Hunters Incorporated is an organization that employs the most skilled and talented professionals in the world to hunt down and destroy vampires. Every profession is represented, from assassins to computer hackers. We make certain that the vampire threat is extinguished quickly and quietly. Sometimes the problem has grown so large that an entire town is under a vampire's thrall, allowing us to employ drastic and dramatic measures like explosives. Sometimes you have to be very discreet. Every case is unique and different and will call upon the sorted skills and talents of a hunting team. You have all been hired by Hunters, Inc. because you are the best there is. Nobody ebe does what you do better. The problem is, sometimes being the best just isn't good enough.

Who am I?

Like I said, my name's Thomas Kane and I'm going to be in charge of your training.

Grab a Hunter Sheet to fill in; this will allow you to keep track of all your various traits and abilities. What kinds of traits and abilities? Read on.

Type

We recruit Hunters based on their experience. This means that hunters tend to fall in one of five basic groups: Leaders, Gunmen, Occultists, Specialists, Shades and Survivors. Look through each one and find out where you fit.

Leaders are those courageous types who are able to bring out the best in others. They are not necessarily "the best" at anything, but they know all about strengths and weaknesses and how to make the most out of both.

Gunmen are killers. They may use knives or throwing stars or some other weapon, but in our own littk clique, they're known as Gunmen. Quite simply, no one knows how to kill as efficiently as these guys.

Occultists come in many shapes and forms. In a nutshell, an occultist is someone who knows all about the weird secret knowledge that helps us hunt down vampires. Be it a New Age astrologer or an ax-priest, Occultists always know something useful.

Shades are professional thieves and con artists. When you need to get official documents to blow up a Vampire's crib, you ask the Shade to go in and impersonate the proper officials. Or, if you need someone to creep around a crib looking for secret entrances and exits, you send in the Shade. Nobody can hide anything from one of them.

Specialists are scientists, physicists, engineers and demolitions experts. The thing is, these guys always seem to have just what they need at the right time. They know a little bit about everything, which makes them useful in just about any situation.

Survivors are those lucky enough (or unlucky enough, depending on how you look at it) to survive being under a vampire's thrall. Survivors are the least trained members of a Team, but they can also be the most valuable.

Motivation

Once you've determined your Type, take a moment or two and think about why you're going to jump into this mess. What makes a human being want to go to war with a race of little gods? This is your Motivation. It's located right under Type on the Hunter Sheet (page 52). Here are the Motivations we've found to be most common, although you may wrprise us with something new.

Duty

Many Hunters feel it is their duty to hunt down Vampires because they are the only ones who can. Those who chose Duty as their Motivatum are in immovable in their resolve. Hunters with the Duty Motivation may spend a Willpower point to ignore the effects of Vampire Traits (powers).

Revenge

Hunters driven by revenge typically find their anger driven towart a single vampire. Many Hunters with the Revenge Motivation often burn out after they've bagged the thing that killed their sister/brother/father/mother, but some stick around after they find out that the blood-sucker was just a pawn in somebody else's game, and the responsibility for that death shifts.

Hunters with the Revenge Motivation may spend a Willpower point to use their Willpower Rank in lieu of any Trait when facing the object for their Motivation.

Greed

Some Hunters do the job for revenge or because its the right thing to do. Some just do it for the money. They tend to be cool, calm and very rational about the job, keeping their mind on the big, fat paycheck at the end. I don't know what to say about those who to the job to fill their bank accounts; they scare me as much as the Things to.

Hunters with the Greed Motivation are immune to any Fear effects.

Knowledge

Then there's the ones who want to gain an "understanding" of the things. I just don't get that, but the' never cease to be useful. They tend to be Occultists, but I've seen Gunmen fall into the trap too. They're fascinated by the nature of the things in a way that just chills me.

Hunters with the Knowledge Motivation may spend a Motivation point to add 2 dice to any Occult or Mind pool. Some Hunters are just plain loco: they do this because they've got nothing better to do, or they hunt the Things for sport. One thing's for sure, trust them to hunt down Vampires, but little else.

Hunters that are in it for the adrenaline can use their Motivation Rank in lieu of his BODY when facing a Vampire.

On Atmosphere and Ethics

Atmosphere and Attitude

The real hero is always a hero by mistake; he dreams of being an honest coward like everybody else.

The most difficult part of mastering Hunters, Inc. has nothing to do with memorizing charts or numbers. It's getting your players in the right frame of mind. Just ponder this idea for a moment or two, the Hunters are the finest that humanity has to offer. And if they're not careful, they'll probably get themselves killed.

Vampires are that powerful (as you'll soon see). The Hunters are going to have to catch a Vampire off guard, bomb its crib during daylight hours, or bushwhack it in a nightclub where it will never see it coming.

Good and Evil

Choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil.

There are a great many role-playing games these days that employ philosophy of "relative ethics." Good and evil are thrown into a big boiling pot until they both come out gray. Hunters, Inc. doesn't. In this world, there isn't room to sympathize with evil. You can't accept it, tolerate it, or even ignore it. Every day you refuse to deal with the vampire threat, another victim dies, or worse, is drawn into a life of addiction, mental slavery and murder.

Vampires are evil. Their existence is unnatural, defying the balance of Nature that all the world depends upon. They murder to continue this unnatural existence. They are creatures driven by a lustful bloodthirsty hunger that even they admit they cannot control. They must murder or die.

Traits

Now that you've taken a look at each of the Hunter Types, it's time to figure out which one you fit into. You'll notice on the Hunter Sheet that thae are descriptions and spaces for rumbas. The descriptions (Traits) and numbers (Ranks) are for our records. We've found that Hunters of catain Types oftan share the same Traits and Ranks. The higher a Trait's Rank, the betta that Hunter will be in that category of action. We have five Traits to evaluate our Hunters on, which are Ranked from 1 to 5. Joe Smith, average guy on the street, has about a two in each of these Traits.

Body (BOD)

This Trait measures how much a Hunter can lift, how far he can throw and how much damage he can inflict with a punch or grapple. Body also measures a Hunter's intestinal fortitude.

Agility (AGL)

This Trait measures hand-eye-coordination, nimbleness, balance and spatial awareness.

Mind (MND)

Mind measures the strength of a Hunter's "left-brain thinking." That is, his memory, his reasoning and his ability to notice details and collate them.

Psyche (PSY)

While Mind is the left brain, Psyche is the right. It is the measure of a Hunter's snength of personality and identity. It also measures his ability to get along with others and sense their moods and attitudes. Finally, it ako shows some Hunters' ability to "sense" the occult power Vampires thrive off of.

Willpower (WIL)

Every Hunter also has the Willpower Trait. This is a measure of your personal determination. Until you run into a vampire, you probably don't have quite as much determination as someone who has.

Willpower is a little different from the other Traits, because you get a number of willpower points each game session equal to your Trait. You'll see later what you can spend these points for.

Now that you know the Traits, let's determine what yours are. Each Hunter starts with their Traits predetermined, based on their Type. Here's how it works out:

Leaders: BOD2,AG12,MIN3,PSY3,WIU1
Gunmen: BOD 3, AGI 3, MIN 2, PSY 2, WILL 1
Occultists: BOD 1, AGI 2, MIN 3, PSY 4, WILL 1
Shades: BOD 2, AGI 3, MIN 2, PSY 3, WILL 1
Specialists: BOD 2, AGI 2, MIN 4, PSY 1, WILL 1
Survivors: BOD 1, AGI 1, MIN 1, PSY 1, WILL 3

If you don't like where your numbers stand, don't worry. You'll get points to custom your Hunter latet But for now, let's move on to your Skills.

Skills

Every Hunter has a different set of Skills. This is where we find out about your background. We've discovered that Hunters of the same Type have the same, or similar Skills. Find your Hunter Type below and read off the list of Skills. These Skills are all at Rank 0, which means you have a basic understanding of that Skill. Any Skills not listed are Untrained. In a minute, we're going to give you more character points to spend on your Skills. If you spend a point on a Skill that is currently at Rank 0, it becomes Rank +1. If you add a point to an Untrained Skill, that Skill becomes Rank 0. The only rules are: 1) None of your Skills can be higher than Rank +2 (for now) and 2) You can't put points into Special Skills (listed in itallics ) unless your Type starts with that Skill.

Leaders: Bureaucracy, First Aid, Firearms, Leadership, plus one other Skill.
Gunman: Brawling, Dodge, Melee, Firearms, Gunman.
Occultist: Bureaucracy, Investigation, Language, Psychology, Occult or Faith.
Shades Dodge, Locksmith, Stealth, Confidence, and a choice of Savoir-Faire or Streetwise.
Specialists Improvise your choice of any four: Bureaucracy, Computer, Demolitions, Electronics, Mechanics, Medicine, Investigation.
Survivor: Any five Basic Skills at Rank 0. One of these Skills may be Faith.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Lastly, we want to know all about the secrets you've been keeping. Listed below is an assortment of edges, drawbacks, merits and flaws that flesh out a Hunter's life. Take a good long look, and decide if any of them suit you. Advantages cost you points, while Disadvantages give you points back. We're going to give you twenty final points to spend on yourself. You can spend them to gain Advantages if you like, or you can increase your Skills and Traits. Also, if you want more points, you can bank up on Disadvantages. You may only take up to ten points of Disadvantages, though, which would give you a total of up to thirty points to spend on Skills, Traits or Advantages. Once you're done here, we'll talk about getting hurt.

Skills: 1 point gives you a "+1" to spend on Skills.

Traits: 5 Points gives you a "+1" to spend on Traits

Advantages:

Each of these will list how many points you need to spend to gain the Advantage.

Absolute Direction (1 Point): This Hunter never gets lost. He gains a +2 to any pools involving direction, mapping or finding his way out of a Vampire's crib.

Acute Senses (2 Points): A Hunter with Acute Senses always adds +2 to any Mind checks involving Perception.

Allies (2 Points for Minor Ally, 4 Points for Major ally; minimum 10 Points): You are connected. For every 2 Points you spend on Allies, you can gain a single Minor Ally, and for every 4 you can gain a Major Ally. Minor Allies are folks who can get you legal things like food, shelter and a couple of bucks until payday. A Major Ally can get you things that are slightly less easy to acquire -- like fake ID's, automatic weapons or a quick midnight ride out of the country.

Ambidexterity (3 Points): This Hunter may use both hands without penalty. Any Hunter who does not invest in Ambidexterity gers a -2 penalty to any die roll when using his off hand.

Attractiveness (2 Point): This Hunter adds +2 to any pools involving Confidence, Psychology or Savoir-Faire and +3 when those rolls involve those who are attracted to the Hunter.

Code of Honor (2 Points): A Hunter with a code of honor has made a private promise to himself that he refuses to break. A player should be able to sum up the code in a single sentence. If a Hunter is ever tempted to stray from outside his code, he gains 2 extra dice (rolled and counted) to his Willpower pool to resist the temptation.

Danger Sense (10 Points): A Hunter with Danger Sense has an uncanny abiliq to "smell danger." Danger Sense is very much like a Trait; you start a Hunt with 5 dice, but every time you use it, you lose a die. The standard TN to use Danger Sense is 15. You gain your starting Danger Sense dice back by spending a Willpower point.

Fame (1-10 Points): You are famous. How famous depends on the Points you spend. Michael Jackson and the President of the U.S. have 9 points of fame. Remember: being famous has its downside.

Focus (3 Points): Your Hunter has a strong sense of purpose, and may ignore any modifiers the GM assigns to your die rolls due to distractions.

Tough As Nails (2-6 Points): A Hunter who is Tough As Nails may temporarily ignore the effects of Wound Levels on their Die Pools. Once a Hunter drops down a Life Level, he can keep one die that would have been lost for every 2 points of High pain Threshold.

Luck (3-12 Points): For every three points of Luck, the Hunter with may re-roll an unsuccessful rok during a session.

Meditation (3 Poinb): A Hunter with this Advantage may spend one hour in deep meditation, doing nothing else with no distractions, to gain back all of his Willpower Points.

Quick (5 Points): You're just faster than other folks. When determining Initiative (see Combat, below) roll two dice and keep the highest. Also add a die to any rolls that involve reaction time.

Street Smart (1 Point): Your Streetwise score is never penalized for being in a strange city.

Voice (2 Points): A Hunter with Voice has a +2 bonus to die pools involving speaking.

Wealth (1-5 Points): Some Hunters are richer than others. Sometimes, Hunters Inc.'s resources just aren't enough. Here's what purchasing Wealth can do for your income:

Wealth Rank
1: $50,000 a year
2 $100,000 a year
3: $200,000 a year
4: $500.000 a year
5. Spend without reflection

Disadvantages

Bad Health (4 Points): A Hunter with Bad Health has his Life Levels figured as if his Body was two Ranks lower. A hunter cannot take this disadvantage if his Body is less than three.

Bad Sight (2 Points): This Hunter must wear some sort of corrective lenses. If he does not, all rolls involving sight are made at -2.

Blind (5 Points): Your Hunter is blind. All dice pools that have rolls that involve sight are at -5.

Can't Lie (2 Points): A Hunter with this Disadvantage just can't tell a good lie. Whenever he tries, he fails; the party listening doesn't even need to make a roll.

Chemical Dependency (3 Points): This Hunter is addicted. He needs to feed his addiction on regular intervals or he loses a die on all rolls for every day (or so) he goes without feeding his habit.

Frail Mind (3 Points): Whenever you are the subject of a mental attack, Vampires (or other enemies) add 2 to their Pools.

Hero Complex (5 Points): Hunters with this Disadvantage must make a Willpower check (TN-20) when confronted with a dangerous situation or charge in blindly.

Lame (3 Points): This Hunter has a bum leg. All Agility pools are at -2.

Low Pain Threahold (3 Pointa): Whenever you get wounded, add an additional "-1" to your Wound Penalty.

Outlaw (3 Points): There's a warrant out for your arrest. Keep your head down!

Permanent Wound (3 Points): You begin the game with a wound that has never properly healed. In game terms, this mean you always begin the game at the "-1" Wound Level (see Getting Hurt, below).

Phobia (1-5 Points): This is a very dangerous Disadvantage. Vampires can get a hold of your Fear and use it against you quite easily. Every time you encounter your Fear, you must make a Willpower check at 10 times the Rank of your Fear. If you fail, all rolls you make lose dice equal to your Fear.

Unluck (3-9 Points): Any Hunter with Unluck will find himself the victim of the GM's whim. For every 3 Points the Hunter "invests" in Unluck, the GM may -- once per session -- command the re-roll of any roll the Hunter makes. A GM may not command a roll the Hunter has just re-rolled using the Luck Advantage.

Youth (3 Points): This Hunter is a snot nosed kid (right about the age of 9-13). He/she doesn't have a driver's license, can't get into bars, and has a maximum BODY of 2.

Wounds

The human body can only take so much damage. We want to know where you stand. Look for the Wounds section of yout Hunter Sheet. Multiply your BODY by 2 and enter that number in each of the Wound level boxes. You'll notice there are negative numbers next to each of the Wound levels. When you lose a number of Wounds equal to your BODY x 2 you will drop down one Wound Level and all of your Traits will suffer. You'll see how later.

Specifics

Now fill out the rest of the Hunter Sheet. Let us know your eye and hair color, your height and weight and all those other little details listed. After that, you're done. You'll get equipped and get sent out on your first Hunt. I'll be debriefing you when you get back. If you get back.

The Skill List

Here's a list of Skills to use in Hunters, Inc. Of course, you'll probably think of some we haven't, hut that's okay, go ahead and use them. All Special Skills are listed in italics with an asterisk (*).

Acrobatics: A Hunter with Acrobatics is able to perform above average acts of aerial dynamics. The Acrohatics Skill is added to a Hunrer's Agility whenever he tries to make a jump, fall or leap.

Archery: This is the skill of using bows, but not crossbows. If your Hunter wants to fire a crossbow, have him invest in Firearms, below.

Bureaucracy: A Hunter with Bureaucracy will be able to make sense of all the legal paperwork that the 20th century has deemed necessary to run civilization.

Climbing: A Hunter with this skill grew up with the nickname "Monkey." He's a professional climber and knows how to use all the equipment and gear.

Computer: (Quite simply, this skill details knowing how to use, abuse, and repair computers.

*Confidence: The fine art of creating a complicated lie. This is the grifter's gift. A Hunter with Confidence can talk her way into any place she needs to get. She can convince anyone of anything, make one-sided deals that sound like bargains and can sell snow to Eskimos -- at double the price.

Demolitions: Where to put the explosives, how much to put there and how to make a building fall this way and that is all covered by the Demolitions Skill.

Drive: Every Hunter over the age of 16 knows how to drive. Hunters with this Skill are professionals.

Dodge: Every Hunter knows how to get out the way (that's their Agility Trait). This Hunter knows how to do it without even thinking. Any Hunter who does not purchase at least Rank 0 in Dodge cannor make the Full Dodge Maneuver.

*Faith: Faith is one of those indefinable things that seems gifted to some Hunters and denied in others. In the Advanced Rules, this will be explained in more detail. For the Quickstatt Rules, a Hunter with Faith may resist any Vampire Trait used directly against them with their Faith Skill. They may also protect another with their Faith, if the target is in the immediate vicinity (that means within reach) of the Hunter with Faith. When a Vampire uses a Vampire Trait, the Faithful may call for a Faith Test as their action for the Turn. This is a Contested Roll against the Vampire's Rank. If the roll is successful, the Vampire uses the Dark Point it used to activate the Trait and is considered to be at one Rank lower for the rest of the night. If the Faithful fails the roll, he loses a point of his Faith Skill and may not use his Faith Skill for the rest of the Hunt.

Firearms: Know how to shoot a camera? Well, it's not quite the same thing, but close enough. If you ve got this skill, you don't take any penalties when you try to fire a gun.

First Aid: A Hunter with First Aid will be able to handle emergency care. They'll know how to treat wounds so they don't get worse on the way to the hospital.

*Gunman: A Hunter with the Gunman Skill is much more experienced with pistols and rifles than someone with Firearms. A Gunman may, with his Gunman Skill, "cover" any Hunter he can see (including himself). Whenever a Hunter is covered by the Gunman, he may use the Gunman's AGL + Gunman instead of their own Agility rating for being hit. For instance, a Gunman with a AGL of 3 and a Gunmen Rank of +2 is covering the Occultist while she's looking down a dark corridor. Suddenly, a Vampire jumps out of the shadows at Full Attack. The Occultist has a 2 in Agility, but since she's being covered by the Gunman, the Vampire must hit a DN of 25 "instead of the 10 that the vampire needed to hit the Occultist normally).

*Improvise: This is the "I can do that!" Skill. Othetwise known as "A-Team Science" or "McGyverism", Improvise allows the Specialist to be a true artist with the barest materials. Improvise can also be used in lieu of any Skill when the GM is checking your knowledge in a subject, because Hunters with Improvise seem to know a little bit about everything. Whenever the GM calls for a skill Check thar involves Mind, the Hunter may use his Improvise Skill in lieu of any other Skill (thus avoiding that Unskilled penalty).

Investigation: Knowing what to look for and where to look for it is just the beginning of Investigation. The rest is putting the clues one finds into a coherent pattern.

Language: Each point in Language is another language that the Hunter speaks fluently. A Hunter may learn as many different languages as he has points in Mind.

Law: This Hunter has a grasp of the ins and outs of the legal system. Very handy when the rest of the Team gets arrested for breaking and entering, arson and murder.

*Leadership: Whenever the entire Team must make a roll, such as a Stealth roll across a field or a Fear Roll against a Vampire, they may opt ro use the leader's Leadership Skill instead. For instance, a Team is trying to move silendy across a field. Everyone must make an Agility + Stealth Roll or they can make an Agility + (Leader's) Leadership roll. This does two things. First, it allows the Team to operate as a Team. Second, it makes all of them start to sweat when the Leader goes down.

Locksmith: The study of locks; not just how to make them, but how to get past one with the right tools.

Martial Arts: A Hunter with Martial Arts adds his MA Skill to his "to hit" pool during combat. This Skill can represenr actual martial arts training, boxing, or even experience in barroom brawling.

Mechanics: A Mechanic knows the super-arcane Skill of fixing things mechanical. He has the common sense that seems to elude man others when putting things together and taking them apart.

Medicine: While First Aid keeps Hunters from falling apart, Medicine puts them back together. A Hunter with medicine is skilled in all the disciplines of healing.

Melee: A Hunter with Melee undetstands thc use of hand-to-hand weapons. A Hunter who acquires at least a Rank 0 in Melee gains no penalty for using H-T-H weapons.

*Occult: Occult literally means "secret knowledge" and those with it know the secrets that many wish not to know. An Occultist has gathered hints about the nature of things. Because he has had such glimpses, he has many special abilities. Occultists can often "sense" a Vampire (within a hundred feet or so) using a Contested Roll against the Vampire's Level with his Psyche + Occult. If the roll is successful, he can sense a Vampire's presence. Occultists also automatically senses when a Vampire (within the same distance as above) uses a Dark Point. An Occultist often has an extensive library of resource material to draw from. Use of Occult sometimes leads to the use of Sorcery (and we'll cover that Skill in 30 days). The Occult Skill also represents knowledge of witchcraft, curses, and all that other ohscure esoteric sruff.

Pilot: Pilots learn how to fly planes, helicopters, ultra-lights, and other aero-vehicles.

Psychology: A Hunter who takes Psychology will be able to determine (with a few minutes of observation) the general state of mind of most individuals. This is a G~ntested Roll of Psyche vs. Psyche. If successful, the Psychologist will he able to make a diagnosis. If unsuccessful, the diagnosis may he impossible or just plain wrong (depending on the whim of the GM). Also, a Hunter with Psychology can break down the effects of Vampiric Fear. This is also a Contested Roll against the Vampire's Rank. Failure gains no effect. Only one Psychology roll per week may be attempted to negate a Hunter's Fear.

Savoir-Faire: This is the Skill of style and high society. Any Hunter with Savoir-Faire will always he Iressed well, will hold himself even better and will always have something witty to say. A successful Contested Roll of Savoir-Faire vs. a target's Empathy will gain a Hunter +2 in all furure rolls involving trust and confidence. If the roll fails, however, all future rolls are at -2.

Slight-of-Hand: The king of Slight-of-Hand is the legerdemain, that street artist who steals your dollars as you try to guess where the little ball went. Picking pockets, stealing watches, card tricks and pulling coins out of kids' ears is all Slight-of-Hand.

*Sorcery: While the Occultist dabbles in the Dark Arts, the Sorcerer's soul swims in them. He uses the same magics as the Vampires do to battle their terrific force. This Skill is not discussed in Part One, but will be fully detailed in Part Two.

Stealth: Being sneaky is a dirty job, and somebody's always better at it than you are. A Hunter with Stealth may always make a Simple Test against his last action to see if he did it without a sound. Simply being stealthy while walking down corridors and such is at the judgment of the GM (usually an Average or Hard roll).

Streetwise: Knowing where to walk and where not to, knowing where to get things, knowing how to get them: all of this is Streetwise. Streetwise Hunters grew up on the streets (or worked them as cops) and know all the right people to get all the wrong things done.

Survival: Everybody knows how to camp, but a Hunter with Survival knows how to live through three months of Minnesota blizzards with a parka, an Army surplus blanket and five wet matches.

More Hunters Inc.

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

Hunters Inc. Episode 2