Most people fear the dark and with good reason. Creatures stalk the night, hungry for the blood of the living. In the dim, morning light the bodies are found; a man torn limb from limb, or a young girl drained of blood. The townsfolk shudder and mumble about raising a hunting party to track down the “wolves” or “mountain lion” responsible for the killings. They quietly bury the bodies and then return to their homes, praying to god they will not be the next victims. But you know the truth. Vampires, lycanthropes and even more terrible things lurk on the edges of civilization waiting for their chance to devour the innocent. These things are not unstoppable. You’ve learned their secrets and now the hunters have become the hunted.
This focus is designed for Gothic Horror recursions with “classic” monsters such as werewolves and vampires. It can be re-skinned in a fantasy setting for most any type of monster. It could even be used as a “Big Game Hunter” in a standard physics recursion with a little work.
You must choose a “class” of monsters you hunt. The GM is the final arbiter on what a “class” of monsters includes. It should not be too narrow in focus. For example, Undead might include vampires, skeletons, zombies and other corporeal types of undead.
Tier 1: Vulnerabilities. You inflict 3 additional points of damage against the class of monster you hunt. Enabler.
Know Thy Enemy. You are trained in lore relating to the class of monster you hunt. Enabler.
Tier 2: Sense Ambush. You are never treated as surprised by an attack. Enabler.
Hunter: The difficulty of tracking, spotting or otherwise locating the class of monster you hunt is decreased by one step. You are also trained in stealth tasks. Enabler.
Tier 3: Expert Combatant. Choose one type of attack in which you are not already trained. You are trained in attacks using that type of weapon. Enabler.
Lightning Reflexes. You are trained in initiative. Enabler.
Tier 4: Crippling Blow (4 Might points). You land a crippling blow on the monster. This must be done in melee combat. Instead of doing damage you may cause it one of the following ills:
- The difficulty of any task it performs is modified by one step to its detriment for 1 minute.
- Its movement speed is halved for 10 minutes.
- It deals 2 fewer points of damage (minimum 1 point) for 1 minute.
- It can take no action for 1 round.
Tier 5: Hardened. You gain +3 to your Might pool and +1 to your Might edge. Enabler.
Raise the Villagers (4 Intellect points). You convince 5 villagers to join you in hunting down the beast. They count as a level 3 NPC and will accompany you for 1 hour. You may spend effort to add another group of NPCs or increase the duration by an additional hour. You must be in an urban area and it takes at least 10 minutes to raise a village mob. The GM may limit the number of villagers that come to your aid if it makes sense (it would be impossible to raise 20 people if only a dozen live in the hamlet), but should let you know in advance so you do not waste effort.
Tier 6: Monster Slayer. You inflict 3 additional points of damage against any monster you fight. This is in addition to Vulnerabilities, so you do an additional 6 points of damage to your chosen class of monsters.