What is Hunter:the Vigil?
Hunter:the Vigil is a roleplaying game set in White Wolf's reboot of the World of Darkness(nWoD). In it you play (mostly)normal people as they attempt to fight off or investigate hostile supernatural forces.
Well that seems cool, but what's Project FORT?
Project FORT is a division of Task Force:Valkyrie, a Conspiracy of hunters that exists as a top secret United States government agency dedicated to hunting down and covering up all traces of the unexplainable.
Yes, so what does Project FORT do?
By and large, FORT hunts what they call EEs (pronounced as its spelled: ee-ee’s):extra dimensional entities That's any being that comes to this world from another plane of existence: ghosts, demons, fairies, aliens, psychic mandalas, hyper-intelligent parasites, and the like. This has its effect on the hunters of this department. It's a department of fringe-dwellers and oddballs: urban shamans, former(?) cult leaders, abductees, conspiracy junkies, and the downright insane. They don’t follow protocol very well, and as a result, the conspiracy is reluctant to make use of them (often shuttling them off to various dead zones—zones which often become hot as soon as the FORT hunters start messing around).
Well, what do I need to play?
The WoD Core and Hunter:the Vigil. If you don't have either of those you can use the
Hunter Quickstart Rules.
Our Intrepid Cast:
Hank Walker, Convict living at Valkyrie's whim.
(Horseshoe)
Dan Sandler, Gumshoe who's seen too much.
(cheeseliker)
Casimir Kenton, Programmer and asylum escapee.
(jdarksun)
SGT Zak Motley, Former Army Ranger.
(samurai6966)
Eleanor Richards, Reporter, In the Know.
(cj iwakura)
Vic, Smirking Shadow
(MoosehatIV)
Posts
The Area:A small town somewhere in New Mexico
Your Base of Operations:Won't look like a base. At all. Argue amongst yourselves as to what the building looks like and what purpose it served before the Cell claimed it.
Your boss:Some dude called Kenalm.
Motivations(Replacement for Virtues and Vices): During character creation, instead of choosing a single Virtue and a single Vice, each character will instead choose three Motivations, these will serve as the drive that . Quality Motivations should be building blocks of characters that serve as insight to his story.
Regaining Willpower with Motivations:
Extraordinary Mortals:
Extraordinary mortals follow the standard character creation rules, for the most part. The only difference is that Step Five of the process is Select Skill Tricks. Choose three Skills for the character that define how that character is exceptional, and then choose one Skill Trick for each of these Skills. You may choose the same Skill multiple times and wind up with two or even three Tricks in the same Skill, if you wish, or you can spread them out and make a more well-rounded character.
Skill Tricks have one of five general game effects:
Examples:Always Armed, Cripple, Multiple Strikes
• Extra Talent: Under certain circumstances, the player can add two Attributes to a given Skill roll, or add
the character's dots in the relevant Skill to another roll (this is a variation on the Extra Talent rule, found on p. 135 of the World of Darkness Rulebook).
Examples:Mental Healing, Expert Driver, Perfect Physique
• Penalty:The character's Skill dots act as a penalty on certain types of rolls that others make against him.
Examples:No Web Presence, Applied Science, Security Assessment
• Story Advancement:Use of the Skill Trick grants the character access to information or an advantage that
he didn't have before. This is the most common and probably most interesting use of Skill Tricks, but it also relies more on narrative than on game systems. Often, the effect of these Skill Tricks just happens, which means the Storyteller must provide a way for this effect to become useful in the story. This might require the Storyteller to deviate from his plan of events just a bit, which is what usually happens when players get involved anyway.
Examples:Wearing Weapons, Myth Expert, Car Facts
• Time Saver: The Trick allows a character to bypass an obstacle, be it a literal barrier (All Doors Open), a troubling situation (Fight Dissection), or a period of waiting (Master of Red Tape). Sometimes such Tricks reduce the amount of time needed for rolls in extended action.
Examples:Homemade Tools, Expert Trainer, Free Run
Skill Tricks do not cost Willpower, and are not usually subject to dice rolls by themselves (Combat Tricks are the most common exception). They simply work. Put simply, the Skill Trick is just what that character does. Characters can use Skill Tricks as often as they wish, with one exception. The Storyteller can rule that a Skill Trick doesn't work, or doesn't work automatically. This should only happen when the Storyteller is using a Skill Trick to highlight a plot point.
All members of Project Fort have a Specialty in Occult(EEs). If you don't have any dots in Occult you'll have the specialty the second you gain one.
Egos rubs his chin in interest
*Begins to brainstorm a character*
Concept reads a bit Lone Guneman-esque upon second reading. Meaning not full-blown comedic, but somewhat comedic or with comedic elements.
The role of Hank will be played by Ron Perlman.
http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=197733
edit: shoot, i just used standard rules, i think... if the ST is interested I'll adjust later. anyway, this is essentially a character that's been in two paranormal game situations (one of them was a Hunter game) and both of them didn't get that far, sadly. so, going for it again with expanded backstory.
Motivations:
Wrath - Remember the "violent sociopath" bit? Hank has no problem with using violence as a tool to get things done. In fact, deep down in the primal part of his brain, he likes it. This is one of the parts of his psych profile that Valkyrie hopes to exploit. He's a cold-blooded killer (something that many of their agents are not), one who will inflict his innate wrath upon natural and supernatural alike. Hank has done some things in his life that would shock your average person. To him... the violence and ugliness of the world is just life. And when things get beyond his version of "just life", he can react with quick and painful wrath.
Duty - When you lack the same sense of morality of others, you have to have something to govern your behavior. To Hank, it's doing the job, whatever it is. He's worked for various gangsters and criminal syndicates during his career at low levels, and was usually known as something to "the big guy who gets stuff done". This is another reason Valkyrie sees him as useful: if he thinks of them as just another job (and he's done worse stuff for money than go after EE's), and he'll carry it out well. Though he has problems with authority, he will willingly work with the people telling him what to do so long as he's given a certain amount of respect.
Skill Tricks
Combat: Cold Blooded Killer - Hank's penchant for wrath gives him an edge, with fists, pistols, and weapons. He keeps his cool under pressure, and his composure allows him to be precise and effective in situations where others would panic. Hank gets to keep his Defense when he is making an All-Out Attack.
Extra Talent / Penalty: Tough As Hell - They say it's hard to keep a good man down. They forget how much harder it can be to keep a bad man down. Hank can take a beating. A beating that would kill or cripple a normal person? That doesn't set him back much. After all, he's spent a good deal of his life being stabbed, shot, beaten, and otherwise physically damaged. Any time Hank takes enough damage to kill him, he may a point of Willpower and his last box of damage changes to Bashing.
Story Advancement: Criminal Instinct - When things go bad, as they often do, Hank has usually avoided capture with his instincts. Where to run, where to hide, best place for an ambush, avoiding detection, outsmarting the cops, etc etc. With the jobs that Hank has had in the past, you don't survive long without a strong sense of danger and the ability to improvise yourself out of it when the sh*t hits the fan.
Backstory (warning: long)
The Crown Vicky rumbled out of the warehouse near San Pedro, down a few sidestreets, and on to the Harbor Freeway.
The thud came from the fist of a black-suited man in sunglasses on the other side. As Hank got his bearings, he could see he was still shackled and in his orange jumpsuit.
Amateurs.
Would a reporter type fit in? :P
And just wanted to let you know Erich Zahn that I'll be able to post (I'm assuming it's a pbp) pretty much every day except Saturdays. I work in the morning and game with my tabletop group until late afterwords. So just wanted to let you know up front because I assume that will be the day when most everybody else will be able to post the most. So if you decide not to pick me to be in the game I understand.
http://sheetgen.dalines.net/sheet/2925
Age: 24(now), Height: ~5'7"
Brown hair(ponytail), brown eyes(bespectacled)
The economy rental car was put into park outside of the facility; or what she'd been told was one.
Looked just as run-down and decrepit as the rest of the area.
Far cry from the city, but she supposed she was lucky to still have a job after the mess that went down there.
Eleanor exited the vehicle and headed towards the building with a satchel slung over an arm. Its contents consisted of little more than a camera, assorted writing implements, and a specialized item or two.
She was told to travel light. Didn't mean she wasn't going to come prepared.
Motivation: The Truth
(if that works)
Skill Tricks:
•Encoded Message(Story Advancement):Through symbolism, cleverly disguised lettering, and knowledge of his audience, the character can embed a message within a written or artistic work. Whether it’s a hidden message in a song or an apparently boring essay that comes to life when one reads between the lines, the character can communicate a very specific set of instructions or facts without giving away his true intent. Interpreting the message correctly, of course, is up to the viewer(and this should involve an Intelligence + Wits roll).
•Master Negotiator(Time Saver):When Cutting a Deal (p. 82 of the World of Darkness Rulebook), the character always seems to know the right words to use, the right buttons to push, and the right figures to cite (correct or not) to ensure she gets the better end of the agreement. Subtract the character’s Persuasion rating from the target number of successes for the deal. If this result in a negative number, the character automatically wins the action with any rolls being required.
Backstory
(Old)
I've been watching the building for almost an hour now. Doesn't help any that the editor expects the write-up on his desk by 5:00 AM. It's almost ten at night, I bet the corpses are still warm, and I don't even have access to the crime scene.
The officer on duty looks like he's fresh from the academy. Wouldn't answer any questions; dick. Robbie says he'll get some better credentials within the hour, but with my luck, the meat wagon'll cart away the best evidence by then.
He's got ten minutes. In fifteen, I'll get what I need one way or another.
Eleanor, or Ellen as only the boldest of acquaintances might call her, went straight from graduation into her calling: written media. Her exposé on the corruption in the student council got the attention of one of the higher-ups from the AP, and a few good words got her an early internship. Within months she graduated to a small column on local affairs, and it wasn't long after that she was elevated to investigative reporting.
Eleanor's write-ups commonly make the front page of the local section; when they consist of what people want to know. Those are the articles that pay the bills.
The real focus of her efforts are lucky to receive a paragraph or two buried behind the obituaries. The more she tries to dig into the darker dealings of the city, the less her boss(or his boss, or his boss' boss) pays it any mind.
The lack of appreciation makes no difference. She just works all the harder to report on incidents that can't be ignored.
If the occasional piece on local fashion contributes to that task, it's a necessary evil.
Are the motivations open to anything, or are we using the Vice/Virtue lists?
I wanted to find a nifty picture, but none I could find matched my mental image of her.
(Brawl)Cold-Blooded:You get to keep your Defense when you're making an All-Out Attack.
EDIT:(Athletics)Tough As Hell:Any time you take enough damage to kill you, spend a point of Willpower and your last box of damage changes to Bashing.
Background:
Army Ranger Sgt Zak Motley looked very unconformable in his dress greens. "Yes, Sir."
The Prosecutor smiled. "Good. Now tell us what happen on the night of April 23, 2009. And please, don't leave anything out."
Sgt Motley gave the prosecutor an evil eye. "Yes, Sir."
"I was assigned to the 721th Platoon..."
"The 721th is also known as "The Daredevils", right? The wildest adrenaline junkies the Army recruits?"
Motley grinned. "Yes, Sir. We are the the ones who take the biggest risk and get the best results. 'Live Wild, Die Fighting.' We were under the command of Lt. Greene. I was in charge of the Charlie Squad. Our mission that day was to find WMDs in a industrial area of Baghdad. We started late due to a sand storm and we were suppose to be back to base at 3pm. But local traffic that day slowed us down. It also allowed our targets to be tipped off. Once we got there we find two buildings, one used to store their vehicles, the other was their sleeping quarters and were they kept their weapons. By the time we got there, it was almost dark. We decided that traveling back to base at night was too dangerous. We didn't have any NVGs and driving would leave us in the open to attacks. So we put our vehicles into one building and bunked down for the night. We would sleep in shifts. 2 men watch, everyone else sleep. I woke up in the middle of the night, 30 minutes after I should have started my shift but no one had come to wake me. So I started looking around. The others were gone. Then I found Lt. Greene. He was covered in blood. I asked him what happen but he kept saying something about being hungry. Then he jumped me. I was able to get my knife out during the fight and I stabbed him. The next day, another unit came out to find us. They found everyone else in a backroom. They had been eaten. Some down to the bone. And I was arrested and brought back to base."
"From what the report says here, the other where found with knife wounds, cut throats, stabbed in the heart. And each death was linked to the same knife you killed Lt. Greene with. You know you are under oath right now. By lying to us, you are breaking the UCMJ. Now, tell us the truth..."
Sgt. Motley looked down. "That was the truth."
Motivations:
Challenge- The Daredevils were all about the challenge. They took the missions that no one wanted. They took risk that no sane person would do. They would try to do what everyone else called impossible. Motley was no exception. He was always first to make a bet, and normally the one who won it. To him, once the action happens, it becomes a game. How many can he kill? Can he be the one to push forward the most? Can he get to the target first? This mentality got the Daredevils a lot of praise but also a lot of trouble.
Patriotism- Motley joined the military like his father and grandfather before him. He's German family came to America during WWII and love for America has been part of his life. Even after he was called insane and removed from service, Motley felt that what he saw was real and a threat to his country. So when Task Force:Valkyrie came to him and said that what he saw was real and that he wasn't crazy. And that they were a threat to his country, Motley couldn't say no.
Skill Tricks
You don't need Resources all that much, and the first dot of a Merit only costs 2xp, so yeah.
I don't need your sheets done to do the prologue.
Old Hunter (Hunter: the Reckoning) which the video game was based on is much different then new Hunter (Hunter: the Vigil). In H:tR you played mystically chosen mortals who were given the mandate by whatever empowered them to fight the forces of darkness. In H:tV you're just a regular Joe (usually) who was in the wrong place at the wrong time and had a brush with something horrific. Instead of being like a normal person and trying to rationalize it away, you decide to grab whatever weapon is nearby and do what you can to fight back against the darkness.
I never actually owned the books for H:tR, but from what I've heard they weren't that great. I do own most of the H:tV books though and they are very good.
Of course you have Project Valkyrie who are the ultimate bad asses.
Now the problem is I have two ideas for a character, a slightly educated and huge biker dude, or a private detective whose seen too much to continue living a normal life.
Hmmm
Dan Sandler
Background:
Wasn't unusual. Young 16-year-old missing. Where others had failed, he'd succeeded. He found her, with a vampire. He saw him drink her blood and suck her dry, and did nothing to help her. He was too scared, too shaken. The vampire found him, attacked. He got a lucky shot off with his gun and ran.
That's when everything went down hill. He dropped the case and never told her parents what he knew. He started drinking more, going to bars more often, staying away from his family. He couldn't face them, not after what he did, or rather, what he had not done. He drifted away from them and it wasn't long until there was a divorce. She took the kids, everything.
His life was going down hill, but then he was contacted. By a strange company. Somehow, they had found out what had happened, and they could use him. He had nothing else, so why not?
Also, my suggestion for our home base is a bar.
E: Editted my skill tricks and took away specialties.
Also, EZ.
Does Hank really need a prologue?
I sorta tried my best with his backstory and motivations to give him sufficient past to indicate the kind of guy he was, the reason that he's working for Valkyrie, and how he's a somewhat different dude with similar tendencies.
@cj, Motivations can be whatever you want. Just aim for something that you can do once every story.
@Samurai:Skill Tricks are in WoD:Mirrors along with Motivations.
Skill Tricks:
•Encoded Message(Story Advancement):Through symbolism, cleverly disguised lettering, and knowledge of his audience, the character can embed a message within a written or artistic work. Whether it’s a hidden message in a song or an apparently boring essay that comes to life when one reads between the lines, the character can communicate a very specific set of instructions or facts without giving away his true intent. Interpreting the message correctly, of course, is up to the viewer(and this should involve an Intelligence + Wits roll).
•Master Negotiator(Time Saver):When Cutting a Deal (p. 82 of the World of Darkness Rulebook), the character always seems to know the right words to use, the right buttons to push, and the right figures to cite (correct or not) to ensure she gets the better end of the agreement. Subtract the character’s Persuasion rating from the target number of successes for the deal. If this result in a negative number, the character automatically wins the action with any rolls being required.
Ellie's prologue was basically posted earlier, unless something more thorough is needed.