Page 226 - Hunter - The Vigil

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hunter); hunters have encountered this type of creature before ster is “stronger than a human being of comparable size”
(+1 to all participants); hunters have never encountered this isn’t terribly useful, but knowing that a creature has “at least
type of creature before (-1 to all participants); target is a mage (-1 Strength 5” might be. Of course, the way the players hear the
to secondary actors); target has few or no supernatural “indica- data and the way the characters hear it are quite different.
tors” — kin to werewolves, servant to vampires or mages, etc. (-2 The Storyteller might tell the troupe, “Based on the data, the
to secondary actors); target is a normal, non-supernatural human creature could probably tear a door off the hinges quite easily.
being (-2 to secondary actors), primary actor has never seen the In terms of game mechanics, that’s roughly Strength 5 or 6.”
target himself (-3 to primary actor). Some troupes, of course, might not want to hear the game
Roll Results: mechanics side of things, preferring to just interpret the data

Dramatic Failure: The cell misidentifies a normal hu- in character, and that’s fi ne, too.
man being as a monster, a monster as a normal human being, The secondary actors hide in the area, taking readings,
or a monster as a different type of monster. Even this latter running cameras and producing stimuli, if necessary. The
eventuality can have disastrous results — suppose the hunters primary actor interprets this data as it comes in, making ad-
identify a pale, black-clad mage as a vampire, and attempt to justments to the machinery, if any, or giving instructions to
break into his home during the day when the “vampire” is the secondary actors. Measurements can be sustained over a
sleeping? number of turns, but if the target ever has a reason to become
Failure: The primary actor is unable to make a conclu- suspicious or if one of the secondary actors fails the Wits +
sive decision. The cell can enact this Tactic again, starting Stealth roll, the Storyteller can make a Wits + Composure
from scratch. roll for the monster. If this roll succeeds, the monster notices

Success: The primary actor correctly determines the hunter whose Stealth roll failed, and can attack or flee as
whether the target is some kind of supernatural being. Note it sees fit. Note that Measurements can continue in combat

that “supernatural being” covers a wide range — in addition with a monster, as long as at least one secondary actor is avail-
to monsters such as werewolves and vampires, this Tactic able to feed data to the primary actor.
might also identify mortals with the Unseen Sense Merit Organizations: Finding a Null Mysteriis cell without this

(see p. 109 of the World of Darkness Rulebook). Further Tactic would be difficult. The organization constantly collects
study is defi nitely advised. data on the supernatural, even branching into discredited pseu-
Exceptional Success: The primary actor not only cor- doscience like aura photography and electronic voice phenom-

rectly identifies the target, but if the target is a supernatural ena. In the World of Darkness, these methods might actually
being, the cell receives a +1 bonus on the first Tactic it uses have some merit. The Cheiron Group, too, makes extensive use

on the target or on the first Research action it takes on the of Measurements, looking for capabilities of the supernatural it

target. can ape with its Thaumatechnology Endowments.
To Purchase: 15 Practical Experience, 12 for any tier- Potential Modifi ers: At least an hour of prep time in the
two cell, 10 for any tier-three cell. area (+3 to primary actor); state-of-the-art equipment (+1 to
+3 to primary actor); secondary actors are communicating with
Measurements primary actor through text or another silent method (+2 to sec-
Prerequisites: All: Wits 2, Science 2. Partial (1): Aca- ondary actors); secondary actors communicate with primary ac-
demics 2 or Computer 2. Partial (1): Science 3. tors via radio headsets (+1 to secondary actors); cell has studied
Requires: 2 or more. this particular monster before (+1 to primary actor); hunters are
Dice Pool: Primary: Intelligence + Science. Secondary: communicating through normal speech (-2 to secondary actors);
Wits + Stealth. monster is in combat with hunters (-2 to primary actor); sub-par
Action: Extended (each roll represents one turn of scru- or outdated equipment (-1 to –3 to primary actor).
tiny). Roll Results:
Description: In order to defeat (or use, or even redeem) Dramatic Failure: The data that is collected is danger-
monsters, hunters often to wish to learn about them. The ously misleading. If the cell faces this monster or another like
Measurements Tactic allows the cell to collect this data, us- it without a successful use of this Tactic, the Storyteller has
ing any number of methods. Photography, sound recording a pool of 10 penalty dice. These can be parceled out against
and thermal imaging all simply require the right kinds of in- the hunters during their first confrontation with the monster

struments, but hunters have used this Tactic to achieve more in any combination the Storyteller wishes, but each die is
sophisticated measurements. By measuring how fast a creature used only once. For instance, the Storyteller might apply a -5
moves from a stationary position, they can make a guess at ad- against one hunter’s attack, a -2 against another’s attempt to
renal function and body strength. By how quickly it responds hide, and a -3 against a third hunter’s attempt to fl ee.
to stimuli, they can draw conclusions about its sensory ap- Failure: No relevant data is collected. The data might be

paratus. Using Measurements benefits from some setup time, redundant, or maybe a power hiccup prevented the data from
but given the right equipment, the hunters can draw data on being stored.
the fl y, as well. Success: Data on the creature is collected. The hunters can
The Storyteller needs to decide how to present the ac- later analyze the data (this requires at least three hours of study),
quired data to the players. Telling the players that the mon- after which the hunters have a pool of dice equal to twice the suc-
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