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View Full Version : The beginning of the Hunt (NWoD - HtV)



Järnblomma
2011-04-05, 08:11 PM
So, I'm going to start a new campaign of Hunter: the Vigil, having my players fight the assorted evil of scenic London. The first stop is the "Holborn Horror", a many-teethed monster with a penchant for eating people alive and sleeping in the Holborn underground.

But I don't really know how to start it.

See, I've always started campaigns with my PCs getting a task from someone stronger, mightier and more politically important (as well as less fiscally challenged). But I want my players to have the feeling that they are starting something up themselves, that they are hunting the creatures for their own sake. That they WANT to kill this thing.

I simply don't know where to begin. Shall they already know of the World Behing the Veil or is it something they shall discover during play? Should they know each other initially or are they strangers, putting themselves together for the start? How much can I trust to not feel forced?

Does anyone have an idea? :smallsmile:

Mr.Bookworm
2011-04-05, 09:34 PM
So, I'm going to start a new campaign of Hunter: the Vigil, having my players fight the assorted evil of scenic London. The first stop is the "Holborn Horror", a many-teethed monster with a penchant for eating people alive and sleeping in the Holborn underground.

Oooh. Have you ever read Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere? It's a great fantasy book that almost entirely takes place in the London Underground, if you want some ideas.


See, I've always started campaigns with my PCs getting a task from someone stronger, mightier and more politically important (as well as less fiscally challenged).

Well, this is a possibility. Not as direct as in a D&D campaign, obviously, but it wouldn't be impossible that a more experienced hunter might stumble across them and show them the basics. Nothing too sensitive, of course. Stuff like giving them a contact who they can buy grave dirt or guns on the sly from, no questions asked. Explaining some very basic information (silver hurts werewolves, vampires don't show up in mirrors, etc.). Maybe teaching them a basic Tactic or two.

And if they're new to Hunter or the WoD (or this style of play in general), a good idea might be to make their initial contact be an agent of the Malleus Maleficarum. Give him the Boon of Lazarus rite so that if your players screw up in learning the system, they have an out.

Of course, if you do this, just make sure this person leaves at the end of the story. Either they get killed by the nasty (always a good way to start the climatic boss fight) or they simply leave because they have other duties.

All of this eases them into being self-sufficient while still giving them some basic support at the start of the story.

The Watchman
2011-04-05, 09:53 PM
See, I've always started campaigns with my PCs getting a task from someone stronger, mightier and more politically important (as well as less fiscally challenged). But I want my players to have the feeling that they are starting something up themselves, that they are hunting the creatures for their own sake. That they WANT to kill this thing.

I simply don't know where to begin.

Well, you're in luck. Hunter is pretty much made for that kind of beginning.

The Vigil is something that you start on your own, as a result of having the veil pulled back for a moment and getting a glimpse of Things Man Was Not Meant To Know - or, at the very least, Something That This Man, Right Now, Would Really Rather Not Know But Cannot Unsee.

Have the players create ordinary people, with friends and families and homes and ordinary lives. Then the nasty toothy thing eats one of said friends, possibly in front of the PCs.

Boom: instant motivation. Bonus points for the unexpected horror element if your players aren't expecting an eldritch horror to attack.

Järnblomma
2011-04-06, 07:13 AM
Oooh. Have you ever read Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere? It's a great fantasy book that almost entirely takes place in the London Underground, if you want some ideas.


Ooh, Neil Gaiman! I'll be sure to look it up!



Well, this is a possibility. Not as direct as in a D&D campaign, obviously, but it wouldn't be impossible that a more experienced hunter might stumble across them and show them the basics. Nothing too sensitive, of course. Stuff like giving them a contact who they can buy grave dirt or guns on the sly from, no questions asked. Explaining some very basic information (silver hurts werewolves, vampires don't show up in mirrors, etc.). Maybe teaching them a basic Tactic or two.

I understand that this is a possibility and these are good advice for that opening. But I would rather that they think they are alone, partly for scenic reasons ("Alone against the world") and partly because one of my plotthreads is them finding out that they in fact aren't alone...

Still, i'll bear it in mind. Thanks! =)



Well, you're in luck. Hunter is pretty much made for that kind of beginning.

Hooray!



The Vigil is something that you start on your own, as a result of having the veil pulled back for a moment and getting a glimpse of Things Man Was Not Meant To Know - or, at the very least, Something That This Man, Right Now, Would Really Rather Not Know But Cannot Unsee.

Have the players create ordinary people, with friends and families and homes and ordinary lives. Then the nasty toothy thing eats one of said friends, possibly in front of the PCs.

Boom: instant motivation. Bonus points for the unexpected horror element if your players aren't expecting an eldritch horror to attack.

I see... That sounds workable and interesting! Should they already know each other to ease their cooperation?

As much as I love the idea of them not knowing that they are about to be set upon by the worst that the World of Darkness can throw at them, how do I hinder them from snapping it up while looking at the books and choosing merits and skills?

And where is a proper place to let them begin playing? On the scene itself? In the room of their hideout, plotting how to stop it?

Oh, and is there a point to one or several of them maybe already having gotten a glimpse of just how broken the world is?

Thank you for the help! I am very grateful! :smallsmile:

The Watchman
2011-04-06, 09:13 AM
I see... That sounds workable and interesting! Should they already know each other to ease their cooperation?

If they want to make a group background, sure. If not, don't force the issue. However, it would help if they had some sort of ties to one another, even if that tie is as small as simply being present during the monster's initial appearance.


As much as I love the idea of them not knowing that they are about to be set upon by the worst that the World of Darkness can throw at them, how do I hinder them from snapping it up while looking at the books and choosing merits and skills?

You can't, really. They'll know that there's something that's going to happen. After all, they're playing an RPG, and an RPG based around office politics would probably be pretty boring. So they know that something is going to happen, but they don't necessarily know what something.


And where is a proper place to let them begin playing? On the scene itself? In the room of their hideout, plotting how to stop it?

The scene itself, probably. Even if it's just to run away screaming, they should have a chance to play out their character's reactions.

Also, this is World of Darkness. Pull no punches. If a troupe member is dumb enough to actually try and attack the thing, let him die.


Oh, and is there a point to one or several of them maybe already having gotten a glimpse of just how broken the world is?

I don't know exactly what you mean by this. Can you elaborate?

Järnblomma
2011-04-06, 11:10 AM
You can't, really. They'll know that there's something that's going to happen. After all, they're playing an RPG, and an RPG based around office politics would probably be pretty boring. So they know that something is going to happen, but they don't necessarily know what something.

I see. =) That sounds realistic!


The scene itself, probably. Even if it's just to run away screaming, they should have a chance to play out their character's reactions.

Also, this is World of Darkness. Pull no punches. If a troupe member is dumb enough to actually try and attack the thing, let him die.

I see. Still, I'm not sure that gives them the incentive to actually go out and kill the thing...? Or am I being needlessly worrying now?

What I mean is, how are they going to be persuaded to actually go out and track down the Horror themselves? ESPECIALLY if they someone or something almost or actually kill one of their own?


I don't know exactly what you mean by this. Can you elaborate?


I might have been needlessly poetic.
What I meant was simply this: Should I encourage/let the players to have been in contact with the supernatural in some way, however small? For example: an ex-soldier who saw something not quite human in Afghanistan which led to his PTSD or a man who witnessed his mothers death by the hands of a vampire and has been fooling himself that it wasn't real.

Mr.Bookworm
2011-04-06, 11:20 AM
I see. Still, I'm not sure that gives them the incentive to actually go out and kill the thing...? Or am I being needlessly worrying now?

What I mean is, how are they going to be persuaded to actually go out and track down the Horror themselves? ESPECIALLY if they someone or something almost or actually kill one of their own?

Well, tell them to build it into their characters. Hunters are by definition the people who for whatever reason, are motivated to take up the Vigil. A Hunter is the sort of person who's reaction to a thing going bump in the night is grabbing their shotgun and getting a torch. It's sort of like if a party in D&D decided to sit around the tavern instead of saving the world. There are assumptions built into the game about the basic things you'll do.


What I meant was simply this: Should I encourage/let the players to have been in contact with the supernatural in some way, however small? For example: an ex-soldier who saw something not quite human in Afghanistan which led to his PTSD or a man who witnessed his mothers death by the hands of a vampire and has been fooling himself that it wasn't real.

Sure. That sort of thing is very common.

Järnblomma
2011-04-06, 12:35 PM
Well, tell them to build it into their characters. Hunters are by definition the people who for whatever reason, are motivated to take up the Vigil. A Hunter is the sort of person who's reaction to a thing going bump in the night is grabbing their shotgun and getting a torch. It's sort of like if a party in D&D decided to sit around the tavern instead of saving the world. There are assumptions built into the game about the basic things you'll do.

Yes, you are probably correct. =) I've begun to worry more when I made a campaign for my girlfriend and two of her friends. It was great, except they weren't really adventurous and I had to MAKE them do stuff. But when i think about it, I think it was more them than me. ;)




Sure. That sort of thing is very common.

I see. =) Thanks for your help!

The Watchman
2011-04-06, 12:52 PM
I see. Still, I'm not sure that gives them the incentive to actually go out and kill the thing...? Or am I being needlessly worrying now?

The players have to meet you halfway on this. If they're purposefully playing characters who would run from the thing and try to forget that they ever saw it, they're playing the wrong game. Like Bookworm said, ask them to make characters who would attempt to act rather than run away.


What I meant was simply this: Should I encourage/let the players to have been in contact with the supernatural in some way, however small? For example: an ex-soldier who saw something not quite human in Afghanistan which led to his PTSD or a man who witnessed his mothers death by the hands of a vampire and has been fooling himself that it wasn't real.

Entirely up to you. Many Storytellers do this, but it depends on what kind of reaction you want the players' characters to have. Do you want them to say "Not this time!" and grab a shotgun, or "Holy god what was that RUN AWAY!" upon their first monster sighting?

In short, do you want to play a game where this is their initial contact with the supernatural or do you want to play a game where this is just the one that pushes them over the edge from "mortal who knows more than they should" to "hunter"? It's entirely a matter of preference. You might ask for your players' input. Which would they prefer to play?

Talyn
2011-04-06, 01:26 PM
The big thing for Hunter, which a lot of people do wrong, is to ensure that the players feel like they have two things: a purpose, and a chance.

That means, the first time they encounter the supernatural, they need to learn two things: 1) that it is malevolent (i.e. wishes them harm) and 2) that is can be beaten. If you fail to demonstrate those two things, you will have a very, very hard time getting a Hunter game off the ground. Failing to give them a Purpose means that they will have no reason to continue the hunt (a dangerous, thankless, exhausting task filled with slightly-off people they barely know). Not demonstrating that they have a Chance will make them either despairing or overly cautious, both of which make for terribly boring games.

In general, if you don't want them to be tied to a larger organization, you should have the first session be pure character generation - let the players figure out how they know each other, and why they care about each other. You can then tailor your "Intro to the Darkness" session specifically to the ties that the players decided they had. That doesn't mean that you, the ST, shouldn't be paying very close attention to the first session - you need to be able to convince oddballs to become team players, and straight up veto stuff that won't work for your game (somebody always wants to play the ex-Special Forces guy, which really only works for a small margin of games. Seriously, haunted ex-Special Forces are the chaotic good drow ranger of Hunter). If you have a plot in mind already, be sure to offer suggestions or guidance, like: "I want all your characters to have ties to this university. Tell me what connections you have to it."

Järnblomma
2011-04-06, 02:41 PM
The big thing for Hunter, which a lot of people do wrong, is to ensure that the players feel like they have two things: a purpose, and a chance.

That means, the first time they encounter the supernatural, they need to learn two things: 1) that it is malevolent (i.e. wishes them harm) and 2) that is can be beaten. If you fail to demonstrate those two things, you will have a very, very hard time getting a Hunter game off the ground. Failing to give them a Purpose means that they will have no reason to continue the hunt (a dangerous, thankless, exhausting task filled with slightly-off people they barely know). Not demonstrating that they have a Chance will make them either despairing or overly cautious, both of which make for terribly boring games.

How do I do that then? How do I show that it can be beaten? How do I give them a purpose? I'm not sure how to start it in the first place (thus the question) and these advice confuses me somewhat.


In general, if you don't want them to be tied to a larger organization, you should have the first session be pure character generation - let the players figure out how they know each other, and why they care about each other. You can then tailor your "Intro to the Darkness" session specifically to the ties that the players decided they had. That doesn't mean that you, the ST, shouldn't be paying very close attention to the first session - you need to be able to convince oddballs to become team players, and straight up veto stuff that won't work for your game (somebody always wants to play the ex-Special Forces guy, which really only works for a small margin of games. Seriously, haunted ex-Special Forces are the chaotic good drow ranger of Hunter). If you have a plot in mind already, be sure to offer suggestions or guidance, like: "I want all your characters to have ties to this university. Tell me what connections you have to it."

Ex-special forces should work. I want them to have connections to each other and to Londontown but not necesserily anything else. Ex-soldier would even fit well, what with returning from the latest Iraq-war and such. I don't see why it would be bad in itself. Though I am putting a lid on the more high-profile people, like SAS-troops and very rich people. I think it would be best with working- and middle-class people.

The thing is, I really don't know how to start, what I need to give them purpose and impietus to go out and risk limb and sanity for low to no reward or respect. I don't know. I've always been bad att starting up games, but given them the purpose of loot and respect.

I have a picture of them realizing what to do and that it needs to be done. But how can i make them realize the need, realize and not forget the Vigil? Can I tell them something in the style of "When you see the havoc the Horror has unleashed you realize that the police will never do anyting against it - that the duty is up to you or the attacks will continue" or will they probably take it as railroading?

Crap, I dunno. :smallfrown:

White_North
2011-04-06, 08:39 PM
Having the first session being primarily about the characters discovering the Darkness is a great idea. Have them make mundanes and run a very character-driven, atmosphere-oriented first session. As a matter of fact, starting them In Media Res might be the best idea. This is just an idea, but how about this: first session starts and they're all in the Underground, on their way to work. Then, the lights go out, a car is derailed, or whatever insanity you choose to concoct. Now, the first session (or the first part of the session, if you guys play long), would be about them escaping from the Horror. Make up secondary objectives: rescuing other survivors, disabling out-of-control wiring, and other such things. One of the hardest part of starting a Hunter game is getting the group to actually pull together, and very few things pull people together like being trapped in the dark with something that wants to eat you.

Once they actually get out, you can have them return to their daily lives, for a day or two. Emphasize the normality. Set up fake scares, like them going back home after the office and coming face to face with an Underground entrance and deciding to walk home instead. Fuse box giving out in the evening. Don't keep this up for long, though. Just enough to make them feel uneasy with their lives, give them the feeling that they're not safe anymore. Then, have it happen. A stranger at the door. An anonymous letter with a key to a train station locker full of guns. A phone call in the dead of night. The Hunters need new recruits. The night is falling. The Hunt is on.

erikun
2011-04-06, 10:01 PM
I would recommend taking it "easy" for the first monster, which in WoD means that it doesn't automatically jump out and try to eat you. Perhaps it likes stalking it's prey, either chasing it around the sewers or scaring them off and tracking them down where they live. Perhaps it is restricted to a certain area. Perhaps it is immobile. Whatever the reason, give the characters some leeway to escape and regroup.

Of course, if they try to shoot it, gobble up the offending player. "Not aggressive" does not mean "not violent" or "not dangerous".

I would also agree that you should decide where you are starting the campaign. Is this their first encounter, and the one that will bond them as Hunters? Have they already seen 'something' and this is the first hunt of the Vigil? Are the familiar with each other, or are you planning on throwing them together with the first encounter? Answering your own questions will help with character generation in the first session. (That doesn't mean you should restrict backstory - the player who wants two ranks in Occult and to have heard ghosts as a child still can - but it does focus how they know each other and how the interact now.)

Also remember that the PCs don't need to be the only Hunters in a cell. If everyone decides to be ghost hunters who went looking to record spooky noises and ended up finding that, there could be others with them to provide support the PCs can't cover or be the scared ones in need of protecting. (or get eaten, that works wonders)

Analytica
2011-04-07, 12:22 PM
Play through some hours of everyday life first. Introduce a child. Have the child disappear. Can you honestly think of something that would make you more likely to act?

Järnblomma
2011-04-07, 07:32 PM
The players have to meet you halfway on this. If they're purposefully playing characters who would run from the thing and try to forget that they ever saw it, they're playing the wrong game. Like Bookworm said, ask them to make characters who would attempt to act rather than run away.

Sounds like a plan!



Entirely up to you. Many Storytellers do this, but it depends on what kind of reaction you want the players' characters to have. Do you want them to say "Not this time!" and grab a shotgun, or "Holy god what was that RUN AWAY!" upon their first monster sighting?

In short, do you want to play a game where this is their initial contact with the supernatural or do you want to play a game where this is just the one that pushes them over the edge from "mortal who knows more than they should" to "hunter"? It's entirely a matter of preference. You might ask for your players' input. Which would they prefer to play?

I see. I think would like them to discover that they can combat it slowly. Not at first maybe. Some fear would be nice and i think i can handle that. I've managed to scare them enough to run from scary stuff in the D&D campaign we've had this far.


Having the first session being primarily about the characters discovering the Darkness is a great idea. Have them make mundanes and run a very character-driven, atmosphere-oriented first session. As a matter of fact, starting them In Media Res might be the best idea. This is just an idea, but how about this: first session starts and they're all in the Underground, on their way to work. Then, the lights go out, a car is derailed, or whatever insanity you choose to concoct. Now, the first session (or the first part of the session, if you guys play long), would be about them escaping from the Horror. Make up secondary objectives: rescuing other survivors, disabling out-of-control wiring, and other such things. One of the hardest part of starting a Hunter game is getting the group to actually pull together, and very few things pull people together like being trapped in the dark with something that wants to eat you.

Once they actually get out, you can have them return to their daily lives, for a day or two. Emphasize the normality. Set up fake scares, like them going back home after the office and coming face to face with an Underground entrance and deciding to walk home instead. Fuse box giving out in the evening. Don't keep this up for long, though. Just enough to make them feel uneasy with their lives, give them the feeling that they're not safe anymore. Then, have it happen. A stranger at the door. An anonymous letter with a key to a train station locker full of guns. A phone call in the dead of night. The Hunters need new recruits. The night is falling. The Hunt is on.

I really like this. Like, a lot. It feeds into the story very well. I love how it would instantly connect it to the London Tube. I think I'll use this, or a slightly modified verson of it. Thank you very much!


I would recommend taking it "easy" for the first monster, which in WoD means that it doesn't automatically jump out and try to eat you. Perhaps it likes stalking it's prey, either chasing it around the sewers or scaring them off and tracking them down where they live. Perhaps it is restricted to a certain area. Perhaps it is immobile. Whatever the reason, give the characters some leeway to escape and regroup.

Of course, if they try to shoot it, gobble up the offending player. "Not aggressive" does not mean "not violent" or "not dangerous".

I would also agree that you should decide where you are starting the campaign. Is this their first encounter, and the one that will bond them as Hunters? Have they already seen 'something' and this is the first hunt of the Vigil? Are the familiar with each other, or are you planning on throwing them together with the first encounter? Answering your own questions will help with character generation in the first session. (That doesn't mean you should restrict backstory - the player who wants two ranks in Occult and to have heard ghosts as a child still can - but it does focus how they know each other and how the interact now.)

Also remember that the PCs don't need to be the only Hunters in a cell. If everyone decides to be ghost hunters who went looking to record spooky noises and ended up finding that, there could be others with them to provide support the PCs can't cover or be the scared ones in need of protecting. (or get eaten, that works wonders)

I think i would like to emphasis the "Alone in the Dark" aspect of it. Other hunters will be a later storyline. I think i would like it to be starting with them, maybe having seen something, sometime, but not really knowing, this being their first "real" encounter with it, first time really seeing through the Veil. =)

Great advice though, I'll keep it in mind!


Play through some hours of everyday life first. Introduce a child. Have the child disappear. Can you honestly think of something that would make you more likely to act?

Sadly, I think my players aren't suspectible to that sort of thing. A shame though, if it worked it would be awesome. But I don't think i could pull it off with this group.

Name_Here
2011-04-08, 10:02 AM
I have a scenario that I think would get the players interested in hunting down the beast.

All of the characters are out at Bill's bachelor party. The game opens up on all of them telling their favorite memory about Bill. The time he introduced the PC to his future wife, the time Bill canceled plans in order to help the PC out. Something they'll never forget about Bill. The party continues and Bill invites them all to spend the night at his flat so they all can hang out tomorrow before the wedding.

They take the tube to Bill's place at which point the creature attacks all the guys take a bit of light damage and grabs Bill.

PCs go to the police who take their story asking time and time again if they are sure Bill didn't just run off due to cold feet. If they are really really sure they knew the kind of person Bill was under pressure. Then as they are sitting in the conference room they hear the police chief tell the detective "Don't waste any resources on finding this bum. We have actual crimes to investigate."

Then they have to tell Bill's fiance. I would play her as angry at Bill. Ignoring the PC's explanation that Bill was kidnapped.

You might have to make a female PC the fiance or maybe the bachlor party was instead the wedding rehearsal.

At least that's the way I would play it.

Järnblomma
2011-04-13, 06:39 PM
Right, so this is the way I plan it:

All the characters know each other, if only barely. They are going to a pub for one of the characters birthday and they all meet up before to take the tube there. Between Holborn and Tottenham Court Road the train suddenly shakes and stops, as the lights go out. It's late Sunday and not many other people are there. They wait, feeling slightly frightened and not really realizing why (I hope this will come naturally with the players themselves knowing this CAN'T be good). Suddenly it feels like something smashes into the tube and it will shake. Noise of metal being ripped and maybe something can be seen in the shadows...

They conveniently see an emergency exit and decide to get out (I hope to achieve this by making just staying seem like a REALLY bad idea by, say, noticing it is trying to get in...), taking the others and NPCs with them.

Here I would like to have it more gamey than just "you run and get there" but also rather harmless in reality. I don't want them to die yet.

Then I was thinking, maybe a child or someone they wanted to protect falls and when they try to help the person the Holborn Horror snatches him away, giving them a short, but still all to long, glimpse of too many eyes and too big teeth on a large green face.

It is all reported as a train going of the rails and noone believes them. They are thinking about it, getting frightened of the train and stuff.

Afterwards they start getting mysterious chat messages and smses saying "the world is not what you think" and "it will continue of you don't help" and "I know that you know".

Then they see on the news of another train going "of the rails" but a lot more folks died. It was also in the vicinity of Holborn and they realize that it must be the monster and that it will just continue. They also realize that the police will NEVER believe them. Then they all get a message: "On Thursday, go look on x street for the house with the black door. if you want to help, go there". Their characters will then go there and find an empty room with money and a small note, simply saying "The Hunt is on".

They will then, if everything is going according to plan, hunt down the Holborn Horror and after they’ve done it they stumble onto a pub, feeling flushed with victory and wanting a pint, suddenly realizing it is the same pub they were supposed to go to on the characters birthday. Story done!

Pisha
2011-04-14, 02:24 PM
One thing that seems obvious but bears mentioning is: the WOD is not D&D. It's not an adventuring game; it's a story. So... maybe the characters won't immediately jump at the chance to be monster hunters. Ok. If that's the case, then... that right there is your story, at least to start with. How long can they pretend not to know what they know? How many missing children stories can they see on the news, knowing what's responsible, before they're moved to do something about it?

One thing that the books don't dwell on too much is, while most supernaturals have some kind of Masquerade, it mostly relies on humans simply not noticing things they don't want to see, or that don't fit into their worldview. Once it's been broken, though, the PCs are going to start noticing things. Things that have been there the whole time, they've seen them every day - why did they never think about them before? They knew that guy mumbling on the corner had claws instead of hands and funny-shaped pupils, but they never registered it. They'd seen how the knotty trees in the park form a perfect arch covered with wooden, human-looking eyes, but it never occurred to them to think it was odd. Now, they can't turn a blind eye any longer.

That's one of the reasons why it's a good idea to have the PC's know each other, even if it's just in a friend-of-a-friend way. You want them to be able to talk to each other about this sort of thing. The decision to start hunting monsters is a big one, and they're probably going to have to talk each other into it. Give 'em time to do so. In the WOD, the ST can afford to have a light touch - sometimes the best story comes out of the PC's interacting amongst themselves.

Pisha
2011-04-14, 02:26 PM
(blarg, doublepost)

Semidi
2011-04-14, 03:26 PM
One of big things to remember that the players need a reason to interact. This will oftentimes mean that some hunter groups will not get along. For instance, The Cheiron Group and the Malleus Malefecarum (s.p.) will probably not get along at all as one group wants to capture and experiment and the other wants to destroy and torture. I'd suggest just not allowing membership in one of the these groups (compacts and conspirators) at the start and let them join up as play goes on. That way the group can form naturally without the artificial square pegs trying to fit into round holes that I notice with a lot of Hunter groups.

This brings me to the next thing, the players need a reason to hunt monsters. What's the reason for them doing so? There's the classic "my mother was killed by a vampire" or "I was attacked by a werewolf," but there's also the "rich businessman hires you to do some work angle" in this thread, which is a cool beginning. However, all these characters need a reason to kill monsters together and keep doing it. What I would suggest would be a combination of things. For instance, an ex-Special Forces guy gets hired by a rich business man, said ex-SF guy goes to a hacker he knows for info, the hacker knows a priest who's in the know, and that priest has a couple of people in his congregation that want to help out.

From here they can get in over there head (killing a Vampire Prince's Childre or something) and begin getting into the actual hunter type stuff with conspiracies, compacts, etc. as they need support, funding, and back-up.

That's just how I'd approach it. It's a storyteller based game, so it's important to ask "why" characters do things and what makes sense for the characters and making it work in a fun game.

Järnblomma
2011-04-15, 07:50 AM
This might not be D&D, but on the other hand I never played D&D as it was "supposed" to be played. There was no dungeons and there was a minimum of fighting. So I'm in fact going to RAMP UP the action for this system with actually having sort of the point of the game to be "hunting down monsters". EVERY monster won't be of the sort that needs smiting directly and I don't plan to just have it be a game of murdering monsters. Morality comes into it, and what a monster is. So I want it to be action-y and I intend the more complex messages and plotlines to sort of creep onto them.

I actually plan to make the Cheiron Group antagonists. The various "Horrors" that are sprinkled out and the PCs hunt down sometimes are failed experiments of transplants making the quite ordinary employees being outfitted with, say, special eyes getting completly monsterfied and let out into the London Underground so that they are out of Cheirons responsibility. And their mysterious benefactor is a technology-aligned changeling. So who are they going to support? The monsters in human guise or the humans in monsters guise? When they run into Cheiron hunters, will they leave them in peace? The implants, are they making them monstrous or are they simply tools to be used?

I plan on making them know each other to start with, if possibly only in passing or as early friends. I hope the motivation of protecting humanity is going to be enough. Is that naïve of me? Am I going to have to give them a monetary reward? I am actually somewhat worried about this and I keep getting different replies. "It's nothing to worry about" "They must have solid reasons within themselves" "They are going to have to be goaded into doing something by the ST" and so on and so forth.

I have in the past been rather good at making fun and unique battles though, so I hope that I might make them willing to do it again, both in and out of character because of adrenalin, because of the FUN of the hunt.

I plan on them getting some ounce of fame later only in their neighborhood. I don't plan on them meeting and of the compacts or conspiracies, only themselves and maybe sometime another hunter until they get on the Cheiron Groups tracks.

Great advise though, and I'll keep it in mind. :smallsmile: