Hunter: The Vigil

Re: Wayland’s Smithy – A Hunter Conspiracy

Friedrich vom Berg — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 14:37:10 GMT

No Educated Person in the history of Western Civilization from 300 B.C. onward has believed that the world is flat. Not even Christians. This misconception stems from the latin word orbis that can mean circle or orb.

Other than that i like the stereotypes.

Re: Wayland’s Smithy – A Hunter Conspiracy

JezMiller — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 22:43:03 GMT

Here are a few of the Smithy's own stereotypes of other Hunter groups. I am practically falling alseep over my keyboard, so I'll finish this off tomorrow.

***

Ashwood Abbey

A testament to what can be achieved by centuries of inbreeding, their idea of entertainment is what the Darwin Awards were created for. Occasionally – very occasionally – their money and connections can make them marginally useful pawns, but keep them at arms length. They represent the kind of aristocratic amateurism that almost wrecked the Smithy during the Great War. Besides which, half the time they’ll be too high on drugs to remember that you’re supposed to be on the same side. Avoid them wherever possible.

Null Mysteriis

It’s a little ironic. They call themselves scientists, but they fly in the face of the cornerstone principle of the scientific method – that theoretical models should be adjusted to fit the observed facts, not the other way around. Just as fundamentalist Christians continue to insist that the world is (a) created in seven days and (b) flat, so Null Mysteriis cling to their ludicrous notions of vampirism and lycanthropy as diseases or genetic mutations, and ghosts as electrical phenomena of hallucinatory delusions.

We’ve conducted extensive tests on both Dr. Galt and captured vampires. The tests agree that there is no electrical activity in their brains. None. They think, they feel, they walk and talk, without any of the electrochemical processes which should make that possible. The theological implications are disturbing – they’re as close as we can come to verifiable proof that such a thing as a soul actually exists. The reductionists of Null Mysteriis would rather stick their heads in the sand and refuse to admit that those test results – reproducible, unambiguous, consistent test results – even exist. So much for their claim to be scientists.

Avoid them wherever possible. They have nothing of value to offer us.

Loyalists of Thule

We know that there are occult groups of various kinds operating out there. Some of them may have connections to Himmler’s discredited programme of occult research, but if so, they’re understandably keeping very quiet about it. The Smithy sanctions, even encourages, contacts with other occult scholars, provided that our own classified material isn’t compromised in the process.

Network Zero

“In war, truth is so precious that she should always be surrounded by a bodyguard of lies”. Churchill was right about that. If these irresponsible idiots ever actually succeeded in their half-witted plan to open the supernatural up to public scrutiny, they’d cause a panic that would make the global financial meltdown look like a vicarage tea party. Fortunately, they’re too inept and implausible to succeed, but all the same, it doesn’t hurt to keep an eye on them.

The Long Night

From the little we’ve been able to find out about them, they’re an offshoot of the American militia movement… with all that implies. Be grateful that the Atlantic ocean is between us and these lunatics.

Malleus Maleficarum

“Kill them all. God will know his own”. It seems that the Roman Catholic Church hasn’t learned a lot – or repented of a lot – since it was crusading against the Cathars. They haven’t killed all of us, but there’s little doubt that they would if they could. Seven of our agents have been murdered by this organization in the past two decades alone. It seems that our use of necromantic magic – particularly magic derived from n ancient pagan religion, that of Mesopotamia – offends their delicate sensibilities

Avoid confronting them yourselves wherever possible. An anonymous tip-off to the police is the best way of dealing with the heirs of Torquemada.

Task Force: VALKYRIE

Their outlook is almost entirely materialistic, which means that they can’t truly understand what they’re facing, let along exploit it. Their over-reliance of technology is a weak spot – the fruits of science are of questionable value against creatures that obey no known scientific laws.

They lack finesse – the American military mindset just doesn’t seem to grasp the idea that one aimed bullet is worth a hundred fired randomly – but their relatively vast resources mean that they can often manage to “solve” a problem without either understanding or finesse… for a given definition of the word “solve”. They can afford to just keep piling in with more and more assets until their target is either overwhelmed through sheer force of numbers or simply becomes bored and frustrated enough to concede the field to them. Or else they just hurl half a ton of hot lead in its general direction. Unfortunately, they can sometimes be careless about making sure that we are not also standing in that same general direction before pulling the trigger, which makes alliances with them somewhat problematic. In one notorious incident, Dr. Galt was accidentally blown apart by Tf: Valkyrie grenades while on a mission to Eastern Europe in 2005. His suit was completely ruined.

In the spirit of Anglo-American co-operation, we share information with them on a limited basis, but we prefer to keep joint operations to an absolute minimum. Their preferred modus operandi is seldom compatible with ours. And we really don’t want trigger-happy Americans running around London carrying high-tech artillery. This isn’t the Wild West, for heavens’ sake.

Re: Wayland’s Smithy – A Hunter Conspiracy

NewBoy657 — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 02:48:56 GMT

No, that is plenty.
Thanks.

Re: Wayland’s Smithy – A Hunter Conspiracy

Friedrich vom Berg — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 10:52:23 GMT

Help yourself.
Chruch groups like MM or the Long Night are most likely to see them as witches or worse, so there won't be a lot of cooperation on that front. The NM-Scientist will most likely see them as straying from the right path, employing scientific method but believing in something as silly as Ghosts. Taskforce Valkyrie possibly won't have any interest in dealing with them. They are British and strange and the Taskforce has enough Problems as it is. The Union won't have any contact points with them. The Abbey could have soaked up some of their former members, but i see no points of mutual interest.
The Cheiron Group and KD might be interested in snatching up some of their tech, Lucifuge will most likely have no connection.
Have i forgotten anyone?

Re: Wayland’s Smithy – A Hunter Conspiracy

NewBoy657 — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 08:14:27 GMT

Um..Not to be a pain but where are the seterotypse?

In my chronicle the "management" of other organizations don't (proir to the players) know about other conspiracies unless they have a sterotype about them...
heheheh Luifuge meet TF:V...go BOOM! heheheheh

Sorry. I have silly players. They rub off on you.

Re: Wayland’s Smithy – A Hunter Conspiracy

Friedrich vom Berg — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 12:26:56 GMT

JezMiller:
In its original incarnation, the Smithy was surrounded by death and destruction on such a scale that supernatural evils like necromancy seemed like lesser sins to them. I liked the idea that true evil comes from humanity and the the shadow world, for all its affectations, is never more than a pale reflection of that. The Smithy are far gone, as you say, but not because of the monsters drove them to it. Their fellow human beings did.

Of course. But i also think that this 'true evil'-thing is anyways the best and maybe meanest trap in Hunter. The Moment when the players realize that they may be far worse than the things they pretend to hunt for the good of humanity.
But i also think the necromancy bears mentioning because if it is interpreted as using the beloved dead of others, this would at least strain the realtions with MM and the Long Night. Hunters who believe in an afterlife mind also not be thrilled.
That is not a bad thing, merely the uniquely wrong thing for wayland's.

JezMiller:
Shhhhh. Don't mention the war!

Pssst. Which one?! ;)

Re: Wayland’s Smithy – A Hunter Conspiracy

JezMiller — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 21:40:46 GMT

Friedrich vom Berg:
But there is also the fact that necromancy has possibly the worst of reputations. As science or magic goes, it is the domain of the evil

Friedrich vom Berg:
But it also tells something about the people of the Smithy. They are so far gone in their quest to fight the good fight, that they possibly won't mind to go another step (and another, and another). The road to hell and all this.

In its original incarnation, the Smithy was surrounded by death and destruction on such a scale that supernatural evils like necromancy seemed like lesser sins to them. I liked the idea that true evil comes from humanity and the the shadow world, for all its affectations, is never more than a pale reflection of that. The Smithy are far gone, as you say, but not because of the monsters drove them to it. Their fellow human beings did.

Friedrich vom Berg:
As a last note i would like to say, that i never intended to imply that i thought the whole conspiracy was lacking proper... whatever. I just think that with the proper highlights on the possible snares and traps, it is much easier to use and adapt for other STs.

I think it's a lot better for the feedback it's got here. I was surprised and pleased at how much there was. And at least if something gets critiqued, it means that someone's interested enough to think about it!

Friedrich vom Berg:
I would have felt cheated. It is no fun shooting british who are already dead. ;)

Shhhhh. Don't mention the war!

Re: Wayland’s Smithy – A Hunter Conspiracy

Friedrich vom Berg — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 22:41:20 GMT

DavidT:

Yeah I am not in on your game, but that is scary if you think about it. You let a member of your cell torture a innocent priest who had nothing to do with the disappearing kids. Only you spoke him out and he ran.

No. The character decide that the potential gain outstripped the uncertainty. Parallels to this are present everywhere. Be it the torture scandals of Abu Ghuraib, the habeas corpus issues of 'illegal combatants', the decision of a german Chief of police to threaten pain if the kidnapper would not reveal the location of the missing child or the police man who leaves his partner alone with the suspect because he 'knows' that the guy is guilty.
I think this is also an overall theme of Hunter. After all you kill, in no small measure, people for what they are. Hunters are also not responsible to any institution or any law, because their 'war' is largely clandestine and secret in nature.
About the Darkness Part.
I tend to see the WoD a lot darker than you. The existence of malvolent spirits, vampires, pandorians, prometheans, hunters, werewolves and True Fae alone makes the world a lot more dangerous. Along with the weakening of longheld convictions and weakening of law and order (the WoD seems to be a lot less orderly and a lot less law abiding than the real world) leads to a lot of areas where a man's concience is the only thing to enforce doing the 'right' thing. And a man only beholden to his conscience is indeed a terrible thing.

About the rationalization of necromancy:
Of course you can always cited the 'higher good'.
But there is also the fact that necromancy has possibly the worst of reputations. As science or magic goes, it is the domain of the evil overlord who wants to rape the queen and burn the kingdom. Along with other facts this means that anybody exposed to this kind of things will hold a quite negatice look of the instigators and will probably not stop to ask question (this, though, will not make it any harder to run a Waylandian hunter in a group than say a Cheiron operative or a reformed vampire).
But it also tells something about the people of the Smithy. They are so far gone in their quest to fight the good fight, that they possibly won't mind to go another step (and another, and another). The road to hell and all this.
As for my personal outlook:
I would have felt cheated. It is no fun shooting british who are already dead. ;)

As a last note i would like to say, that i never intended to imply that i thought the whole conspiracy was lacking proper... whatever. I just think that with the proper highlights on the possible snares and traps, it is much easier to use and adapt for other STs.

Re: Wayland’s Smithy – A Hunter Conspiracy

JezMiller — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 18:11:21 GMT

No6:
Galt might be a little more fun if he were a purified from Immortals. Fits quite well with the emphasis on spirits I think.

I created the Smithy some time before Immortals came out. Galt is, in fact, fairly similar to a Purified in some respects, and could be turned into one without any real difficulty. I kept him as a zombie/revenant because I thought that fit better with the overall necromantic theme of the Smithy's researches - Galt isn't alive, he is very deffinitely undead, albeit a very robust one.

In the PbEM that the Smithy was created for, Galt has another similarity to an embodied Wraith in that he's only going to be around until he's accomplished the job that fate or destiny has marked him out for - like a Wraith resolving the issue(s) that tie him to the world. So that was another reason for not making him a Purified - they're a lot more eternal that Galt was created to be. But for anyone who wants to use the Smithy, or elements of it, in their own games, that's not an issue, of course.

No6:
Also, do you have Shadows of the UK

Ohhhh, yes. I have a bookshelf full of everything they've printed for nWoD, and a hard drive full of everything in their pdf line. And yes, there was some really great stuff in that book. Wood made the London Kindred NPCs he created for it available on the web a while back (I think they're still on the Shadowessence board alongside Roma Naim's rather stunning London sourcebook for the Requiem line),, and they get more mention in Night Stalkers (and Ancient Mysteries and the Mekhet clanbook, if you also collect Requiem)

Re: Wayland’s Smithy – A Hunter Conspiracy

No6 — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 22:15:19 GMT

Just wanted to pop in and say good work! This is great stuff, love the tone and mood. Couple of things:

Galt might be a little more fun if he were a purified from Immortals. Fits quite well with the emphasis on spirits I think.

Also, do you have Shadows of the UK? It's got some great material in it that would fit beautifully here. It's a bit Werewolf-centric, but because of this has a focus on the British shadow (or the Other, as it's known over here), that seems apt. The first chapter comprises a general overview of the kinds of things that go 'bump' in the British night without that much werewolfish-ness and in my opinion is probably worth the price of the book alone. The section on homegrown spirits is inspiring.

Anyway, keep up the good work. Really, good stuff.

Re: Wayland’s Smithy – A Hunter Conspiracy

DavidT — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 03:16:13 GMT

Course the flip side of this is that the priest could had been a normal priest that is generally good. Not a saint, but could be a morality 8 man of god. Maybe he was threaten, or had people he cares about being threaten. Then again he might had known nothing at all. Which begs the question of who is the bad guy here?

Yeah I am not in on your game, but that is scary if you think about it. You let a member of your cell torture a innocent priest who had nothing to do with the disappearing kids. Only you spoke him out and he ran.

Re: Wayland’s Smithy – A Hunter Conspiracy

Octavian_5 — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:11:34 GMT

Danke. I'm happy that I could be such a help. I also really, really like the Dumuzi Blade. The whole Fetter bit is a very nice touch!

Also, DavidT, that's not a sorry excuse, if I may delve into that can of worms once more. I'd like to relate a story to you about a Hunter game I was STing.

The intrepid Cell that were the protagonists of the chronicle had followed a lead into the disappearances of local children. They found a priest who "might've known something". The Cell asks him a few well-concealed questions about the abductions, until a dramatic failure made the priest start running. One of the characters tackled him, KO'd him, loaded him into the Cell's van, and took him to their collective safehouse.

Lacking the Torture Suite Merit, the Hunter who had tackled the priest improvised. He dunked his head in the toilet while screaming questions at him. Everyone: characters, players, and myself, were appaled. The player's OOC rationale?

"Guys, this is the WoD. If he's not a child molestor, he's a cultist. Guaranted."

Re: Wayland’s Smithy – A Hunter Conspiracy

JezMiller — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:27:12 GMT

DavidT:
To get back at topic... It sounds all bloody good to me man. Keep it up and forget the naysayers. They only complicate things to the point it only fits their image instead of yours.

Thanks! I'm glad you like it, but like Grand Admiral Thrawn, I have no problem with using a good idea just because it doesn't happen to be my own. Octavian's point about the Endowments lacking a consistent theme really hit home with me, for instance. Making the Smithy more reliant on Wraiths and Wraith-related artifacts gives them a much clearer, better defined style and tone.

Re: Wayland’s Smithy – A Hunter Conspiracy

JezMiller — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:07:08 GMT

Friedrich vom Berg:
Would be a little strange if a group which started with a large scale desecration of corpses (for whatever reasons) would be the only one to hold the torch of truest purpose and highest morale.

No. And they don't. But they aren't unambiguous bad guys, either. If you'd been a WWI soldier facing the prospect of going over the top, wouldn't you rather send an animated corpse to face the German guns in your place? And wouldn't your family prefer that your life be spared in favour of someone who was already dead? (And the same argument applies to conflicts which are happening right now, but I'm not very comfortable with the idea of using the real tragedies of real familes alive today to frame a theoretical argument in an RPG). Wayland's Smithy would no doubt argue that their zombie research was ethically equivalent to a transplant surgeon using a donated heart - exploiting the bodies of the dead to save the living. And you could argue that's a valid point of view, except that they've allowed themselves to apply the same argument to enslaving Wraiths, many of whom are thinking, sentient beings. If you were after a theme for Wayland's Smithy, it would probably be "How far does the end justify the means?"

Re: Wayland’s Smithy – A Hunter Conspiracy

JezMiller — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:49:24 GMT

Octavian_5:
A monocle? Jolly good! Might I also reccommend a more...offensive Endowment: a sword cane with some type of violent spirit attached to it. Sword canes (and variants including cane-guns) were very popular during the Victorian Era. Obviously, only men would use canes, so women sometimes carried Derringers in their muffs (those fur-tube things), hence the classification of "muff-pistol", a small, usually single-or-double-shot pistol used by women.

As for the sword cane, perhaps the spirit bound to it does extra damage (or something), but it's like eating Pringles. Once you start killing with this sword, it's just so. Hard. To. Stop.

I like that idea. How about this as another variant?

Dumuzi Blade - Level Five Endowment

The Dumuzi Blade was created using ancient Babylonian magic, a curious variant of the Ishtar cycle discovered by Wayland's Smithy in a forgotten Mesopotamian tomb in the aftermath of the Second World War.

The ritual can be cast on any blade of sufficient size - which in practice is about the length of a man's forearm or longer - although the Smithy's preferred choice for the weapons is a Victorian sword cane.

By spending a willpower point, the wielder can cause the weapon to inflict aggravated, rather than lethal, damage, on supernatural beings, but that is an almost accidental side benefit. The real power of the Dumuzi blade is that anyone it kills automatically becomes a Wraith - and the blade acts as a Fetter for the last three people it has killed (so killing a fourth person releases the first, and so on).

The wielder can use the blade to draw on any mental skills and any knowledge or memories of any of the Wraiths presently bound to it, but only as long as he holds the blade. In some cases, Smithy members have been able to draw on Physical and Social skills as well, but it's rather difficullt to use Empathy or Socialize on someone when you're waving a sword at them, so the Smithy has tended to dismiss those occasions as curious but impractical flukes.

Particularly strong-willed Wraiths (Willpower 8+), get to resist having their consciousness tapped by rolling Willpower against the wielder's Intelligence + Investigation. Otherwise the wielder is assumed to be automatically successful... but at a price. The enchantment demands and takes a piece of the user, and those who use the blades to exploit the trapped wraiths often find themselves convulsed with pain, bringing up blood in wracking coughs or finding themselves rendered helpless by muscle spasms as their skin turns grey and deathy-looking and their hair goes prematurely grey.

In game terms, the wielder may gain up to five points of Mental Skills which the Wraith has at a higher level than he does for a single scene, but he takes a point of bashing damage for each one. He may also choose instead to experience complete scenes from the Wraith's memories of its mortal existence, again at the cost of a point of bashing damage per scene. The Smithy most often uses the blades to interrogate enemies who are too dangerous to let live but too knowledgeable to merely destroy.