Page 358 - Hunter - The Vigil

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is gone; at Morality 1, he begins to lose Willpower dots. A
character whose soul is stolen usually experiences recurring
nightmares that may provide clues to what’s happening:
glimpses of an old church, the shadow of a tall woman in black,

an oven filled with human-shaped bread. Victims of soul theft
will return to normal if they eat or drink the stolen soul in its
disguised form. Other mages may be willing to help restore a
victim to normal — but might think twice if that victim is a
known hunter who’s injured or killed their brethren.
Northeast Philadelphia
The Northeast is considered to have upper (Far
Northeast) and lower (Lower Northeast) sections. Its
southernmost segment, Kensington, includes some of the
poorest neighborhoods in the city, as well as the working-
class and increasingly gentrified Fishtown area. Farther north,

one can find the neighborhood of Fox Chase, which contains

the Fox Chase Cancer Center, several historical sites, and
the woodlands and wetlands of the 1,600-acre Pennypack
Park. The Northeast is also home to many shopping centers,
including a favorite of discount shoppers from across the state,
the Franklin Mills Mall. In the 1980s, high taxes and political
disaffection triggered a secessionist movement in Northeast
Philadelphia, but the attempt to sever the Northeast from the
city was unsuccessful.
Antagonist: The Russian Mob
The Russian immigrant population has boomed over

customers, preferring to keep a low profile and let her manager

the last 20 years, filtering down through the southern end
and staff act as the public face of the business. What her
of Bucks County and through areas like Bensalem. With the
diners don’t realize is that she interacts with them on a more
downtrodden immigrants came those who might seek to ex-
intimate level. Esther is a witch who follows a forbidden path,
ploit the system, or worse, just exploit the immigrants them-
one that enables her to extend her own power and lifespan
selves. Enter the Russian mob.
by consuming the souls of others. Through the influence of a

They’re not monsters, though certainly monsters both
magical artifact, certain food served from her kitchen leaves a
human and inhuman lurk among them. They run drugs. They
temporary mark on the souls of those who consume it. Esther
manage prostitutes. They have a couple of contract killers
can later reach out and, with some effort, rip the branded
among their numbers. (Oh, and true story: just last year, the
soul loose from its body. The stolen soul might be consumed
FBI discovered that these guys tried to taint $250,000 in cur-
immediately, or saved for future need (usually in a basement
rency with the staphylococcus bacteria; while it was called
storeroom, disguised as bread, wine or some other foodstuff).
“terrorism,” it was really about trying to dissuade thieves from
For the being left behind, nightmares about being eaten alive
touching their money.)
initiate a slide into madness that leaves the victim a near-
They join with the monsters — often unknowingly — to
mindless husk. Such soulless shells are likely to end up in an
prey upon the unwitting. A human slavery ring might bring
institution, or possessed by ghosts or spirits. Because Esther is
in Ukrainian girls whose wombs play host to terrible things.
careful to take only a few souls per year, her actions have so far
Boxes of coffee and canned goods hide secret shipments of
gone unnoticed by her fellow mages or the wider community.
vampire’s blood. A mob boss whose son is murdered contracts
Anyone who eats one of the “special meals” rolls Resolve
with a witch to get revenge on the killer. Hunters might come
+ Composure vs. Esther’s magic dice pool of 8. If she wins,
across the mob this way, or they might just get in each other’s
the target’s soul is marked for one day per success. During
way — it’s a big territory, and only so many guns and so much
that time, she can attempt to steal the target’s soul. This is a
money to go around.
contested, reflexive action pitting the target’s Resolve against

Esther’s 8-dice pool. She must achieve a cumulative number Antagonist: The Philadelphia
of successes greater than the subject’s Morality, and can only Ghost-Finder’s League
make four rolls before the connection to her victim is lost. If
They’re not strictly an antagonist, but they’re not really…
the target achieves more successes than Esther at any point,
hunters, either. No, this ragtag group of amateur ghost hunters

the spell fails. If Esther wins the conflict, the target soul is
(who, like Null Mysteriis, seek a scientific explanation for

hers. The victim loses a dot of Morality for each week his soul
the supernatural but don’t have a fraction of that compact’s
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