Page 37 - Hunter the Vigil - Mortal Remains

CHAPTER ONE: PIECES OF FLESH

and then patted her on the hand and said, “You have a long way to These may also be used in conjunction with any of the three
go. When you get to the end, you’ll be perfect.” Prometheans described previously.
And his creation, unable to speak properly, said, “I’m imp?
Imp? Imp—” She probably would have been able to say “imperfect” Abandon All Hope
eventually, but her creator nodded and left her there in the park, Summary: A captive or immobile Promethean is problem-
surrounded by people who were already starting to hate her.
atic. The Wasteland gradually spreads and corrupts the world
Imp’s story might have been tragic and sympathetic, but all around the Created. Sooner or later, someone is going to
it swiftly took a turn for the grotesque. She discovered that she notice. This time, that “someone” is the characters’ cell.
could replace her own body parts with new ones. All she needed
was the raw material and a way to affix them; she uses needle and Setup: First, the hunters should determine who the Pro-
heavy thread when she can, but she also carries an industrial sta- methean is, and how he became trapped. Prometheans have to
ple gun for quick or awkward jobs. She started by replacing her eat, so some form of nourishment might be required unless the
right arm — she felt hers was weak. The arm she used was from monster has the power to enter a comatose state, or turn itself
the body of a man who’d attacked her, so she felt justified in into a statue. Is the monster trapped by a cave-in, subsisting on
cutting it off and recycling it. From there, she’d steal body parts bats and condensation? Is it buried in a landfill, eating rats and
whenever she could, replacing fingers, toes, eyes, lips, patches of worms? Is it trapped in a cell beneath an old monastery? If the
skin, or whatever else struck her fancy. Imp’s changed her face Promethean is deliberately imprisoned, who and where are its
so many times that she doesn’t even remember what she initially captors? Consider, too, how far the Wasteland has spread, and
looked like, and she’s still no closer to perfection. what effect it is having on nearby people. How much do the
locals know? What legends have arisen concerning the area?
Imp started killing people for their parts eight months ago.
She stays on the move, but she’s always searching for new mate- What immediate threats has the Wasteland caused?
rial. She maintains correspondence with occult scholars of various Tier One: The Wasteland is in the characters’ neighbor-
stripes, but those that disclose their real names and locations tend hood. Maybe it’s a haunted house whose ghosts threaten to
to vanish — Imp is always interested in adding the frontal lobes of escape (Ulgan), or a city park where it never stops storming
new people to her own brain, though she hasn’t quite managed (Frankenstein). In any case, the characters know the area, the
to make it work yet. If she can find enough perfect parts, and take history, and the people well. They might even know the Pro-
them, then maybe she can reach the end once she’s perfect herself. methean — or at least, the victims who were used to make it.
Description: Imp is of medium height, with a stocky build Tier Two: The locale should be someplace with some ideo-
and a serious, quizzical expression. Her facial features change logical importance to the characters. Or, perhaps, they arrive
frequently; she’s gotten extremely deft at replacing her own lips there out of a sense of responsibility. A team of Network Zero
and eyes, and has even managed to switch out her jawbone. She investigators isn’t necessarily trying to stop the sinkholes from
speaks haltingly, and stutters when she gets upset. She is much plaguing the area; they just want to get it on film. The Loyalists
more intelligent than her speech would indicate, though, and of Thule want to find out why this is happening, record the
her writing is verbose and fluid. effects and the process, and quell any threat to the people in
When her disfigurements flare, Imp’s constant reworking the area. Whatever occult knowledge the group brings to the
of her body becomes evident. Her flesh is criss-crossed with situation, it should be helpful, but not complete.
stitches, staples, glue, thread, and other adhesives, and she Tier Three: The cell isn’t from around the area. They’ve
looks like a human jigsaw puzzle. Her flesh hangs loosely on arrived to fix the problem and may have been directed to that
her bones, and her lips on thin string. location by a superior, mentor, or vision. They don’t know the
Storytelling Hints: Imp is a monster. Her origins may be area, but they have devices and powers that other folks don’t. Is
somewhat tragic, but she kills without a hint of remorse. She that going to be enough? The Wasteland is growing stronger by
is utterly failing at her Pilgrimage; she has almost no under- the hour; to fix it, they need to find the Promethean at the cen-
standing of humanity, and sees people as walking sources of ter and remove or kill it. But, the Promethean is ready for them
parts. Hunters might stumble onto her trail while looking for a — it’s not trapped. It is the trap, and the characters just took the
serial killer that removes body parts, or they might recognize a bait. Who set the trap? What was this person hoping to catch?
tattoo or birthmark from someone they know on a new body.
They could also be investigating the murder of a known occult Stolen Away
scholar and go searching for the villain that he was correspond-
ing with. Once they run across the stuttering, simple-looking Summary: A Promethean has kidnapped a person to study
Imp, they could assume she’s a henchman. human interaction. The hunters are trying to get this unfortu-
nate victim back.
Story Hooks Is it trying to figure people out? Is it frustrated with its previ-
Setup: Consider the Promethean and its motivations.
ous failures, or coldly logical? Is it prone to bouts of rage, thus
While this chapter includes many potential story hooks endangering the victim? And who is the victim? An innocent
seeded into the text, the following three have more detail. child? Someone who became obsessed with the Promethean?

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