Page 285 - Hunter - The Vigil

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C CHAPTER FIVE: STORYTELLING
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The Disruption: Plants wilt. Meat spoils. Cell phones Why are Lesser demons lesser? In the occult view, it’s of-
or other electronic devices spit static or act strange. These ten believed that there exists a kind of “great cosmic chain of
demons have one such effect. These demons tend to be sad, being,” a sort of spiritual hierarchy to which all spirits must
pathetic things, given over to mournful wails coupled with abide. This isn’t the only view, though. One idea suggests
acts of self-aggrandizement. that some demons are weaker as a form of punishment: power
The Fury: Temperatures rise in their presence, and flames has been taken from them for some transgression or another.

grow larger and hotter. They tend to be angry creatures, spit- Another idea suggests they are “new” demons, comparatively
ting wrath and invective. speaking, and can claw their way up the hierarchy as the cen-
The Imperfection: These demons are marred by a single, turies and millennia progress.
truly imperfect feature: one ear puffy and rough like a hunk Lesser demons are, for all intents and purposes, famil-
of cauliflower, one eye of a truly strange color, a cleft palate, iars of a sort. They might serve a human master (hunter

webbed fingers, a strange scar or brand, or so forth. They or witch), or they might serve another monster (unsum-
can cover it up, of course, which makes their infernal nature moned demon, vampire, werewolf, etc.). As such, use the
sometimes hard to detect. They seem to loathe humans. familiar creation rules found on p. 166 — this counts for
The Malodor: Some give off a particularly odd smell, not both familiars who exist in the non-corporeal state of Twi-
pleasant, though not necessarily unpleasant, either: the whiff light and those familiars who are persistently made mani-
of brimstone, a too-sweet smell of honey, the acrid tang of fest in the material world.
spent gunpowder, a reeking of brine, the musk of spent sexual Twilight familiars can Materialize in the physical world
fluids. These tend to be creatures of odd passions and obses- by rolling Power + Finesse. The creature can appear for one

sions and like humans quite a bit. hour per success, but it costs the familiar 3 Essence to do so.
The Pall: Flames dim in their presence and a chill fills At the end of time or upon its physical destruction, the crea-

the room. Curiously, these demons are often the most coher- ture goes back to its anchor (which is often its master, but
ent of their ilk, explaining their war on God in terms both may be a physical place or object; see World of Darkness
digestible and sympathetic. Rulebook, pp. 209–210).
The Demon’s Ban Bedshaker (Lesser Demon)
All demons suffer from one or more “Bans,” and this is Quote: Lie back and think of England, love.
something a demon must do (a “Ban of task”), or something Background: This lustful little imp lurks in Twilight,
that a demon cannot do or cannot abide (a “Ban of torment”). generally beneath the bed of its master or its target (and if
A Ban of task necessitates that the demon react in a cer- it can’t fit beneath the bed, the closet will do). It has little

tain way given a particular stimulus. Examples include: “Must memory or personality of its own, but it knows what it likes.
answer a question truthfully if given an offering of blood,” And it likes all things lascivious.
or “Must pick up every shiny object the demon sees on the Appearance: Rarely does a Bedshaker manifest itself: if it
ground,” or “Must not harm those of Morality 4 or below.” does, it’s not much more than a pair of green eyes, like a cat’s
A Ban of torment is restrictive in a different way, in that eyes, in the dark.
it necessitates a negative reaction given a certain stimulus. Storytelling Hints: The Bedshaker likes to stir sexual,
Examples include “Cannot enter holy ground,” or “Cannot lustful thoughts in those who slumber above or nearby: it al-
speak in the presence of a ringing bell,” or “Cannot cross a ways tempts, picking at one’s peccadilloes and making them
line of salt upon the ground.” think thoughts that, frankly, they enjoy thinking. Of course, as
If the demon willfully denies its own Ban (necessitating suc- one gives in more and more, one’s actions in bed go from the
cess on a Resolve + Composure or Power + Resistance roll) or is vanilla to the adventurous, and soon to the outright torturous.
otherwise forced to deny it (dragged onto holy ground or duped into
harming someone it otherwise cannot), the demon takes one le- Greater Demons
thal point of damage and loses two Willpower (or Essence) points. An incubus who stirs your dreams to grotesque passions. A
This loss continues if the creature continues per turn if the demon is man in a sharp-angled suit who offers you a glimpse of a long-
forced to endure the breaking of its Ban over and over again. forgotten book. A vengeful thing with broken wings that charges
Obviously, hunters who discover a demon’s Ban are given from a dark alley, claw hammer in hand.
great power in that they have new avenues of manipulating For the most part, they look human. Something always
the creature. That said, discovering a demon’s Ban should marks these Greater demons as “off,” though. Part of that
never be easy, and could be the focus of an entire story. comes from the Fiendish Flaw (above), but it’s something…
Lesser demons have one Ban, Greater demons have two else, too. When a hunter’s eye is turned away, the demon’s
Bans, and Elder demons have three Bans. form and shape might seem to shift or distort, like an im-
age seen in a fogged mirror. A successful Wits + Composure
Lesser Demons roll (minus the demon’s own Resolve) allows the hunter to
Invisible lampreys that stir a man to gluttony. Ruby-eyed imps catch a momentary glimpse of the creature’s true nature,
chuckling at you in the dark. A chatelaine familiar carrying a glass however it appears: eyes of fi re, halo of rotten meat, wings

of blood on a silver tray and wearing a pair of bright cufflinks that of greasy raven feathers, rusted smoldering shackles dangling
refl ect his master’s eyes. around wrists.
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