Page 286 - Hunter - The Vigil

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B BEDSHAKER (LESSER DEMON)
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BEDSHAKER
LESSER DEMON
True Name:
True Name: Each has a different True Name.
Attributes:
Attributes: Power 2, Finesse 4, Resistance 2
Willpower:
Willpower: 4
Essence: 10 (10 max)
Essence:
Initiative:
Initiative: 6
Defense: 4
Defense:
Speed:
Speed: 16 (Speed factor 10)
Virtue:
Virtue: Hope
Vice: Lust
Vice:
Morality: None
Morality:
Size: 3
Size:
Corpus:
Corpus: 5
Ban: A Bible cannot be anywhere in the room with a Bedshaker demon.
Ban:
Dread Powers: Hypnotism 3
Dread Powers:
Special
Special
Familiar
Familiar: See “familiar” powers under Castigation, p. 166.
Out of all demons, hunters are likeliest to deal with and If it’s Merit dots, the hunter can gain Merit dots in any
see Greater demons. This is in part because they pass as hu- one of the following Merits: Allies, Fame, Resources, Retain-
man, as noted, but it’s also in part because these demons have er, Status and Striking Looks.
quite a lot to offer hunters willing to take the bait. The tasks demanded by the Greater demon can be as easy
Greater demons can offer hunters a truly Faustian bargain, or as forbidding as the demon chooses, and the hunter knows
able to provide any character (human or inhuman) with two the terms before he seals the pact. That’s the curious thing:
things: information or assets (in the form of Merit dots). The these pacts really aren’t all that tricky, though hunters like to
system for forging such a pact with a Greater demon is this: for think they are.
every question answered or for every Merit dot provided, the Sealing the deal necessitates some form of physical contact
hunter must perform one task that the demon demands. demanded by the demon: a kiss, a spit-and-a-handshake, a swap-
Tasks range from the deceptively simple (“Next time your ping of blood. Once the deal is sealed, the hunter gains the benefi ts
wife gets lippy, give her a slap across the mouth”) to the truly immediately, even before having committed to the tasks.
complex (“Climb atop the watertower that overlooks Broada- So, what happens if the hunter bails on the tasks? Ah,
cre Square. Take this rifle. Kill seven women with it”). Each that’s the trick, and it’s something the demon never makes

task likely reflects the demon’s own Vice and will endanger clear. For every task the hunter either ignores or fails, the hunt-

the hunter’s Morality score, forcing him to commit an action er loses one dot of Willpower and suffers one aggravated level of

that would necessitate a degeneration roll. Tasks almost al- damage that forms a scarified sigil recognizable by all demons.
ways have a built-in time limit set by the demon, and usually In addition, all demons gain +1 dice for every task ignored or
necessitate somewhat immediate (within the week) action. failed when performing any Dread Power against the hunter.
What does the demon get? First, it gets tasks performed Is there any way to trump this curse? Some say that if you can
that may suit its needs, especially if one of those tasks is the just get the demon to agree to nullify the effects, it’ll happen
elimination of a supernatural rival. Second, for every one task as swiftly as the demon desires. At present, hunter lore doesn’t
performed, the demon gains two points of Willpower. have any better suggestions.
What does the hunter get? If it’s information, he gains Outside the ability to grant such a pact, Greater demons can
one answer to a question. Demons will answer most normal be created using the standard character-creation rules for humans,

questions for free, of course, but as the gatekeepers of knowl- and begin with five dots of Dread Powers, but can go up from there.
edge, they seem capable of answering questions they don’t re- Their Attributes can also go to six dots instead of fi ve.
ally know the answers to. The knowledge only appears to the Be aware that Greater demons do not have a non-cor-
demon once the question is asked as part of the bargain. poreal or Twilight form: they are material creatures who take
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