poisons
ating an Elixir is precarious: the hunter only has a number Willfully imbibing substances that cause bad trips or tox-
of hours (rolls) equal to his own score in Elixirs before the ic reactions can, for some, lead to a mode of enlightenment.
process falls apart. This is not a traditional way, and it’s worth noting that some
This process applies to recreating all known Elixirs, those religious hunters frown on the consumption of narcotic sub-
found in this book and subsequent supplements. stances, while others swear by it. The results can be damned
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