Hunter: The Reckoning

Hunter: The Reckoning was the flagship game of White Wolf's Year of the Reckoning and the second gameline released by Renegade Game Studios for World of Darkness' 5th edition. It currently consists of two editions. In Hunter's first edition, the player characters are Imbued, chosen by mysterious powers to protect humanity against the monsters of the night. In the second, the player characters are Witch-hunters, fighting back against the supernatural with nothing but their wits and Desperation. Both of these types of player character are referred to under the umbrella term of 'Hunter'.

Premise[]

Hunters in both their forms were explicitly ordinary people who faced a moment of crisis; in this moment, they briefly viewed the world as it really was - that monsters like vampires, werewolves and wizards existed and preyed on humanity. At that point, given the choice to flee or stand and fight, a Hunter chose to act. If this revelation was brought about via direction from the enigmatic Messengers, the individual became Imbued. If it was brought about by simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time, the individual awakened their Drive. The "action" then taken could be anything: attack, defend, negotiate, evacuate innocents, or even simply resolve to act when they're better equipped to do so—anything but passivity or retreat.

Each Hunter is part of a creed (the types available being determined by what kind of Hunter they are), and the Imbued also possess three virtues: Mercy, Zeal, or Vision, with which their own creeds are associated. Each creed has a distinct outlook on the world and the ideal methods of the Hunt, ranging from exterminating monsters, to protecting communities, to redeeming monsters. The nature of that initial action taken at the moment of their revelation determined their creed- a Hunter who made a violent choice, attack or defense, might come from a Zeal creed or be a Martial Hunter, whereas a Hunter who chose to evacuate or attempt to "talk it down" might come from a Mercy creed or be an Inquisitive or Entrepreneurial Hunter.

Unlike the other World of Darkness games, Hunter specifically emphasized the plebeian and ordinary elements of the characters. Players were encouraged to play ordinary joes who were suddenly thrust into a world gone horribly mad and with few resources. Many hunters (especially the Imbued) are at least a little bit insane, and continually reminding oneself of the reasons for why one continued with such an unrewarding and awful lifestyle forms the backbone of most of the gameline's instances of personal horror.

History[]

The first edition of the game was released in 1999's Year of the Reckoning, and featured the Imbued. Although it was the game's first edition, it was released using the Revised-era (i.e. third edition) ruleset.

In 2022 Renegade games released a new edition of Hunter: the Reckoning using the 5th edition rules. The hunters presented within are not Imbued, but instead Witch-hunters, in the same vein as the similar Hunters Hunted. Similar to the game's initial edition, it is referred to as '5th edition' to indicate compatibility with the other 5th edition gamelines.

List of Hunter: the Reckoning books

Creed[]

Main article: Creed

Creeds are Hunter: The Reckoning's 'class' equivalents, similarly to clans, tribes, kiths, or other similar features in other World of Darkness gamelines.

Imbued[]

The nine Imbued Creeds of Revised edition represent different outlooks and walks on life, as well as different military roles. Several supplements indicate that the Messengers intended the Imbued to serve as an army, but intentionally limited the Imbued in order to prevent the problems encountered with their predecessors (presumably the Solar Exalted, though the goal to connect the World of Darkness to the world of Exalted was scrapped soon after).

Seven Creeds are outlined in the main Hunter manual, with the two "lost" Creeds (Wayward and Hermit) detailed in separate splatbooks.

• Mercy
  • Innocents exemplify the Mercy virtue, their edges emphasize protection and defense, as well as control of light.
  • Martyrs use their own pain as a weapon; Martyrs can focus pain and suffering into responses, both to heal and to harm monsters, and are willing to sacrifice themselves for the cause.
  • Redeemers focus on the conscience and cursed nature of monsters, both by preventing them from attacking or otherwise indulging their habits and making them face their current state.
• Vision
  • Hermits are one of the lost Vision creeds. Hermits receive messages from the Messengers continuously, as well as information from other hunters. Originally intended as communication hubs for the Imbued, Hermits are almost totally unable to stay around other hunters because of the noise.
  • Visionaries: Intended as the leaders or priests of the Imbued, Visionary edges allow them to see into the future and the past.
  • Waywards are the death machines of the hunters, making Avengers look relatively sedate. Possessed of an even more full view of the world than Visionaries, Waywards focus on eliminating any and all monsters they encounter regardless of what is in their way.
• Zeal
  • Avengers are the poster-boys for the Zeal virtue, and are the most offensively powerful of the creeds. Avengers are focused on a cause, that can easily lead to elimination and extermination of monsters. They tear down the supernatural, one creature at a time.
  • Defenders are focused on building and defending societies, and their edges emphasize protection, defense and reaction. They are protectors of the innocent and naive.
  • Judges are the third Zeal creed, and are focused on the evaluation and judgement of monsters. Their edges focus on analysis and preventing monsters from using their powers. They'll ensure that justice is served.

In addition to these nine creeds, there is an unofficial ally group: the Bystander. Bystanders are people who went through the same process of calling that the Imbued did, but refused the call: these are the people who were given the choice, and refused to act—either stood by silently or fled to save their own skin. Bystanders don't have the abilities of Imbued, but are sympathetic to them and will usually seek to help.

Witch-hunters[]

The independent Hunters that are currently playable in Hunter's 5th edition are divided into Creeds (which exist purely as game terms and are not concretely recognized in-universe), representing that individual's philosophy with regards to the 'ideal' way to undertake the Hunt. They also possess a secondary Drive, representing their motivations for taking up the Hunt to begin with.

Five Creeds are outlined in the 5th edition core book:

• Entrepreneurial Hunters believe in constant adaptation against their Quarry and seek to innovate the fundamental principles underpinning the methods of all Hunters.
• Faithful Hunters' faith guides them to following the old practices against their Quarry that Hunters who prefer more modern methods may scoff at.
• Inquisitive Hunters believe that gaining a true understanding of the Quarry and the world in which it resides is the surest pathway to success, against this Quarry and all those that follow.
• Martial Hunters believe that the surest way to defeat their Quarry is also the simplest, and that direct, violent action is the only way to guarantee that the problem will be solved for good.
• Underground Hunters never turn down a potential resource, and only confront the Quarry once they are sure that the playing field is as unfair as they can possibly make it.

Orgs and the hunters within them also exist in 5th edition, but are as of present not playable. As opposed to the individualistic motivations and methods of independent, capital-H Hunters, org-based hunters (derisively called 'jobbers' by independent Hunters) undertake the Hunt 'for the job', and thus possess neither Creed nor Drive. They tend to make up for this by being better equipped and more well-coordinated than independent Hunters, and serve as rivals and secondary antagonists for the player characters.

Systems[]

Imbued[]

The Imbued of Revised edition are defined by the presence of 3 virtue tracks and a Conviction track. Hunter's virtue tracks are unique for being 10 point values; Imbued use Virtues to boost many die rolls, yielding considerably higher bonuses. Conviction is the energy of an Imbued's Edges, and is used for a variety of purpose during game play.

Imbued supernatural abilities are called Edges, there is one set of edges for each creed, with edges being rated 1-5. A character purchases edges by spending virtue points, but must purchase edges within a creed linearly. An Imbued can purchase edges outside of his creed. For example, an Imbued with 6 zeal can buy the level 1, 2 and 3 edges of one creed, or buy the level 1 and 2 edges of two different creeds. In addition to Edges, all Imbued possess Second Sight (the ability to see past supernatural illusions and resist mind control) and the ability to understand Hunter Code, allowing for communication with one another.

An Imbued with 10 Zeal may buy the 1, 2, 3, and 4 levels of one creed, but needs to perform a special task or request Storyteller intervention to earn a level 5 edge.

Witch-hunters[]

Hunter cells (player groups) in 5th edition possess shared Desperation and Danger trackers. The former represents the state of urgency or even anxiety in the cell and dictates the amount of Desperation Dice that an individual Hunter can add to their pool when calling upon their Drive. The latter represents the extent to which their enemies are aware of the cell’s actions, and the risk of the cell becoming a target, and is used as a variable modifier in relevant SPC dice pools and difficulties as determined by the Storyteller.

Individual Hunters possess their own Edges, which are unrelated to their Creed or Drive in terms of what is available for purchase. Edges start out as a single baseline ability, which represents anything from numina to unique talents to access to particular resources, and can then be subsequently upgraded with Perks specific to that Edge, which can be purchased in any order.

See Also[]

• Hunter: The Reckoning (Video Game)
• Hunter: The Reckoning - Wayward (Video Game)
• Hunter: The Reckoning - Redeemer (Video Game)
• Hunter: The Reckoning 5th Edition
• Hunter: The Reckoning Symbols
• Hunter: The Reckoning Lexicon