Venue Introduction

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. City that never sleeps and all that horseshit. Enough beating around the bush. Take off your sleep masks and remove your earplugs. You lit that candle for a reason. You lit it to save your neighbor from that murderer breaking in. You lit it to hear her cry for help in the alleyway as that monster is trying to eat her. You lit your candle so your home didn’t fall to shit while riots and gang wars happened. YOU don’t sleep. I don’t sleep. Your cell doesn’t sleep. The Vigil doesn’t sleep. If we rest our eyes for even one night, then New York City will never wake up again. That is not a threat, this is the truth at the core of the Big Apple.”

-Rory O’Calleigh, Leader of Aeternum

This is your life now. You can make it your routine, but it will never be normal. Normal conversation at the bar just doesn’t sound right when you think that guy in the corner is an undead monster looking for his next prey. Cracking open a cold one with the boys just isn’t as enjoyable since you cannot compare the kid’s soccer game to your experience of taking a sledgehammer to a zombie’s head. Pillow talk with your significant other feels empty at times when you cannot tell your significant other how a werewolf almost ripped you in half. No, it isn’t normal anymore.

A silver lining, the Vigil is so much larger than just your social circle. You have hundreds of people to talk with your hunts about, your Conspiracy acquaintances don’t judge you based on the blood on your hands. Your cell has your back in ways you’d never thought possible. This is just more than what you hunt, it is about who you hunt with. Those that will help get things off your chest, face-huggers and personal issues alike. This group will allow you to go home and make your routine feel at least a touch more normal. It’s really up to you if you want to keep that life the same or face a new life with your Compact or Conspiracy and more importantly, your Cellmates.

Venue Themes

The Perpetual Onslaught: Adapt or Die

Finally. The hunt was brutal but we finally killed that cryptid. Now we have a chance to lick our wounds, recharge and head on the next hunt. Wait, we have a vampire sighting on Broadway and Kennedy and no one else is available. Time for the next hunt.

The battle never ends in New York City. Hunts will continue before you have a chance to recover. You might enter a hunt lacking in willpower still bloody from the last hunt while using more than half of your ammo clips. Maybe your cell can kill it quickly? Maybe a new tactic can be used before anyone gets hurt anymore. Those allies might be of use as well. Not every hunt can be solved with violence and might have to be solved another way.

Death is Everywhere

Gods, Raymond died too? Figured it would happen sooner or later with how injured he got on the past few hunts. Damn, wish he would have just asked for help, but that stubborn mule wouldn’t move or show how obviously he and his cell needed help. So, who is next to kick the bucket? I am thinking Carla is new to this and isn’t listening to anyone. Twenty bucks then?

The average hunter lives to be 35 and lucky to see old age. The average hunt will end with either a monster dead or a monster and a couple hunters six feet under. At first, hunters feel shock and horror as the comrades fall in battle, but after the tenth or eleventh dies? The numbness to death sets in. Maybe you joke about it, ignore it, or just say “O well”. It isn’t that hunters don’t care, they have just learned this is part of their life now. Does it still hurt? Absolutely.

It’s Not Just What You Know, It’s Who You Know

Sarah knows that vampires are weak to fire, werewolves to silver, fae to cold iron, and a plethora of other useful tidbits. Sadly her last hunt ended with her breaking her arm and spraining both ankles. All she had to do was not be a total bitch to everyone and act all high and mighty. Maybe another cell would be all she needed to finish half of her failed hunts. Now I have to clean up the mess. At least I am in good standing with several Conspiracies and Cells. Should be no problem.

Hunter cells have been able to hold their own on smaller hunts for centuries. Some unlucky Hunters will bite off more than they can chew. They will have all the knowledge but none of the support systems to be able to fight that Slasher that interacted with each of them. In this case, the allies, contacts, and retainers might make all the difference. That one piece of equipment from the occultist that made your tactic perfect or that one guy that was able to jump the underlings of that dread horror in the sewer makes the hunt go that much easier.

Moods & Inspirations

Movies/TV Shows

World War Z
Demon Slayer
Law and Order
Rumble in the Bronx

Music

What to Expect As a Player

Expect to die: This is a brutal game in a high mortality rate setting. You need to play smart to survive, and even that may not be enough. The STs will challenge you and it is ok to fail. Try to go out in a blaze of glory if you do have to go out though.
Gore: Hunter is a bloody game. Gore and detailed descriptions of what a room or person looks like are going to be commonplace. If you have problems with graphic imagery, please contact one of the Hunter ST’s.
Teamwork makes the dream work: Cells are going to be a focus of the game. It will be much harder on independent hunters one these hunts than for a cell. Everyone should do their best to have a 3-5 (or more if possible) person cell and to search out new hunters if they aren’t at the five person ideal target.