Page 166 - Hunter the Vigil - Mortal Remains

MORALITy AND INTEGRITy

Drawbacks of Potency

As a monster becomes stronger, so does her ADVANCED DREAD POWERS?
flaws. Any time a flaw, ban, or other supernatural
drawback is used against her, add the monster’s As it stands, monsters with six or more
Potency dots to any relevant dice pools. For this dots of Potency can raise their Attributes
reason, many monsters will develop Dread Powers and Skills beyond the human dot limits.
and other defenses against their particular weak- Theoretically, they could also raise
nesses, or at least to compensate for their deficien- their Dread Powers commensurately. This
cies. may or may not work for a given Dread
Power. It can also provide excessive
Types of Potency advantages to an already frightening
Every type of monster has a different form creature. Then again, monsters with six
of Potency. When creating your own monsters, or more dots of Potency should be nigh
godlike; their power should be felt from
consider what Potency means for them. These afar, and direct confrontations should
examples are presented as suggestions, more than end poorly for all but the finest hunter
hard rules. cells.
Changelings — Wyrd: Changelings are tied If you choose to implement sixth
to another plane of existence: a mysterious, fickle, dot Dread Powers, first consider
and Arcadian place of dreams, whimsy, and night- whether or not the inclusion will be
mare. Those with low Wyrd are very grounded, fun for the players. They may already
and much closer to human. They look and act feel that your monsters are daunting
human at most times. Those with high Wyrd enough antagonists, and that this
become alien creatures, barely recognizable from just tips them over the edge to a
fairy tales made flesh. However, the mundane point where the players’ choices no
longer matter. Then, look at whether
nature of cold iron acts as a bane to their oth- or not the power makes sense at the
erworldly natures; attacks with cold iron add the sixth dot. Many are simply linear
Changeling’s Wyrd to their dice pools. progressions, so they scale fine.
Demons — Primum: Demons do not have Adding a sixth dot just increases the
proper souls; they have Primum. Primum is the likelihood of exceptional success.
demonic force that fuels all their supernatural Alternatively, at the sixth dot, the
abilities, and maintains their mortal appearances. Dread Power becomes a personalized
Demons with lower Primum remain in their hu- manifestation of the monster’s power.
man skins most of the time. Demons with great After all, sixth dot powers could
Primum have utterly monstrous true forms, and mean the monster spent centuries
exude power casually. developing their abilities, so it
stands to reason that they’d tailor
Ghosts — Resonance: Ghosts resonate in the specifics to meet their needs.
the material world, and their Potency trait deter-
mines how much their essence can bring to bear.
Ghosts with low Resonance are but wisps and
echoes, barely noticeable except under rare con-
ditions. Ghosts with massive Resonance appear as selves. A vampire will low Blood Potency is very close to human,
real as any person, and can touch the material without second only needing infrequent feeding to remain sated. A vampire
thought. with high Blood Potency becomes detached and inhuman, and
Mummies — Sekhem: Mummies’s spirits keep them com- will often hunt for highly-specialized blood to sate his palette.
ing back from the dead. This is reflected in their Sekhem trait. However, ancient monsters find stakes through the heart to be
A mummy with low Sekhem is falling apart, losing a battle particularly dangerous, as their Potency adds to any such rolls.
against time and decay. A mummy with high Sekhem is vibrant, Werewolves — Primal Urge: Werewolf existence is defined
alive, more human than human. Oddly, many mummies arise by a meeting place between human and wolf existence, with
from their tombs with massive Sekhem, and it degrades with a ferocious in-between. Primal Urge pulls the werewolf away
time, unlike most Potency traits. from humanity, and toward his bestial side. A werewolf with
Sorcerers — Arcane: Wizards, witches, sorcerers, and ritual- low Primal Urge likely only shapeshifts during the full moon,
ists possess a Potency trait called Arcane. This combines their raw and maintains a human life. A werewolf with high Primal Urge
knowledge, force of spirit, and fate. A sorcerer with low Arcane is is a consummate hunter, and exists only for the thrill of the kill.
only able to cast minor tricks and charms. A sorcerer with great However, as the monster becomes stronger than the flesh, silver
Arcane can rend the fabric of reality with her will-working. becomes ever more the bane. Attacks with silver weapons add
Vampires — Blood Potency: As vampires age, their blood the werewolf’s Primal Urge in dice.
thickens. They require more human blood to fully satiate them-

165