Page 213 - Hunter - The Vigil

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C CHAPTER FOUR: SPECIAL RULES AND SYSTEMS
monster down. A monster that can change into
MONSTER AMONG US liquid form is going to escape that Tactic in short
order — and that’s appropriate. The hunters can
What happens when a player takes on the role learn from this situation, gaining more Practical Ex-
of a monster in a predominantly HunterHunter game? perience and perhaps devising a Tactic that can de-
If the Storyteller allows this situation, he feat the creature. The Storyteller needs to consider
(and the troupe) must be prepared for the fact what powers a monster has and how they will inter-
that violence might ensue, and characters act with the Tactics the cell possesses. The players,
might well die. Yes, a cell of Null Mysteriis likewise, need to trust the Storyteller to play fair by
hunters might welcome the chance to sit down them and not add powers to monsters just to coun-
with a mage and discuss how magic works. Of ter Tactics the Storyteller didn’t see coming.
course, they might decide they’ll get further
with an autopsy. In this instance, it’s Learning, Creating
probably best to remind everyone involved
that character death is a possibility — once and Modifying
— and proceed from there. Storytellers, be Tactics
fair, don’t favor either side, and don’t
feel compelled to make it easier on the lone Tactics are purchased with Practical Experi-
supernatural character. Players, be true ence. The cost for Tactics can be spread around
to your characters, but remember that this a cell. A Tactic can be purchased for any number
isn’t a video game, either. of hunters, regardless of how many hunters are re-
quired to actually perform the Tactic. That Tactic
can then be taught to other cells. Tactics can also
• One character is the primary actor for the Tactic. The player of be developed independently of a teacher (this, in fact, is how
that character makes the last roll in the Tactic, the one that tier-one cells usually gain Tactics, since they can’t rely on a
ultimately determines whether the Tactic succeeds or fails. larger organization to teach them). The distribution of cost
• All other characters are secondary actors. They make their when purchasing a Tactic isn’t important. If a fi ve-member
rolls before the primary actor. cell wishes to learn a Tactic costing 10 experience points, they
could each pay two, or one of them could pay all 10, or any
• Any successes on a secondary actor’s roll add to the prima- other combination. Once the cost has been paid, all the hunt-
ry actor’s dice pool. A failure adds nothing, and may have ers know the Tactic and are theoretically capable of teaching it
additional effects (see individual Tactic descriptions). A (see the restrictions on teaching Tactics, below).
dramatic failure imposes a -4 penalty on primary actor’s Hunters do not need to meet the prerequisites for a Tac-
roll, in addition to any of the effects of a failure.
tic in order to learn it, but they do need to meet those pre-
• A player can choose to risk Willpower (see p. 65) as either requisites before they can use the Tactic. Learning the theory
a secondary or primary actor, with all the benefit and risk behind a Tactic and practicing it in a safe environment are

that entails. A player can also spend Willpower normally, much easier than actually performing it against a real mon-
of course. ster. For instance, a hunter with no dots in Brawl can learn
• A player with Professional Training ••••• cannot turn a the Hamstring Tactic, but won’t be able to help the cell use

Tactics roll into a rote action, even if it uses one of the the Tactic in the field until the player spends the experience
character’s Asset Skills. points to buy a dot of Brawl for that character.
From the perspective of the story, a hunter cell can ac-
quire a new Tactic in one of two ways: by learning it from an-
Response to Tactics other hunter, or by creating it. Cells can also modify Tactics
Players and Storytellers familiar with other World of Darkness they already know, which is considerably easier than creating
games might wonder how Tactics work when employed against or learning new ones.
creatures that can think, reason and respond. After all, many of Creating Tactics
these Tactics are predicated upon the monster taking certain ac-
Creating a Tactic is the most common way for tier-one
tions — suppose it doesn’t? Worse, suppose one player is taking
cells to acquire Tactics, though tier-two and three cells can
on the role of a vampire (à la Vampire: The Requiem), and the
certainly do so as well. A cell that observes or hears about
Hunter characters decide to enact a little Controlled Immolation?
another cell using a Tactic and decides to figure it out itself is,

There’s no easy answer here, and in a situation where Tac-
in effect, creating the Tactic. This system also works well for
tics-using hunters battle intelligent monsters, the onus is on the
Tactics that the players design, and some discussion on this
Storyteller (as the only one with all of the information at his
topic is included here, too.
disposal) to make everything make sense. Tactics are not magic
In order to attempt to create a Tactic, someone in the
spells, and they do not automatically counter any supernatural
cell needs to have the required traits to be primary actor for
power that creatures possess. For instance, several Tactics, such
the Tactic. The other characters don’t need to have the pre-
as Dentistry, Net and Staking, rely on the hunter pinning the
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