Page 20 - Hunter the Vigil - Mortal Remains

THE ENEmy: mAd SCIENCE ANd OLd LEgENdS

looks down his nose at you. He glides through the room The Pilgrimage
with fluid grace, barely deigning to acknowledge you or Prometheans seek to become human. It is their defining goal:
anyone else. You find yourself wishing he’d trip, just so
he’d look a little more human.” they are on a Pilgrimage to search the World of Darkness, looking
for the alchemical components they need to turn lead (their base,
Fear: The Promethean terrifies the witness. What wretched forms) into gold (frail, flawed, beautiful humanity).
response this prompts depends on how that character Of course, this is hardly common knowledge. The Created
deals with fear, but in the hunters’ case, something that are rare, and they aren’t well-represented in folklore and fic-
inspires fear might well become the next target. Any tion. Everyone knows a vampire drinks blood, or that a werewolf
Promethean can inspire fear but Ulgans are an especially turns into a wolf. Hunters may prepare to hunt such things. But,
good choice. Presenting fear: “She saw you. Her gaze a monster that seeks to become human is generally well outside of
doesn’t linger, but you see the predatory recognition in a hunter’s frame of reference.
her glance. She’s coming for you. Probably tonight.” Not all Prometheans follow the Pilgrimage, of course. Some of
the Created deliberately take no part in this quest, seeing humanity
Fascination: The witness can’t look away from the as weak, privileged, hateful creatures. Other Prometheans seek to
Promethean. If the Created leaves the area, the witness become monsters (see Centimani, p. 20) rather than people. But,
keeps thinking about him. At first, this fascination might the majority of the Created follow the Pilgrimage on instinct. As
seem like a crush, and if the character has no further such, when using Prometheans in a Hunter game, it’s worthwhile
contact with the monster it goes away — maybe with some to consider the impact that learning about the Pilgrimage will have.
embarrassing lingering dreams. If the Disquiet takes
hold, though, the victim becomes unable to think about Many Prometheans keep journals or notes on their progress.
anything else, and the fascination progresses to full-blown A cell of hunters might find such a journal, and read through the
mania. The victim wants to be with the Promethean; owner’s progress — the letters from other Created, the alchemical
maybe to worship him, perhaps to subjugate or to working that mirrors the creature’s Dread Powers, and the les-
learn more about him. Galateids and Osirans are great sons that the Promethean has learned along the way. What has
candidates for this, because they often fascinate people. the Promethean seen of humanity? Is the monster just randomly
Presenting fascination: “He’s going to be yours. He might taking whatever knowledge it can, or does its Pilgrimage have a
not know it, but he will. You can save him.” focus? Is it collecting prospective bodies for its own eventual cre-
ation, or is it attempting (and possibly failing) to help the people
Hate: Pure, simple hatred. The witness wants the it meets? The sections in “The Response,” beginning on p. 23,
Promethean to die. Every ill and injustice the victim has each begin with an excerpt from the journal of one of the three
ever been handed can be traced back to this monster. For Prometheans detailed at the end of this chapter, which paint a
hunters who seek revenge on the things that killed their picture of the Pilgrimages these characters lead.
loved ones, this response throws reason and rationality out Another question this raises, though, is: can a Promethean
the nearest window. Hunters that fall under this form of actually succeed at becoming human? And if so, is the resulting
Disquiet — most commonly from Tammuz and Frankenstein being really human, or just another mockery?
Prometheans — immediately start crafting plans of attack. If
the Disquiet progresses, though, this is the type that leads The Redeemed
to a torch-and-pitchfork wielding mob the fastest. Presenting The Redeemed are Prometheans who have completed the
hatred: “Every second that thing sits there, breathing the same Great Work and are now completely human. As a Hunter Sto-
air as you, is one second too many.” ryteller, you can present the Redeemed in two possible ways,
depending on how the characters experience it.
Obsession: As with fascination, the witness cannot get
the Promethean out of his mind. Obsession differs, If the cell finds a journal, interrogates a Promethean, or
though, in that the focus of the emotion isn’t romantic, meets one of the Redeemed after the fact and learns about the
sexual, or even remotely positive. The obsessed party Redeemed second-hand, then the character looks and acts com-
typically feels that the Promethean owes him something pletely human. Most Redeemed have no memories whatsoever
or has some other obligation. Maybe he feels she should of their lives as Prometheans; investigation of the target reveals
serve him, or maybe he simply wants to take her apart falsified identification, and a digital paper trail not more than
and learn her mystical secrets. Osirans and Ulgans a few years old — as if this person just spontaneously appeared.
spawn obsession, but Tammuz Prometheans do so even On the other hand, if a hunter cell actually witnesses a Pro-
more frequently, as victims of their Disquiet often want methean become human, the effect should be profound and
to make them into slaves. Obsession ends when the positive. The hunters should feel Disquiet evaporate like fog
victim finally decides to purge it — killing the focus of in the morning sun. The Promethean’s disfigurements vanish,
the obsession. Presenting obsession: “Where does she go and any magic- or supernatural-detecting apparatus the hunters
at night? You know she doesn’t have a home, but she’s have reads the target as a human being, nothing more or less.
clean. Where does she sleep? Does she sleep? What does A Redeemed isn’t necessarily a good person; coming to hu-
she eat? What would she eat?” manity via the Great Work doesn’t mean that the new person

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