"The First Hunt" is designed to be your Hunters' introduction to the world of Hunters, Inc. It has an open format so you can tailor the adventure to your needs. Every group will approach the Hunt differently. Some will bust down the front door and started firing. Others will take a more indirect approach by setting bombs at strategic areas, detonating them at noon and flushing the Vampires toward the hotspots. Some may try detonating the building at sunrise and wait for the Vampites to climb up from the rubble. Every Team is different, and yours will be no exception.

The format of the Hunt, then, will be simple We will give you the layout and details of Vampire "crib" and the Traits and Skills of each of the Vampires. We have also provided for you; briefing to read to your players, which will give them all the mistnformation they need to get themselves knee deep in the doom.

Remember, Hunters, Inc. does not have to be a game of heavy artillery, square jawed ubermensch and half-witty James Bond punchlines. Hunters who charge into a situation they do not understand will get themselves killed. That is the bottom line. Successful Teams use recon and entry techniques, making sure that they have each other covered all the way. They do a significant amount of research, putting questions to the neighbors (with fake ID's provided by the Shades of course), and long, lonely stakeouts. Depending on you and your Hunters, Hunters, Inc. can be a fast-paced action game or a slow methodical journey into a world of horror. It's up to you.

Vampire Vulnerabilities and Customizing Your Campaign

When you run Hunters, Inc., your players are going to be hunting Vampires (at least, at first). Now's the time to ask the big question, "Just which of the classic Achilles' Heels really work?"

In the Vampire sheet at the end of the article, we've provided you with a checklist nf classic vampire vulnerabilities. Photocopy this page. Then, go through and mark off just which Vulnerabilities are active in your Hunters, Inc. game. We've provided you with all the ones we could find, but we're sure you can come up with a few of your own as well. There are two classifications of Vulnerability: Major and Minor. Check off five Minor Vulnerabilities and three Major Vulnerabilities. These will be the weaknesses for your Level 6 Vampires (see Vampiric Rank, below). You'll notice that Physical Damage is checked off for you. That's because being hit with guns and knives will always cause Minor Damage to Vampires.

When a Vampire is exposed to a Minor Vulnerability, he takes damage the same way that Hunters take damage, including Body modifiers if applicable. Record the damage normally on the Vampire Sheet we've provided for you.

When a Vampire is exposed to a Major Vulnerability, he takes damage slightly differently. Notice that Vampires have two places to record Wounds. The left side is used for damage caused by Minor Vulnerabilities. The right side is used for Major Vulnerabilities. If a Vampire is wounded by a Major Vulnerability, you mark off Wounds on both sides. At the beginning of each Round, a Vampire Regenerates a number of Wound Points on the left side equal to his Vampire Level. However, if a Vampire takes damage from a Major Vulnerability, he may not recover these Wounds with Regeneration.

Example: a Vampire has taken fifteen points of Minor Damage from silver bullets. He has 12 Wounds per Level, so he is currently at -1 with three Wounds. However, another Hunter hits him with a firebomb which is Major Damage. The Vampire takes 10 Wounds from the Firebomb. The GM starts marking off Wounds on the right side of the Wound chart. At the beginning of the next Round, the Vampire may regenerate the Wounds on the left side, but he may not Regenerate the Wounds on the right. Also, he may not Regenerate Minor Wounds that exceed the amount of Major Wounds he has. In other words, if a Level 6 Vampire has 15 Minor Wounds and 11 Major Wouruis, he may only Regenerate up to four Wourds this Round because his Major Wounds are keeping him from Regeneraung past that 11 Wound mark.

Major Vulnerabilities that are not checked off do Minor Damage, and Minor Vulnerabilities that are not checked off do no damage whatsoever. If a Vampire is exposed to a source of damage that combines two Minor Vulnerabilitim, the damage becomes Major. Examplff of this could include contact with a silver cross (silver + article of faith) or a sword forged from cold iron (physical damage + cold iron).

Dark Points and Vampire Traits

Vampires have many powers to use against their mortal foes. Almost all Traits employ the use of "Dark Points." Dark Points have an additional use, however. Just before an Action, a Vampire may spend a Dark Point to duplicate the effects of a Hunter's Willpower. That way, when a Vampbe spends the Dark Point, he'll get an extra die in his pool for his next Action, and he can keep all the dice he rolls, despite the Contest Number he's rolling against.

A Vampire can only spend one Dark Point per Turn, and spending a Dark Point is not considered an Action. Now, here are the tricks Vampire can pull with Dark Points.

Fear: A Vampire does not need to spend a Dark Point to use Fear, but this Trait may only be used once per night against a Hunter. Any Hunter viewing the Vampire at the time he uses Fear must Test against its effects. The Test is a Contested Roll against the Vampire's Level. Those that fail can't use Willpower points directly against the Vampire for the rest of the night.

Once a Hunter has failed to conquer his fear of a Vampire, he is under that cloud of Fear until he overcomes it at a later date. For instance, if a Hunter fails his Fear Test against a Vampire on one occasion, and meets the Vampire on another evening, he must make a Fear Test again immediately. If he succeeds in the Fear Test (and remember, he can't use Willpower) then he is no longer under the thrall of Fear. If he fails, then the Fear is still with him, and he cannot use Willpower points.

Hypnotism: With this Trait, the Vampire can spend a Dark Point to make a Contested Roll of PSY vs. PSY against a Hunter. If the roll is successful, the Hunter is in a suggestible state and must follow one command from the Vampire. A Vampire may "retest" as is one command to perform another Contested Roll, at the Hunter's PSY -1, and does not need to spend a Dark Point to do so. If the Test is successful, he may make two commands. This may continue until the Hunter's PSY roll would be at 0, in which case, he is completely dominated and no will of his own until sunrise. The only requirement for a Vampire to use Hypnotism is eye to eye contact.

Vanish: Vanish allows Vampires to slip into a shadowlike form, becoming incorporeal. A Vampire must spend a Dark Point in order to use Vanish. A Vampire must also be in a dimly lit room. If a Vampire is in a room that is suddenly filled with light, the effects of Vanish are negated. While Vanished, Vampires can move undetected through the darkness. The only way for a Hunter to detect the movements of a Vanished Vampire is through Occult. An Occultist can make a Contested PSY + Occult Roll against the Vampire's Rank to gain a hunch" where the Vampire is. Generally, this will only provide a relative location, "Near that corner," "Toward that closet," etc. A Vampire who tries to strike a Hunter while Vanished does so as a Simple Roll rather than a Contested Roll. The Target Number is still the Hunter's AGI x 5.

Regeneration: For information on how to wound the Vampires and their two Life Level Columns, see above. All Vampires regenerate and do not need to spend Dark Points to do so. At the beginning of each Round, a Vampire heals back a number of Wounds equal to his Vampire Rank. However, a Vampire cannot Regenerate Wounds that have been caused by a Major Vulnerabiliq normally. They must spend a Dark Point to do so, and may only Regenerate four Wounds in this way.

Strength: With the expenditure of one Dark Point, Vampires can perform incredible feats of strength. In order to use Strength, a Vampire must spend a Dark Point at the beginning of the Round. For the rest of that Round, all BOD dice the Vampire roll under his Vampire Rank are equal to the Vampire's Rank. For instance if a Rank 6 Vampire rolls 5, 4, 6, 7, 3, 3, all the numbers that were less than his Vampire Rank of 6 are read as 6.

Speed: Vampires can be incredibly fast, so fast in fact, that mortals cannot even see their movements. With the expenditure of a Dark Point, Vampires with Speed can make a Resistance Roll (at his Rank) against the Perception of the Hunters. If successful, all BOD and AGI Contested Rolls the Vampire makes against the Hunters are turned into Simple Rolls. In addition, any BOD or AGI rolls the Hunters try to make against the Vampire are at -2 (that is, they lose two dice from any BOD or AGI pools). The Vampire may also spend a Dark Point to gain an additional action during a Turn (such as attacking a second time, or covering a great deal of ground and still being able to attack).

The Hunters Roles

Exactly who your Hunters are depends greatly on the style of campaign you wish to run. What we've done here is provide a setting. You've got to provide your players with the rest.

The first question to ask is: Who are your Hunters? Are they agents from Hunters, Inc. or are they just normal guys and gals who stumble across the Vampire threat? They could be FBI Agents who get sent in to investigate a bizarre streak of murders, or they could be mercenaries who gun down bloodsuckers for cash. We aren't going to force you to run Hunters, Inc. any other way than the way you want to run it. However, Hunters, Inc. does follow a specific story thread that will run over the entire course of these adventures. You can pull out a single adventure and use ir or you can wrap them all up in a nice little package with a beginning and a conclusion. Again, it's up to you.

Fair Warning

Players are quite ingenious and likely to pull things over on you that you never expect. We'll let you know where things may go screwy, so you'll have a bit of a warning before you run it, but beware, those crafty players of yours will undoubtedly think of something we haven't, so be ready to improvise.

The Lee House

For their first Hunt, we've given your Hunters an easy one. Just one Vampire shacked up with two women in a restored southern mansion in southern Georgia. However, just when the Hunters think they've got it figured out, everything starts going wrong. You see, the Hunters are going in to this Hunt thinking that there's only one Vampire. There's two.

The Vampires In The First Hunt

There are two Vampires in the First Hunt and Billy (the suspected target) is not one of them. The two Vampires (Margret and Susan, his supposed victims) are Rank 6. This means that all of their Traits (Body, Agility, Mind and Psyche) are at Rank 6. Vampires do not have Willpower, nor do they have Skills. Creatures who have been alive for as great a time as Margret and Susan have had decades to learn the skills they need. Billy, on the other hand, is not a Vampire. We've given his Traits and Skills below along with the Vampire Traits the two ladies have acquired over the years.

Margaret, The Elder Fear, Strength, and Vanish

Susan, The Younger Fear, Speed and Hypnotize

Billy, The Punk

BOD: 1, AGI: 2, MIN: 2, PSY: 1, WIL 0
Skills: Acting, Dodge, Drive

The Outside

The house is a two-story restored southern mansion. When the Hunters see it for the first time, they'll notice signs of Vampire occupancy. Little details that the casual observer may miss will soon become flashing WARNING signs to experienced Hunters. The lawn is unevenly cut and the windows are always dingy, or painted over in black. Once the Hunters get inside (and they'll have to figure that one out on their own), they'll really start to get the picture.

GMs are encouraged to use as many or as few of these details as they like. No map is provided, but the descriptions are fairly self explanatory.

The Downstairs

Downstairs Hallway

There is a heavy odor in the house, the smell of decay and neglect. The house obviously belongs to a wealthy family, but the fringes on all the finery are beginning to show. There is a carpet runner along the pinewood floors: the rug has beer stains and the floors have scuff marks. There is a set of double doors across the hall that lead to the outside and two more doors that lead to the kitchen and the sun room. Finally, a door right next to the back door leads into the Dining Room and a grand set of stairs winding up the back wall of the house that leads upstairs. There's a mirror at the front of the house that's been shattered and tiny bits of glass are still on the poorly swept floor. There's a chandelier in the hallway that's turned half way up, giving the room a dim, shadowy aura. The wall paper is all in crimson, darkening the room even further.

The Sun Room

There are three windows in this room, but the shades have all been drawn shut and held up with duct tape. The corners have heavy cobwebs and the furniture is covered with a thick layer of dust. The light bulbs have been taken out of the lamps in this room, leaving it a cold, dark husk.

The Dining Room

A couple of kids threw a rock through the window a couple of years ago and it's never gotten fixed. A small cat has snuck in through the hole and is catching mice in the house. The shades are blowing gently in the warm wind. When the Hunters enter, the cat bolts across the floor towards them, prompting a Dexterity test at TN 20 to see if anyone freaks. The rest of the room is in utter disarray.

One of the table legs is broken, and a long thin crack is in one of the glass panels of the china hutch. The china inside has not been used for a long time and the silverware is missing.

Kitchen

Empty beer bottles piled up on the south wall, empty pizza boxes lumped in the corner, and cockroaches and maggots feeding off the crusty remains of old plates make up the majority of the mess here in the kitchen. The window has been blacked out with paint. A small door (hidden by the pizza boxa) leads to the cellar. All of the silverware is in the oven. (The Vampires tried to move it earlier, but the pain of being so close to it was too great, so they threw it in the oven and forgot about it. )

The Cellar

This is a bad place to be. Down in the cellar are three corpses: what's left of this evening's feast. There's also a furnace that the poor souls are going to wind up in later tonight. Margaret has placed a magical Ward on the room, so if anyone enters she'll know about it. There's only one way out of the cellar, and that's the way the Hunters came in. If they get trapped down here, the Vampires will have all the advantages they'll need to completely eliminate the Hunters. There are also two coffins down here. If this doesn't clue the Hunters in, nothing will.

The Upstairs

Upstairs Hallway

Vampires don't have a lot of time on their hands, and most of them can't afford the risk of hiring mortal help to do it for them. The whole house reflects this fact, but when the Hunters start moving upstairs, they'll really notice it. The smell will reach them halfway up the stairs. Vampires don't breathe, so they don't notice things like stinky bathrooms. All of the lights are off in the hallway, and the four doors along are shut. The Hunters suddenly become very aware of all the noise they are making. Everything is as silent as a grave. The only sound comes from the last door on their right (the Master Bedroom). There's a slight muffled human sound coming from behind that door, as if someone was weeping behind a gag. The only door that's open is the door to the den and that provides a dim silver light from the stars hanging in the sky.

Upstairs Bathroom

The first door on the left leads to the bathroom. This place stinks. Otherwise, it's pretty normal and very unused. There's a full stretch of mirror along the wall that's been smashed, although there's also a full compliment of hair care products in the cupboard under the sink. An aerosol can and a lighter would make a wonderful short range flame thrower. There's also a matchbox from Club Noir where the trio spend most of their evenings.

Den

The first door on the right leads here. There was once a stereo system hooked up in here, but it's been moved to the master bedroom. The empty space that the stereo once took up hasn't heen filled and its conspicuous by its absence. This is also the only room so far that has windows that haven't been painted over. A large pair of double doors leads out to the balcony. That's because it faces the street and to paint it up would call attention to the house, and that Vampires don't want that. It's a cramped little room and all the walls are covered with bookshelves crammed with old, musty volumes on the occult. None of them are of any worth, they're all the stuff you can buy out of the back of Conspiracy Theory magazine. There is, however, a silver letter opener in the desk, just waiting for an interested party.

2nd Bedroom

The last door on the left is Susan's bedroom. The room is done up in pink and white lace with sruffed animals in every comer. The bed is unmade and successful Simple Perception rolls will show traces of bloodstains on the pillows and handcuff marks on the bedposts.

Balcony

This is one of the many escape routes that either Vampires or Hunters can employ in case the Hunt goes poorly (from either party's perspective).

Master Bedroom

The last door on the right is where the real fun begins. Billy, Margaret and Susan are all accounted for (unless the Hunters have alerted them or have gone down into the cellar or something equally inane). As soon as the Hunters burst through the door, the two ladies will scream and flee to a neutral corner as the Hunters head for "the Vampire." If the Hunters show any sign of being onto the ladies, only then will the pair reveal their true natures.

Strategy

How your Hunters approach the Vampires is going to be unique. You are going to have to play the Vampires intelligently. They don't want to get killed any more than the Hunters do. Just remember these little tips, and your Hunters should have their hands full.

Use Billy

Billy is nothing more than a distraction. The Hunters will be looking for someone who fits the classic mold, and that's Billy. The two women look nothing like Vampires. Susan and Margaret are helpless before the leather-clad biker bully Billy. Play it up. You'll be surprised how easily your Hunters will fall for it.

The Vampire Traits

Vampires are powerful. Not just because they have very high Traits, but because of their powers. It is all too easy to forget to have the Vampires use their powers. The easiest one to forget is Fear. Don't. Fear can keep the Hunters from using those precious Willpower points.

Teamwork

Hunters work best when they work as a Team. So do Vampires. Have the two ladies coordinate their efforts. Get the Hunters separated. That way they can't use the Leadership skill (see below). Then, once they are isolated, you can pick them off one by one. Vampires can move fast. making them hard to hit, and easy for them to hit the Hunters. Take advantage of that.

Rewards

So, you made it back. Now, you get to reap the benefits of your service.

First off, forget spending your own money. Hunters Inc. takes care of its own. You'll be living in a nice, plush pad high up in the catskills or some other deserted place that's harder than hel to approach unnoticed. Next, you'll find out that everything is on the house. Free food, free liquor, free everything. You may not have a Lear jet in the back yard, but you are one phone call away from having one pick you up. How's that for service?

Thomas Kane is right. Hunters, Inc. spends a lot of money to keep their Hunters alive, but it also spends a lot of money to keep them employed. Of course, a lot of Hunters aren't doing it for the money.

How much do Hunters make! Let's just say that they can live pretty well. If they need something, they get it. No questions asked. Of course, some things are a bit out of the company's reach. When they start asking for Sherman tanks, it's safe to draw the line.

Now the Hunters may start asking, "Just who runs, Hunters, Inc. anyway?" That's a question they won't get answered until much later in the game. Tell them to hold tight, and they'll kind out soon enough.

Experience Points

At the end of every session, the GM should award the Hunters Experience Points. Depending on the success of the session, the XP value will differ. We recommend rewarding XPs on the baste of "achieving goals." The GM should ask himself "Did the Hunters make any headways" or "Did they get closer to exterminating the Vampire?" If the answer is "yes", then XPs are in order.

Don't award Hunters for finding clues, award them for acting on those clues. The more they move through the game, the more XP they get. This encourages fast action, which is the kind we want.

Depending on their success, the GM should award 1-3 XPs per session. If you feel the Hunters are stalling or just not trying to get closer to the Vampire, don't award any XP at all. If the Hunters made a little headway, award one XP to each Hunter. If they made significant advancement, give thern two. If they've made signiflcant advancement and plotted out good strategy, employed all of their advantages or just role-played entertainingly without slowing down the pace of the game, award them three.

At the end of every Hunt, you should award bonus XPs. If they failed to kill the Vampire, don't award any bonus points. If they killed the Vampire with heavy casuaties, award one bonus point. If they killed the Vampire, took light casualties, award twOo. If they pulled off the perfect Hunt, award three bonus points.

Conclusion

This ends the first part of Hunters, Inc. In the next segment, we will cover Sorcery, the ecology of the Vampire and Club Noir.

More Hunters Inc.

Introduction
Hunters Section
What is Hunters Inc.?
Game Masters Section
The First Hunt
Character Sheets

Hunters Inc. Episode 2