Page 319 - Hunter - The Vigil

:

V
E
T
O
S
T
T
T
A
P
R
R
E
E
L
L
L
L
G
G
I
N
R
Y
O
R
T
E
Y
T
C CHAPTER FIVE: STORYTELLING
H
Colonel Gabriel DiTillo statuesque, more dolls than women, each as identical as his
Quote: Are you loyal to me? Can you be loyal to this face? merchants can provide. His jealousy keeps them within his
mansion grounds, though they’re known by the guards to be
Background: Some men are beloved, even when bru-

tal. Argentine President Juan Peron was one such figure, and restless. The Colonel can’t be too careful, though; each suf-
fers his unique curse. No cut can be healed without an act of
young Gabriel DiTillo grew up worshiping the Great Man. will, and any healed skin scars and festers. A single cut from a
Peron’s career was built on being everything to everyone, on broken glass can spell death for an Evita.
promising a Camelot Argentina. He turned a soap opera ac- The mansion, as secure a palace as suburban America can
tress into a goddess on Earth, and made sure his enemies were provide, is a beautiful Georgian complex, conveniently located
painted as the vilest of villains. Peron taught his own Golden to the city the cell operates in. Aside from his personal luxuries,
Path between Capitalism and Socialism. the Colonel has invested his wealth in real estate, drugs and
In 1949, during Peron’s first presidency, DiTillo saw the

president speak. Twelve years old, he strained to hear; he jostled buying respectability from his local Kindred. That last was no
mean feat, but Gabriel found that money has a way of soothing
his way to the front of a sweaty, excited crowd. And he saw two blood, just as blood has a way of easing debts.
things: the president and an advanced jet aircraft, fresh off the Appearance: The Colonel is a tall, wide man in the
assembly line. The sweat-shining man and the metal-shining habit of wearing expensive suits and dark glasses. He suffers
plane. DiTillo became a believer. The next month, he moved a unique affliction of the blood that causes his skin to be-

to the city. come a scarred, discolored mess if it receives even the slight-
Industrial work was hard, and management badly mis-
treated the “black shirts,” or rural workers. DiTillo joined the est scratch. This doesn’t seem to make any impression on him
at all, but he ruthlessly curtails the activities of his brides in
Army instead. Turned out he didn’t mind hard work, as long order to preserve their perfection.
as it was rough work, and he boasted that he’d never age as Storytelling Hints: Gabriel is an experienced and pa-
long as he had more scars than wrinkles. When exactly Ga- tient military officer. Of course, he’s also an experienced and

briel became a vampire is up for debate. Suffice it to say that it patient military officer who is used to crushing the spirit of

doesn’t seem to have changed his temperament overmuch. not only his opponents, but those who hear the stories of him
Certainly, it was sometime in his late 20s, most likely
during one of the several military coups that swept the coun- doing it.
try during the late 1960s and early 1970s. He claims to have Werewolves
been part of the unit responsible for Peron’s escape into exile
in 1955, but this is unlikely. What can be established is that Every time I hear that howl, I have to pray hard not to crumple
he was leading a quasi-independent unit nicknamed Los Ma- like a cup and piss my pants. You’ll know it, too, when you hear it.
nos Negras by 1964, and that he was equally effective crush- Werewolves have walked among men since the dawn of
ing insurgencies in urban and rural areas. The discipline and time. They hunt in the shadows, stalking human prey and
efficiency of his troops was respected throughout the Argen- bringing it down with tooth and claw. Though these were-

tine army and the region, and he made several trips to the wolves can wear the skins of man and wolf, only in their twist-
United States as a tactical consultant and for supplemental ed hybrid form is their true nature revealed. This wolf-headed
training — always on his own timetable. What Peron grasped form combines incredible muscle with sharp teeth and deadly
at with a nation, Gabriel achieved with a small band of men. claws, and only the rare human lives to describe what he saw.
Utter worship, utter loyalty, utter domination. He was also A werewolf is a consummate predator even in his human
renowned for the gruesome ends his rivals came to, and for guise, and other people notice the air of danger that surrounds
the “forests of death” he would leave behind when Los Manos him. While most myths concerning werewolves place them
Negras swept through an area. in the wild places where humans don’t tread, those myths are
Colonel DiTillo’s mistake was childhood loyalty. He sup- false. Most cities have a number of packs of werewolves walk-
ported Peron’s abortive return to power in 1973. The return ing their streets, looking for someone to hunt.
was a disaster, and most of his compatriots left the country in

exile or coffins. Gabriel and some of Los Manos Negras left in Powers of Tooth and Claw

both. Supported by allies in the United States, he was able to Mechanically, a werewolf is defined by its ability to
relocate pseudonymously to a wealthy American suburb, with shapeshift, which takes a full turn to accomplish:
a substantial bankroll. • As a wolf, she gains Dexterity +2, Stamina +1, Size -1, +2, Stamina +1, Size -1,
ains Dexterit
As a wo
y
h
e
f, s
g
l
•
For several years, Gabriel was able to maintain a steady role Initiative +2, and Speed +5. A wolf can track by scent, Initiative +2, and Speed +5. A wolf can track by scent,
as a political consultant on South American affairs. However, as receiving 4 bonus dice to Perception rolls, and dealing
receiving 4 bonus dice to Perce
tion rolls, and dealing
p
his mortal contacts have aged and died, he has found himself in lethal damage with a bite. Manipulation rolls made to e to
ll
ation ro
d
s ma
b
ite. Manipu
a
l
h
a
l
h
l
et

amage wit
d
less and less demand. Even his own scarred skin has failed to hide interact with humans fail automaticall y
interact with humans fail automatically..
his lasting youth. Several of his Manos Negras still serve Gabriel
as “The Colonel.” Some are ghouls, others vampires, and even • As a huge half-human, half-wolf hybrid, she gains
mortal security are kept addicted to his dead blood. Strength +3, Dexterity +1, Stamina +2, Size +2, Health
At great expense, the Colonel maintains three brides, + 4, Initiative +1, Speed +4, bite and claw attacks that
or “Evitas,” as he likes to refer to them. They are perfect, deal lethal damage (see Dread Attack, below) and Armor
318
318