This FAQ is not an official work by White Wolf Games Studios. I don't work for White Wolf, this document isn't endorsed by them, and it's highly unlikely that they will acknowledge this document's existence. The material herein is a collective work by many of the people who post or used to post on White Wolf's Hunter Forum. While I may have reworded questions and or answers for clarity or to fit the tone of the FAQ, I cannot claim to have created all of the material here. I can't even claim to have created this disclaimer, as it's just a slight rewording of the one at the top of the Werewolf Forum FAQ.
Special thanks go out to the members of the forum that have helped to come up with answers: archaeus, Crusader119, Horatio888, No_One_of_Importance.
02/19/2004: The Video Game.
02/16/2004: Must have books, second sight, monster imbuings, Hermits and Waywards, First Imbuings, Hunter-net, and White-Wolf's Hunter-net login questions answered.
02/12/2004: The FAQ begins.
Question: Why is Archeus always laughing?
Answer: There seems to be quite a difference of opinion on the subject. No_One_of_Importance believes Archeus to be the Joker in disquise. Crusader119 thinks it's "Because it's all so freaking hysterical". But perhaps the best answer comes from Archeus himself: "I'm really just a cheery guy, lol".
Question: How do I login to White-Wolf's Hunter-net page?
Answer: Login: anon52. Password: messenger.
Question: Hey, I have a question about Hunter: The Reckoning for the Playstation 2 or XBox.
Answer:
Dear Sir or Madam:
Welcome to the White Wolf Forums. Unfortunately, I'm afraid that most of us can not help you with your problem. To begin with, this forum is dedicated to the White Wolf table top pen-and-paper role playing game version of Hunter: the Reckoning. In other words, it’s devoted to the actual game that inspired the video game.
The TT RPG is actually quite different from the video game. In fact, many dedicated fans of the TT RPG are not fans of the video game due to the fact that it changed several core themes, ideas, and game play, taking a horror game and turning it into a button mashing kill fest. Quite opposite from the TT version, believe you me.
However, I'm sure the kind folks at places such as www.gamefaqs.com would have the appropriate information that you're looking for. Similar websites (try a Google search on "Hunter: the Reckoning Cheats/Tips" for example) will also turn up better answers than most of the members of this forum can offer.
I hope that you continue to enjoy the video game version and that it peaks said interest in the table top version as well.
Sincerely,
Thomas Durrant
a.k.a. the Grand Inquisitor Horatio888
Question: Which books should I buy to play Hunter?
Answer: The core rule book is probably the only must own book just because it's really the only book you need to play the game. The Players guide provides rule for Bystanders and Merits and Flaws, and
is a pretty good choice as well. If you have a favorite Creed, then the Creed book for it is something you should look into getting. Also the Hermit book and the Wayward book are the only places to find all of information on those two creeds. The Enemy books are good, but if you have the books for the other White Wolf game lines, you
can get away without picking these up (Walking Dead is an exception; everyone loves it and it is highly recommended). If you are going to set your game in a country outside of the one you're in, Survival
Guide and Holy War are recommended.The ST Companion is good because it's cheap, comes with the ST Screen, and it's a great way to make antagonists with the rules without having to buy all the enemy books. Holy War has new edges.
Question: How do [insert monster type here] show up to the Sight?
Answer:All Werecreatures (Garou, Rokea, Nagarja, werebears, etc), Walking
Dead, Vampires (Kindred, Kue-jinn, and Kindred of the Ebon Kingdom),
Mages (including Technocrats), Changelings (called "goblins" in
Hunter: the Reckoning), Ghouls, Dauntain, Hedge Magicians, MiBs,
Mage Apprentices, Kinfolk, Kinain, Dhampirs, Benadatti, Ghosts/other
spirits, Demons, Orphic Circle, Christian Theurgy, Psychic Numina,
Fomori, Banes, and any other supernatural creature that White Wolf
has released ALL show up to the Second Sight with a feeling
of "Wrongness". In addition the Second Sight also does the
following:
-Shows people with True Faith as having a "golden halo" around them. They do not feel wrong.
-Shows all Walking Dead (Rots, Hidden, Zombies, Risen, and Shamblers) as looking as corpses. They actually look dead with the Second Sight on. Everything else just seems Wrong.
-If any type of spirit inhabits a body (such as certain
Changelings, Demons, people possessed by ghosts, etc.) then the image of the spirit is overlaid on the possessed's body. This is also the same case for spirits inhabiting items.
-Ghosts and other spirits not in a body and/or item are shown to be a solid creature. Normally you can't see a ghost or it looks ethereal, but with Second Sight on, it appears to be a physical being. Occasionally death wounds are visible, occasionally not.
-Benadatti only show up to the Second Sight when they are using their talismans to commune or fend off the dead.
-[Debatable] Shows Imbued with the background "Destiny" as having a flicker of green about them occasionally.
Question: "Can [insert monster type here] be imbued?"
Answer: NO! Only normal, regular human beings can ever be imbued. So that
means no one-time ghouls (whether they were willing or not), no kinfolk, no dhampirs, no Dauntain, no one whose ever been possessed by anything, no former monster cultists, no Inquisition members, no FBI SAD agents, no Project Twilight dudes, no NSA Chaoscope secret
agents. There is one minor exception to this rule. A recently inducted member of the Arcanum can be imbued, however, none have been canonically to date. And doing so would be a bad idea as the Arcanum frowns on the Imbued. In other words, your career with the Arcanum would be short and painful. However, several of these
people could count as having Bystander status. While they may not have had the opportunity to be Imbued per se, they have seen enough of the supernatural to know that it exists in one from or another.
Question: What are Hermits/ Waywards?
Answer: Waywards and Hermits are the two "Broken Creeds". When the Imbuings
first began (believed to be late 1998/early 1999), the majority of
those Imbued belonged to these two creeds. Unfortunately, the
powers that they were given have driven them insane. Waywards have
their Second Sight activated all the time. Seeing monsters
constantly drove them insane and warped their vision so bad that
they became psychotic killers. Hermits’ constant contact with the
Messengers has proved too much for the fragile human mind and has
broken them as well. They suffer both mental anguish and physical
pain when in the presence of other Imbued and monsters. Many Imbued
believe that Waywards were originally meant to be a sort
of "Standard Bearer" for the Imbued, rallying them together when the
going got tough. Hermits were supposedly supposed to be a sort of
intelligence gather, using their Out-of-Body-Experience edges to
send messages between the various groups of Imbued. Both start off
play with one incurable derangement. In addition, Waywards always
have Second Sight on (but NOT the mind protection) and Hermits have
an automatic 3 dots in the background "Patrons." Both have Vision
as their primary virtue.
Question: Can Hermits and Waywards be player characters?
Answer: Yes… but they are hard to portray correctly. Hermits and Waywards should be left to people with experience. Done right, they can make the whole game better… done by a regular player, and it becomes a kill fest with everyone else along for the ride (Waywards), or a cheesy look at whiners with headaches (Hermits). Hermits and Waywards are best suited as NPCs for the reasons listed in their own creed books.
Question: Can I play a cop/SWAT team member/soldier/government agent?"
Answer: Yes...though be careful. Canonically, at least two law enforcement
agents have been imbued (Cop90 and Warden), at least two soldiers
(Soldier91 and Shopet, who did time in the Israeli Defense Forces),
and Pilot56 was a government agent who did work in one of the
intelligence gathering divisions. However, each of these people
were not that important. Soldier91 was a Private (at most, Private
First Class), Cop90 was a deadbeat drug detective, Pilot56 was
middle management at most, Warden is in charge of a single prison,
and Shopet wasn't even in the armed forces at the time of his
imbuing. So it's okay to play a guy who has some professional
training in weapons and tactics, just don't be Navy SEAL commando
ninja with ties to the NSA. Remember that this is a game about the
everyman, a little guy who finally gets a chance to strike back at
the things which control the night. And also think about the
consequences that playing such a person would be: Soldier91 is AWOL
and could face charges of treason, Cop90 died, Warden fears that
he'll lose his job and set lose a dangerous criminal(s) every time he
lets one of the three Imbued criminals lose from his prison to go
Hunting, and Pilot56 was threatened by Peleus (who has killed
several Imbued).
Question: What are the Heralds in relation to play?
Answer:
Question: What is the relationship between Heralds and Ministers?
Answer:
Question: What are common imbuing scenarios involving "monster type"?
Answer:
Question: How does one get a Fifth Level edge?
Answer:
Question: When were the first Imbuings?"
Answer: No ones quite sure. It's believed that the earliest Imbuings took
place in late 1998. It's known that several people were imbued throughout 1999 and that starting in 2000 Imbuings became commonplace (or as commonplace as "being contacted by enigmatic beings who show you monsters" can be) throughout the world.
Question: What's up with Hunter-net?"
Answer: Hunter-net is part website, part e-mail list that allows various
Imbued to give information, make plans, debate about the Hunt, and
gain morale support. As a member joins they are given a number. So
Witness1 is the first member of the list while Hunter9 is the ninth
member. To date, there have been almost 350 list members. About a
quarter of them are dead or incapacitated. Now, having a lower
number does not make you a better hunter. Joebob455, for example,
could have been Hunting for two years before he discovered the list
while Cindyloo2 could have never gone Hunting and just locked
herself in her basement. So once again, a lower number does not a
better Hunter make.
It's various offshoots include: Vitalis (a Mercy primary list, mainly Innocents post here, Bookworm55 was the monitor for this list until he left with Fyodor), Unity (a Vision driven list, lots of Visionaries, run by Witness1), Firelight (a Zealous list, Avengers), Judgment Day (once again, Zealous, but almost completely Judges), and [enter name of the list from Hunter-book Defender] (the last of the Zealous lists, mainly a site for Defenders, run by Dole7). There are also three known parts of Hunter-net that are separate from the list: Survival Guide (basically in character hints and tips about the various nations of the world where the Imbued are), The Enemy (Bookworm55's long list of various monsters and what works against each type [it's in the core book, Chapter 9 I believe]), and Walking Dead (from the book Hunter: the Walking Dead, basically it's the transcripts of Ichmail and Carpenter169 to the main list).
There are also rumors of a European, Middle Eastern, and Asian list, but if they exist, they aren't named.