Page 231 - Hunter - The Vigil

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C CHAPTER FOUR: SPECIAL RULES AND SYSTEMS
break free or slip out by making an extended
Stamina + Strength roll, with a -3 penalty, and GHOSTBUSTING
accumulating success in excess of the tape’s
Structure (Durability 1 + Size representative of Manifested ghosts don’t produce
the amount of tape used for the restraint). Each temperature or electromagnetic anomalies
roll represents one turn of struggling. Dramatic by their mere presence, but some have
failure indicates the character can make no more abilities (Numina) that might do so
attempts for the scene. (directly or as a side effect). Ghosts
may also trigger such phenomena when they
Earplugs
shift from Twilight to manifested state
Durability 1, Size 0, Structure 1, Cost •
or vice versa, or when gaining Essence.
Some monsters attack you physically, others
Roll the ghost’s Power + Finesse; each
attack your mind. A hunter’s own strengths can
success will cause one spike in a heat- or
be turned against her comrades, should her will
EMF-sensing device (assuming the device
be overwhelmed by the hypnotic power of the
was pointing toward the ghost at the
enemy. One admittedly limited defense against
right moment). Some such anomalies, like
this is to wear earplugs, so the commands of
the “cold spots” sometimes described by
a would-be dominator go unheard. Of course,
occult investigators, may persist for
the strategy also leaves the hunter deaf to most
the rest of the scene, continuing to
everything else. Some hunter cells develop sign
register on sensory equipment even after
language or other ways of communicating so they
the ghost has moved on. A manifested
can operate effectively when one or more of them
ghost lacks enough substance to trigger
is operating “in the quiet.” Others use the tactic
a motion detector, but Storytellers may
as a precautionary measure when guarding or
rule that a passing ghost will perturb
interrogating a captured monster (the interrogator
the environment enough to set one off
doesn’t wear the plugs, but other hunters in the
with one or more success on a refl exive
room do). A character wearing earplugs must
Power + Finesse roll. Storytellers are

make a reflexive Wits + Composure role at -3
encouraged to develop further rules for
to perceive any sound louder than a shout, and
ghost detection as needed: knowing that
can’t hear anything softer. Noise-canceling
something is present but can’t been seen
earphones (Cost ••), which emit “white noise”
can be more unsettling than not knowing
to eliminate ambient sound, have a similar effect,
if there’s anything there at all.
except that they impose a -4 penalty for hearing
Unless using an appropriate Numen,
noises. Wearing plugs, though, adds an element
manifested ghosts can make only the
of surprise: a monster used to instant obedience
faintest of sounds. Such noise may be picked
may be caught off guard for a few important
up by recording equipment, especially
moments, giving a hunter time to act (or escape).
if the signal’s fi ltered, amplifi ed or

Plugs small enough to fit inside the ear require a
digitally processed. The result is known
Wits + Composure role to be noticed.
to paranormal investigators as electronic
Electromagnetic Field voice phenomena (EVP). Most ghosts don’t
(EMF) Detector create EVP unless they choose to, but
some manifest and generate EVP as part
Durability 1, Size 1, Structure 2, Cost •
of a trancelike cycle they follow.
Available at hardware stores and electronics
Spirits operate within similar
hobby shops, this is a handheld device that
parameters, except that not all of them

measures electromagnetic fields produced by
can manifest, and some Twilight spirits
electrical appliances, power lines and similar
affect the physical world by their
sources. Some are also equipped to pick up
presence (a fi re spirit might make a room
radio waves, microwaves and other types of
warmer, for example).
electromagnetic activity. Designed as a tool for
electricians, engineers and other professionals,
these meters have become popular among ghost hunters, the implications of the detector’s readings, beyond the simple

on the theory that ghosts have an electromagnetic field (see presence or absence of an electromagnetic field, generally

“Ghostbusting,” above). Hunters might also use them to requires some expertise in electronics.
discern the presence of electrical activity where there should
be none — perhaps that abandoned cabin isn’t so abandoned Electronic Sound Amplifi er

— or to find hidden electronic equipment. Understanding Durability 1, Size 2, Structure 3, Cost ••
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