Okay, you're the Game Master. You're the one who's going to be heading up this Hunt. Pay attention, because things are going to move real fast.

First off, we've provided an introductory Hunt for you to customize. While you read it, you'll leam how to run the game. While you run it, they'll learn how to play. Read through it first so you know the plot then read it again so you know all the mechanics. We're going to cover the basks here, and a bit of background, then jump right into the adventure.

The System

The system used in Hunters, Inc. is very simple to use. First, let's talk a little bit about time.

Turns

The Game Master has the ultimate authority over the movement of time in a Hunt. He tells the Hunters how long things take to happen, using his better judgment, of course. However, just to make things easier to keep track of once Hunters get in combat with a vampire, time slows down to "Turns." During a Turn, a Hunter and a Vampire can perform actions. Under normal circumstances, a Hunter may only perform one action per Turn. A Vampire has the opportunity to perform many actions per Turn. Each Turn is about five seconds long, depending on the mood of the GM, so a Hunter may perform a single action that would require about five seconds to accomplish in a game Turn. Now that you understand when things happen, let's talk about how they happen.

Keeping and Dropping

When reading these rules, you will encounter two words that need to be clarified: "Keep" and "Drop". Whenever you roll dice to determine the outcome of an Action, you will "keep" some dice and "drop" others. Dice that you "keep" are added together to make a total while "dropped" dice are not counted toward the total.

The Simple Roll

When a Hunter wants to do something that has an element of chance or risk, you call for a Simple Roll. Lifting a large rock is a good example of a Simple Roll. You decide on the appropriate Trait for the Roll and assign a Target Number based on how difficult the task is. The Hunter rolls a number of 10-sided dice equal to his Trait. If his roll is equal to or greater than the Target Number, then he's succeeded. If his roll is less than the TN, then the Hunter has failed.

Target Number Chart

10 = Easy
15 = Average
20 = Tough
25 = Difficult
30 = Heroic
40 = "He did WHAT?!?"

The Contested Roll

Contested Rolls are a bit different from Simple Rolls. If a Hunter needs to make a Contested Roll you tell him to roll a number of dice equal to the appropriate Trait, just like in Simple Tests. But here's the catch: a Contested Roll is used when someone is resisting the Hunter's action. For instance, let us say a Hunter is having a test of strength with a Vampire. In this case, both participants would make a roll. The Hunter has a Body of 4 and the Vampire has a Body of 6. The Target Number for both parties is equal to the Contested Trait x 5. The Hunter's TN is 30 (Str 6 x 5) while the Vampire's TN is 20 (Str 4 x 5). Both roll their dice to beat the TN, but since this is a Contested Roll, they must drop (not count) any dice that roll less than the opponent's Contesting Trait (the Body of their opponent).

So, the Hunter rolls his four dice and gets 4, 8, 3, and 9. He must drop any dice that roll less than the Strength of the Vampire, so he has to drop the 4 and the 3, giving him a total of 17, less than his TN 30. The Vampire rolls and gets 7, 8, 5, 3, 4 and 5. He must drop any dice that roll less than 4, so he doesn't get to keep the 3, giving him a total of 29, high above his TN of 20. The Vampire wins the contest. In short:

If only one Contestant succeeds in his roll, he succeeds.
If both Contestants succeed in their roUs, the one who rolled higher wins.
If neither Contestants succeed in their rolls, the Contest continues to the next round.

Using Skills

When a Hunter wishes to use a Skill, the GM decides which Trait best suits the situation. For instance, if a Gunman is shooting a gun, the use of his Firearms Skill would probably be AGI + Firearms. However, if he was evaluating the quality of a gun, he would probably roll MIND + Firearms. The Hunter rolls a number of dice equal to his Trait + Skill, but only keeps (counts) a number of dice equal to his Trait. Skills allow the Hunter to roll additional dice and drop the low rolls that they make. There are other ways to get additional dice to roll (such as making a "Full Attack", see Combat, below), but you always only add up a number of dice equal to your Trait. As these rules continue, we will use the notation "Trait + Skill" many times. This will always mean a roll where you roll dice equal to the Trait plus the Skill Rank, but only count a number of dice equal to the Trait. Sometimes other words will replace "Trait" or "skill" in that equation, but you will always keep dice equal to the first thing named. Due to contested rolls or wounds, a Character may actually end up with fewer dice than are being "kept" -- the Character simply keeps the ones that remain.

Unskilled Actions

If a Hunter does not have the Skill needed for a task, he is considered to be making an Unskilled Action. He only gets to roll dice equal to his Trait and the Target Number is increased by 10.

0's and 1's

Whenever a Hunter rolls a 0, he reads it as a 10. He may then re-roll the 0 and add the next roll. For instance, a Hunter rolls a 0. He rolls the die again and gets a 5. This makes the die's total a 15. As long as the Hunter keeps rolling 0's, he can keep rolling and adding.

Whenever a Hunter makes a roll and more than half the dice are 1's, he has made a Fumble and is at the mercy of the GM's interpretation of the Fumbled action.

Important Note: Vampires cannot Fumble, nor do they re-roll 0's.

Bidding Up

When the GM gives a player a TN that's a little too easy, or if the player wants to achieve something spectacular, the player may "bid up" the TN by 5 point increments, and by doing so will increase just how impressive the success will be. Bidding up will allow you to complete tasks more quickly, with more style, or do more damage in combat. A "called shot" (hitting a vampire right in the heart with a wooden stake or in the head with a silver bullet) is an example of Bidding Up. Vampires can never Bid Up.

Willpower

Before any roll, a player may spend one Willpower point. This gives the Hunter two advantages: first of all, the Hunter gets to roll an additional die for this roll as if the Hunter's Trait were increased by one (which means he also keeps an additional die). Also, for a Contested Roll, the Hunter does not have to drop dice less than the opposed Trait (although he still only keeps dice equal to his Trait). At the beginning of each game session, players have their Willpower reset to their base level, and will be able to "spend" Willpower points once again.

Combat

The Combat Round

Combat is another level of complication on the two basic rolls. Each Combat Round follows this procedure:

1. Determine Initiative.
2. Declare Actions
3. Resolve Actions.

1. Determine Initiative.

Everyone involved in the combat makes a Simple Agility Roll.

2. Declare Actions.

The Hunter (or Vampire) who rolls highest gets to declare what he's doing first, followed by the second highest roller, and so on down the line.

(Optional Rule: The Hunter [or Vampire] who rolls lowest must declare his Action first, followed by the character who rolled second lowest, and on up.

3. Resolve Actions.

The character who rolled highest goes first, followed by the second highest roll, and so forth on down the line. Every character (unless specifically stated by a Skill or Ability) may only perform one action.

Three Maneuvers

At the beginning of each Combat Round, every character must declare which of the Three maneuvers they are going to be using this Round:

Normal Attack
Full Dodge
Full Attack.

Normal Attack: A Hunter who declares Normal Attack this Round gets one attack and the TN to hit him is equal to his Agility x 5. This is the default maneuver.

Full Dodge: A Hunter who declares Full Dodge this Round gets no attack. However, the TN to hit him is his Agility x 5 and any character trying to attack him must drop any dice that roll less than his Agility + Dodge.

Full Attack: A Hunter who declares Full Attack this Round gets to add 2 dice to his attack roll, but the TN to hit him is a 5.

Getting Hurt

After you've determined a hit, it's time to determine damage. Damage is figured by rolling dice equal to the Damage Rating (DR) of the weapon. For hand to hand weapons and simple punching and kicking, the dice rolled are: DR + BOD, keeping only a number of dice equal to the DR. See the chart to the left to find the DR of different weapons. If something is causing damage that is not listed, the GM must use his or her best judgement.

Called Shots

If a Hunter made a called shot, then he'll be doing more damage. Each "raise" of five points to the TN results in an additional die that the Hunter rolls for damage -- still only keeping the number of dice equal to the DR of the weapon.

Example: Joe the Gunman is shooting his "big betty" shotgun at the bloodsucker that just appeared round the corner. He bids the TN UP by 10, and hits the Vampire. Now he rolls to see how much damage he does. "Big Betty" has a DR of 4, so he rolls four dice. He also Bid Up his TN by 1O, so he rolls two additional dice and adds up only the highest four dice (TN = 4). Joe rolls the following -- 12,8,7,5,4,2. The vampire is rank 7, so it's BOD is also a seven. The 5,4, and 2 all become ones, and the final damage done to the vampire is 28 points (12 + 8 + 7 + 1).

Figuring Wounds

For every Wound a Hunter takes, he makes a mark on the line next to the Wound box. When he takes a number of Wounds equal to his Wound Level, he drops down to the next Wound Level and starts recording Wounds there. Also, any die pools he rolls suffer a penalty. For example, a Hunter has a BODY of 4, giving him 8 Wounds per Wound Level. When he gets hit by a Vampire for 6 points, he records 6 Wounds on the first "-0" Wound Level. Next Round, he gets struck again for nine. He only has two Wounds left in his first Wound Level, so he takes seven in the next level. Now, all dice pools he rolls are at -1, which means he loses one die from any die pools he rolls.

When a Hunter or Vampire reaches "Down," he falls to his knees. "Out" means he's unconscious. When he reaches "Dead" ... well, that's all she wrote.

Armor

Many Hunters employ body armor. In essence, armor makes it more difficulc for a Vampire to get a solid hit on a Hunter. A Vampire can strike a Hunter without armor in his chest, on his arms, in his face, etc. A Hunter with body armor, however, has only a few vulnerable spots.

Armor raises the TN to hit a Hunter.

Damage Ratings (DR)

1: Punches, Kicks
2: Knives, Swords, Stakes, etc.
3: Pistols
4: SMGs, Shotguns
5: Explosives

Armor Ratings

3: Improvised Armor (tea trays, garbage cans, etc.)
7: Kevlar Vest
10: Full S.W.A.T. Body Armor

More Hunters Inc.

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

Hunters Inc. Episode 2