Page 28 - Hunter - The Vigil

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means necessary. They find where the vampire sleeps during
Hunter Cells the day and drive a stake through its heart, or they burn a
A cell is the smallest and most common element of haunted house to the ground to keep more kids from disap-
hunter society; at its core, it’s a group of like-minded people pearing into its depths. The emphasis is on survival: us versus
dedicated to stopping the monsters that threaten their homes them, with little room for negotiation or compromise.
and loved ones. These groups usually comprise only a hand- The lifespan of a hunter cell is often very short; with lit-
ful of individuals, often with minimal resources and limited tle support and few resources to draw on, the deck is stacked

knowledge of the supernatural, and their area of influence is against it from the start. Apart from the physical risks, the

extremely local. They come together to investigate and fight Vigil takes an extreme psychological and emotional toll on
the thing that’s stalking children in their neighborhood, or hunters as well, and unless they are very careful, a cell’s activi-
is leaving bodies drained of blood in the alley behind their ties can often draw the attentions of local law enforcement.
apartment building. Even those cells that survive a confrontation with a monster
Any given city features dozens, if not scores, of hunter cells. will sometimes try to disband and return to their everyday
Many operate in complete ignorance of one another, never lives, hoping that theirs was an once-in-a-lifetime experi-
glimpsing the larger struggle going on around them. They oper- ence. Only the most dedicated hunters see the Vigil as a true
ate out of living rooms, tool sheds and Internet cafés, fi ghting calling, devoting their lives to protecting humanity against
with a combination of wits, courage and improvised weapons the horrors that walk among them. These cells can persist
against a foe they only barely understand. Their composition for months or even years, accumulating hard-won knowledge
can be as varied as the circumstances that brought them to- and experience at an often-terrible cost.
gether: a cell can be composed of a group of neighbors plagued Forming a Cell
by the same angry spirit, a team of cops who decide to take the
law into their own hands in the face of a seemingly unstoppable A hunter cell is often born from tragedy: a husband loses
murderer, or a band of college students out to investigate the his wife to a mysterious, bestial killer and vows revenge, or

mysterious death of one of their friends. a priest watches members of his flock sicken and die from a

Hunter cells are typically focused on short-term results: baffling malady and begins to suspect the work of a sorcerer
they track down and deal with the immediate threat by any in their midst. The fact is that monsters have existed unseen

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