Page 245 - Hunter - The Vigil

A
I
L
A
C
E
I
C
R
S
E
A
S
U
R
E
L
R
R
E
E
S
P
U
:
E
A
A
E
P
T
T
P
P
E
T
S
H
C CHAPTER FOUR: SPECIAL RULES AND SYSTEMS
M
Y
A
D
N
Y
S

Analog Polygraph
HAUTE COUTURE: Durability 1, Size 3, Structure 4,
FASHION AS EQUIPMENT Cost •••
Analog polygraphs consist of a bulky
Cost • to ••• metal box that feeds reams of paper
It is diffi cult to get around the fact that most social across its surface, with three suspended
interaction begins and ends with the superfi cial. Lots arms like record needles hovering over
of people love to distract themselves with pretty the pages. These arms record the rate
baubles and trendy clothing, and many monsters are of the subject’s breath and heartbeat, as
just as shallow, if not more so. Whether it’s the well as the sweat at their fingertips. Con-

designer they wear, the bling they fl ash, or the toys tacts are placed at points of circulation, a
they buy, looks matter. stethoscope tube is wrapped around the
While the title implies high society, it’s worth trunk of the subject and clips are applied
noting that one man’s plus is another man’s minus. to his finger. While outdated, these ma-

Wearing the latest in named fashion with a Louis chines still work reliably for what they
Vuitton purse and $20 grand of diamonds around her were built for. The polygraph adds +2 to
neck might serve a hunter well at a vampire’s posh the operator’s pool to detect lies.
soiree, but will net her nothing but disdain and
mugging at the other end of town. Accordingly, if Digital Polygraph
she wears a leather jacket and do-rag, she’ll get Durability 2, Size 2, Structure 4,
a lot more done on the wrong side of the tracks, Cost ••
but won’t get past the doorman at the country club. More compact, and slightly more
Bonuses and/or disadvantages to appearance are all mobile, are digital variations of poly-
about what’s appropriate to the situation. graphs. No paper is needed and a hunter
It tends to be expensive to stay on the bleeding can digitally record the exam on a lap-
edge of fashion trends, and the bonuses are spread top. These digital versions are easily
out accordingly. By keeping up with time and tide, transportable in a backpack or in a car,
a hunter might gain a +1 bonus on Presence pools especially compared to their analog
per point in Cost spent (though only when dealing cousins. The cell will still have to sub-
with the appropriate crowd, as per Storyteller due the subject and attach the contacts
prerogative). Many of the more social monsters get as normal, but the test is more secure
used to being the prettiest thing in the room, and from environmental concerns. The op-
a good way to draw their attention — and ire — is erator adds +2 to the dice pool to tell
to draw attention away from them. The members of if the subject is telling the whole truth,
the Ashwood Abbey delight in this form of baiting but gains 9-again to the roll.
and trapping. Get a monster’s attention, snub him,
get him to follow and jump him with fi ve hedonist Functional Magnetic
buddies. Can it backfi re? Sure. One hunting party Resonance Imaging
thought they had hooked a vamp, but when they (fMRI)
caught up to her on the street and smashed in her Durability 5, Size 7, Structure 12,
pretty little face, it revealed an even prettier Cost •••••
face underneath, as if through cracked porcelain. An MRI is a large, clinical-looking
The only survivor claims there was a bright fl ash of cylinder, with a retractable gurney that
light and the “taste of singing” in his throat. moves the patient in and out of a largely
This bonus for being part of the in scene with one featureless central chamber. MRIs are sig-

group doesn’t always stand to follow within other nificantly less dangerous than an X-ray and

cliques. As mentioned above, brandishing a Polo are capable of far more specific data. If the
shirt and Rolex watch to the country club is going target suffers from claustrophobia, however,
to get the right sort of notice by the right sort of she almost certainly should roll Resolve +
people; wearing the same outfi t to Fetish Night at a Composure to retain her cool, or she will
goth club is going to do the exact opposite. At the need to be sedated. Accordingly, it’s quite
Storyteller’s discretion, apply an appropriate die a large machine, used as a non-invasive
penalty (-1 per dot of Cost) for the wrong situation method to photograph the humors inside
as you would the bonus for the right situation. If a a still-living creature. As the name implies,
hunter’s dress earns him +1 at the golf course, it the machine targets the subject with a large
earns him -1 at the punk club. magnet that causes the hydrogen molecules
in the bloodstream to line up in such a way
244
244