Page 126 - Hunter the Vigil - Mortal Remains

THE REsPONsE

Institutional demons cannot acquire new institutional Cov- veiled. This manifests as uncanny intuition others might call
ers via pacts, but they can make pacts and graft the resulting hu- presque vu, the ability to see the grand design. They watch an
man Covers onto other human agents. These agents often expe- accountant bumping into a college student on the street. Some-
rience identity crises reconciling their grafted characteristics with how, a Witness knows that the cup of locally-roasted coffee that
their former lives. Later in life, they often become Witnesses. spilled onto the accountant’s shirt will set off a chain of events
For two Willpower points, an institutional demon can em- that ends in a nasty fight with his wife. Or Witnesses know a
body itself in one of its human Covers for 24 hours. driver’s popped tire will make her late to a party, so she’ll miss
Fiendish Flaws meeting her blind date, and instead goes home with a vampire.
Additionally, the full range of effects a Witness may suffer
Institutional demons aren’t entirely spiritual entities. In from varies, and may include:
order to fully possess an institution, a demon must lay down Can’t stop having visions.
infrastructure in a place important to its Cover. This is physical
evidence of the demon’s presence, and counts as an object that Can’t stop bleeding from their palms.
embodies the demon for the purposes of using supernatural
powers. Here are some examples: Silicon patterns grow in their flesh.
A vast network of sigils glows beneath the boring Newly-possessed psychic abilities.
carpeting in an office suite.
Uncanny insight into demons and the demiurge.
A massive heart beats in an old tenement’s boiler room.
Witnesses don’t have any control over their insight unless
Unnecessary assembly lines in a factory assemble puzzle they hone it further through the application of psychic Merits.
boxes which are then immediately disassembled. Glimpsing into the unknowable has a profound impact on
a Witness’ psyche. Sometimes, this leads to fanatical worship or
A founder’s portrait in a CEO’s office cuts anyone who misguided Satanism that manifests as violent outbursts or the
tries to move it. formation of a mysterious demon-worshipping cult.
Other Witnesses take the knowledge they’ve learned and
A maintenance door under a bridge has a clock that
ticks down to the next time an accident occurs. are compelled to pierce the mystery. They want to protect the
innocent. They vow to take back the dark. They become hunters.
An A/V surveillance system replaces random recordings Witnesses are a valuable asset to hunter cells. They auto-
with coded instructions to the security staff. matically acquire Unseen Sense (Demons). While greater and
institutional demons can thwart that power on an individual
An antique mansion’s dining room doesn’t physically fit level, a sly Witness can use it when the demons don’t know
into the building, where a full table is always set. they’re being watched.
Witnesses also commonly possess supernatural Merits (see
A trendy restaurant’s freezer is impossible to open. Its God Machine Chronicle p. 172), with a particular bias toward
combination lock is adorned with unreadable glyphs. dealing with demons and the demiurge. This is represented by
a +1 bonus when the Witness faces a demon-related phenom-
A mirror in a public restroom reflects the faces of those
the viewer has wronged, rather than her own. enon she’s encountered before.

A railway station serves a non-stop locomotive, and The Response
there’s always a figure on the platform.

A sequence of corporate office paintings, each covers Demons are common enemies on the Vigil. Most hunters
a single blue-in-black eye that clicks and shutters like a agree that demons are threats that need to be stopped.
camera.
Compacts
Witnesses The compacts have more direct dealings with demons, be-
cause they don’t have access to advanced abilities to stop them.
For all their secrecy and infiltration, demons leave eyewit- They have to deal through guile and tactical thinking.
nesses behind. Sometimes, people watch loved ones succumb
to Voyeurs or Imps. Sometimes, they stumble across a secure Ashwood Abbey
room in an institution’s facility — where cables connect the I don’t always mind when demons crash my party. Voyeurs and
server farm — while running through human bodies lying on Devourers can even be fun, just as long as someone else is ready to
slabs for a little extra processing power. Sometimes, they wit- perform an exorcism afterwards.
ness the demiurge itself, in its divine and awful glory. Greater demons play the most dangerous game. Funny
Not all of these observers become Witnesses, but some do. how they use that phrase both for hunting people and for in-
For them, the underpinnings of the World of Darkness are un- ternational espionage, isn’t it? Competitors know that hunting

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