Page 276 - Hunter - The Vigil

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A ASCENDING THE TIERS|DESCENDING THE TIERS
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Actually getting into the third-tier outfits is not some- one can still leave the group’s employ). Operating practices
thing to be sneezed at. It has serious impacts on a charac- and beliefs like those have got to wear down a heart after a
ter’s life: some good, some bad. Storytellers and players can while. It becomes harder and harder to see just who is the
get a lot of mileage out of the adaptation story arc, where “good guy,” and deep down, that’s something most hunters see
the characters come to terms with their new positions and themselves as, even if never in such simplistic terms.
get to grips with the unfamiliar new Endowments. Poten- Also, on a personal level, some people just don’t want in-
tial encounters could even include the revelations when human bio-implants screwing around with their bodies; they
facing foes that the enemies of the Vigil can, in some ways, don’t want half-understood cybernetics attached to their or-
seem more human than the characters since they allowed gans and bones, and they sure as hell is hot don’t want to learn
themselves to be altered. anything that could even be considered a nod in the direction

Storytellers can play this up, or focus the pathos elsewhere. of “black magic.” Power just isn’t worth the sacrifice to some
With increased support and the advantages of tier-three equip- characters, and that’s fine. It’s a cool, natural (perhaps even

ment and Endowments, the characters are free to pursue some sensible) reaction and shouldn’t be punished by a Storyteller
truly serious bad guys. If the moral implications of fi ghting fi re or the other troupe members.

with fire don’t hold any appeal, the troupe might relish the So characters descend the tiers. The disadvantages are

chance to explore conflicts with utterly inhuman, utterly mon- obvious and immediate. A lack of support, a lack of funding
strous foes, the likes of which the characters simply couldn’t and a lack of those eerie new skin grafts and magic tricks that
have handled back in their low-tier days. It can make for some made hunting a little easier. But here are the plus points:
dramatic stuff: consider the cell that fi nally has the edge it needs Firstly, freedom. Characters no longer need to justify
to go after the chronicle’s major antagonist, whereas previously their actions to superiors and are free to use whatever meth-
it could never hope to harm him. Being able to stand before ods in the hunt they desire. They gain the ability to choose
him on an even footing will hold a lot of appeal for a cell. their own targets and hunt their own way. That’s got to hold
some appeal for many hunters who’ve grown tired of asking
Descending the Tiers “How high?” when told to jump. A character might now ex-
Just as the ascent has its share of pluses and minuses, so too orcize his rage and seek to make amends for all those times
does the descent. On the surface, it might seem like a demotion wretched creatures had to be studied instead of destroyed, on
or a retirement of sorts, and to say no hunter walks this path for the whims of some lab technician or robed cult leader. Now
those reasons would be a lie. Of course they do. Some can’t hack the hunter really breaks out the attack, and makes up for years
the big leagues. Some just grow weary of the life. of restraint and study. No mercy, anymore. Time to hunt.
Others, though? Some abandon the organizations because That coin has a flip side. A character may have spent

of a conflict of interest or a clash of outlook. When a char- years hunting and destroying various entities, never learning
acter can no longer stomach the orders he’s given, he finally what he wished to learn and instead finding all factual infor-

snaps and leaves. As an example, the Lucifuge are probably mation about the Vigil’s foes flowing ever upward to the orga-

likeliest to hemorrhage members in this manner. Just look at nization’s leaders, with little filtering back down. No one likes

what they do and what they think, after all (of course, they to be in the dark. No one likes being lied to. Such a character
claim you can’t really remove your own infernal genetics, but is now free to conduct his business as he sees fit, studying the

STORY HOOK: A CONCERNED CITIZEN
An anonymous tipster contacts the characters, detailing thorough
information on one particular foe (or type of foe) the characters are
hunting. It could be scholarly lore and observations from someone who
appears to be meticulous researcher, or just decent word-of-mouth from
someone who seems to be in the know when it comes to monsters and street
smarts. The “source” never meets the characters, just contacts them by
letters, packages and emails. But one thing is obvious: the source knows
far more than he should. He’s one of the enemy, too.
But…the things he’s saying are useful. Damn useful. Years, decades
(centuries?) of research all dripping down into the hunters’ hands. It
makes the Vigil easier, and makes taking down enemies a lot faster when
the cell knows their weaknesses and habits inside and out. But how long
can a cell work from this information while knowing it’s the pawn of the
enemy? Other hunters will come for them, sooner or later. And who is their
mysterious patron? How does he know enough about the cell to contact its
members personally by name and address?
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