Page 141 - Hunter the Vigil - Mortal Remains

CHAPTER FIVE: TO HELL AND BACK

business’ll teach you that, but you learn about the people you This Ink makes car and driver literally one. You get a tattoo
meet and the way they travel. (Or don’t, if they’re stuck in some of your particular vehicle (and for that reason, it ought to be a
one gas station town somewhere.) You learn the ins and outs of self-respecting piece of work) somewhere on your body. The Ink
different types of places — towns, diners, truck stops, whatever. requires an arcane paint job for the vehicle as well as the driver,
And because of your job, you can put this knowledge to use track- but this can be concealed with another paint job. Once you got
ing demons. it? Hoo boy. No matter what you do to that car, it’ll always be
This particular Ink is subtler than most. It lets you read the there for you. Drive it into a demon to crash you both into a
signs to speak to the road and the places that are part of it. It lake? You’ll find it parked at an overlook nearby. Get it peeled
lets you ask questions of the stretches of asphalt and out of the open like a can opener by a pair of fire-eyed things from the pits
way Waffle Houses the rest take for granted. of Hell? You’ll find it parked right back at the motel, not even a
Action: Instant (draining, can be used only as many times scratch. The knight and her horse are one, and your steed ain’t
per scene as the character has Endowment dots) givin’ up without you.
Dice Pool: Wits + Investigation System: This Ink requires the Knight designate a specific
Roll Results motor vehicle. Not a type, as with The Lord Provides, but an
Dramatic Failure: You get nothing but bizarre images in individual car, truck, or motorcycle to which the driver has a
your head. These take about 24 hours to clear out and, in the strong emotional attachment.
meantime, you can’t use this Ink again. Whenever this vehicle takes damage within excess of half
Failure: You don’t get to ask any questions. its Structure, or gets lost, like by driving off a cliff or into a body
Success: Ask one of the following questions: of water, the vehicle reappears in a parking area the character
What person or creature whose name I know passed visits somewhere in the next 24 hours.
here recently? (This can be an alias. It need not be any The Lord Provides
kind of true name.)
You’ve heard those commandos the Feds use; they’ve got
What happened here in the last 24 hours that usually to account to Washington for every bullet they fire. That seems
doesn’t? insane when a monster with jaws the size of an air conditioning
unit is about to chomp you in half. Did you fire five bullets, or
Who witnessed something here that they haven’t told did you fire six?
anybody about? With this Ink, you don’t have to care. The image of a spe-
cific firearm is depicted as part of the tattoo. When using a gun
Who was the last person to die in this general area? of that model, you never run out of ammunition. This is lim-
Exceptional Success: Ask two questions. ited to mundane ammunition. If you get your hands on Task
Force: VALKYRIE’s Etheric Rounds, it wouldn’t apply.
Fist of Revelation
Demons are fond of their human disguises, and won’t eas- LOVE/HATE
ily let go of them. That can turn a fight from a horrific scene ev- What the right hand giveth, the left hand taketh away.
eryone wants to forget into one that looks like a savage beating This Ink embodies the duality of friendship and enmity. Ad-
the cops can’t wait to break up. Plus, it’s just aggravating, those mittedly, knuckle tattoos are not the most flattering. But they
damn things wandering around in our skin, doing like everyday do their job, making each of your hands into a powerful way to
people while they work their insidious plans. establish relationships.
So you hate demons hiding behind a false face? This Ink Shaking someone’s hand with your right determines
lets you punch it right off. whether you can trust them or not. Decking them with your
Action: Instant (part of a Brawl attack) left hurts way more than it ought.
When the character successfully deals damage with an un- Right Hand
armed attack, a greater demon loses any benefits of Cover for Action: Instant
the rest of the scene, and immediately reveals its Apocalyptic Dice Pool: Wits + Composure
Form. It cannot return to human form for the rest of the scene. Roll Results
It also suffers the Knocked Down Tilt. Dramatic Failure: The character is overcome by the cyni-
This Ink can only be used once per demon per scene. It cism that catches so many in the Vigil. He gets the feeling no
cannot be used simultaneously with Bear Mace. one can be trusted.
Failure: The hand that’s shook feels cold and clammy, but
King of the Road that’s about all the character gets.
The best feeling on the open road is when it feels like you Success: The character gets a general sense of whether he
and the car are one, traversing the landscape faster than any can trust the person, as well as the Informed Condition with
human being was meant to. It’s a freeing, almost zen experi- regards to that person.
ence. ‘Course, get too lost in it and you might end up a hunk Exceptional Success: The Informed Condition is Persis-
of twisted metal on the side of the road. tent, and can be accessed every chapter.

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