Page 243 - Hunter - The Vigil

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C CHAPTER FOUR: SPECIAL RULES AND SYSTEMS
reinforcement include confinement in small spaces like trunks or sters are involved usually leads to body parts being mailed to

closets, feeding them gunpowder or pepper, starving the animal, the hunter’s cellmates.
or using Tasers to rile them. If any of these methods are employed,
then the same system of consecutive failure leading to a dramatic Civilian Identifi cation
failure per the above should be applied. Cost ••
A real deal or competent forgery of civil authority identi-
Badges and fication (Union Representative, Officer of the Court, Profes-

sional Inspector) are good for +1 to Subterfuge-, Persuasion-
Professional or Manipulation-based rolls for gaining access to non-public
Identifi cations or prohibited areas. The Union swears by this method to gain
access to basements and crawlspaces, leaving doors unlocked,
The old joke says you can go anywhere with a clipboard and
tapping phone lines, or shutting off valuable utility services

a jumpsuit. The truth is close. An official-looking set of creden-
(like electricity or telephone) just prior to a raid.
tials certainly opens a lot of doors and quiets a lot of questions.
Monsters, their associates and more urbane cultists are likely to Press Pass
cooperate with mortal authorities or agencies — even if only Cost •••
temporarily — to save themselves a lot of hassle later. Heaven A Press Pass won’t grant access to search or seizure, and it
help the hunter who’s discovered faking it, but for short-term won’t get a hunter into a sub-basement to “check the pipes.” But
cons, a badge can work like a social skeleton key. it might open a few doors with a +2 to appropriate Persuasion
Police badges make optimal cover, of course, but are not and Subterfuge rolls, and +1 to Intimidation. (“Fuck off? Can I
the end-all, be-all when it comes to sticking your hunter’s quote you on that …?”) The fear of bad press is fairly prevalent in
nose where it doesn’t belong. Press passes have a similar but today’s society, and even someone’s undead master might give a
distinct utility; she may not be able to poke around a car and little to get a little when it comes to cooperating with the media
plant a tracking device, but a hunter claiming press creden- (alternatively, he might “give” the hunter’s body to the swamps,

tials might find it enough to talk her way into an invitation- but that’s the risk). A hunter should be careful not to identify
only stockholder dinner or access police records regarding an her employer (real or fake), or it will be that much likelier to
ongoing investigation. Easier to forge and harder to authen- come back to her. A common trick is to identify whatever parent
ticate are civil authority identifications, like those of build- company or conglomerate ultimately owns the paper or station,

ing inspectors, asbestos surveyors and utility representatives. as it will at least take a while to sift through the bureaucracy long
Never underestimate the invisible people who pass through before it gets back to her. In that time, she should make sure that
sensitive areas all the time without ever raising suspicion. Af- her cell has taken the necessary measures to ensure the monster
ter all, what threat does a meter reader pose? won’t be a problem…ever again.
Of course, police badges don’t just fall off trucks, and
plausible forgeries are hard to come by. If a hunter doesn’t Police Badge
have the appropriate Profession or dots in Status, he’s going Cost •••
to have to manufacture or get his hands on a forgery. Forgeries A master forgery or a real gold shield nets a +3 across the
likely require dots in the Allies, Contacts or Status Merits, or board for all applicable rolls, such as to intimidate someone, access
may necessitate the Computer or Streetwise Skill to pull off. private property, interview a person on the spot or request some-
A bad copy might pass a cursory “flash and pass” inspection, body bend the rules in the hunter’s favor. A real badge will have

but the second anyone asks to see that again, the hunter bet- the state or county shield, the city or city code, the badge num-
ter know where her exits are. ber and usually the precinct number listed on the badge itself. As

Identifications are a good way to gain entrance to loca- with the above, this does present an opportunity to track back to
tions normally forbidden to the general public, access records, the hunter’s doorstep if she’s a real cop, especially if she suspects a
secure interviews, or simply throw a little weight around as ap- monster might have connections within the force. A police badge
propriate. Contrarily, a Professional Engineer license or union should not be considered a blank check; due process is still a con-
card isn’t going to win a hunter any dates, or get a stranger to sideration. A forceful and confi dent demeanor, however, can get
give him money without a pretty good reason. a lot of leeway out of someone not entirely canny with what their
Costs below reflect a black and “gray” market price. Ob- rights are. A badge isn’t just a social bludgeoning tool, though.

viously, one cannot purchase such identifications at the local With a smile and quiet assurance, a hunter can get a few more
Wal-Mart. details out of a witness who thought she was done answering ques-
tions last night, or a peek at the hotel register from a week ago.
Passable Forgery
Cost • Drugs
A passable forgery adds +1 to appropriate Subterfuge, In-
Disinhibitors and hallucinogens: tools used (and some
timidation or Persuasion rolls. A failure will make the target
say developed) by the intelligence community at one time
irreparably suspicious and the advantage immediately swings
or another. They have their uses to the clever hunter who
in his favor. Any rolls made to continue the ruse after an ini-
doesn’t mind crossing a few moral lines. Whether to aid in
tial failure suffer a -2 penalty. A dramatic failure where mon-
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