The Role of the Hunter in Vampire: the Masquerade—Out for Blood (Patreon)

Ever since the creation of Vampire: the Masquerade, the concept of a vampire hunter has been explored by many players and storytellers. Numerous game supplements have been written that provide rules for mortal characters in the World of Darkness. Some versions have promoted supernatural powers to aid vampire hunters (Hunter: The Reckoning), while other manuals stress purely human hunters (The Hunters Hunted). , Since Out for Blood uses the Vampire: the Masquerade fifth edition rules, hunters belong in the normal camp where they possess no major imbued powers or Numina and no magic. This does not suggest humans are weaker in this edition. As human organizations have risen to fight vampires, technology has become the main tool for the hunter. The biggest threat to the Kindred is the Second Inquisition, a union of many organizations with a singular goal – to destroy all vampires.

The Second Inquisition works at a much higher level than the hunters in Out for Blood. This game takes place in a small town where a single vampire has completely taken control and uses her influence to manage the citizens and use them as her herd for feeding. The main character of the story must use their skills and background to combat this powerful vampire. In this article, I will describe the main paths the character can take to achieve a goal of freeing the town of Jericho Heights from vampires.

What are you good at?

In the first chapter the main character selects a variety of abilities and skills which mirror those described in the fifth edition rules. Physical, social, and mental skills provide characters with numerous tools for surveillance, misdirection, combat, etc. Each skill has a range from 1 to 5 levels, represented by dots on a character sheet. The higher the level, the more knowledge the character possesses. Higher levels also provide special abilities. In addition, three main skills offer unique options for characters with specific emphasis on affecting or harming the undead. Below, each of these skills is described:

Occult: a field of knowledge devoted to the paranormal and supernatural, at higher levels, allowing the practitioner to tap into the spirit world.

1. Basic knowledge of the occult.

2. Divination — a sixth sense that warns of incoming danger.

3. Occult library — a collection of materials useful in studying the occult.

4. Curses — directing harmful energy at a target to cause misfortune.

5. Divination II — a higher form of sixth sense which provides greater insight into the future.

Science and Technology: combines scientific pursuits, such as biology and chemistry, with knowledge of modern technology.

1. Basic knowledge of science and technology. 

2. Investigation, deductive reasoning — enhances powers of investigation to be able to see beyond the norm.

3. Science lab — allows creation of poisons, tranquilizers, and anesthetics. Also allows analysis of materials collected around Jericho Heights.

4. Formulas — uses the science lab to create more powerful concoctions, such as stimulants and lesser healing elixirs.

5. Contraptions — creation of special technologies useful against vampires.

True Faith: a deep-seated faith in a divine power provides the faithful with a range of abilities useful against the undead.

1. Basic faith and knowledge of religion.

2. Ward undead — brandishing a holy symbol or reciting prayers wards off vampires.

3. Resistance — an iron will that protects the faithful from domination and charm.

4. Sense undead — detecting vampires through an unholy scent they produce.

5. Repel vampires/miracles — this level provides two abilities. First, by reciting prayers or brandishing a holy symbol, the faithful may drive back vampires and cause them to run away in fear. Secondly, the truly faithful may perform miracles, such as healing and extreme physical acts (for example, helping someone trapped under a car).

Besides these three special skills, all other skills provide a range of tools to aid the vampire hunter. Play styles will have a considerable impact on how you progress your character. For example, some hunters will choose a tactical, combat route while others may work with deception and social manipulation. You may hunt vampires solo or gather allies to help. Some hunters may go straight at the Kindred, guns a-blazing, while others may gather evidence and investigate the vampire threat before creating an elaborate strategy for dealing with them. The story has multiple paths you can take to achieve your goals, whether it is killing a single vampire or eradicating Jericho Heights from the entire threat.

What is the Vampire Threat?

From an early part of the story, the main character learns of a threat from a powerful hundred-year-old vampire living in Jericho Heights. Without giving away spoilers, I can confirm what you may already expect — other vampires appear as the story unfolds. You can plan for confronting the main vampire, who considers Jericho Heights her domain, and also dealing with a Coterie of younger vampires.

For those of you unfamiliar with the latest edition of Vampire: the Masquerade, the fifth edition graduates Thin-blooded vampires to its own clan. The vampiric curse is most potent in Kindred closer in bloodline to the original vampire, Caine. Generations are measured from that first vampire, and each generation holds a certain degree of blood potency. The higher the generation, the weaker the blood potency and therefore the weaker the vampire. When a vampire creates a Childe of fourteenth generation or lower, the newly embraced vampire may be born a thin blood. Not only are thin bloods not respected members of the Camarilla (the major worldwide Kindred organization), but they maintain certain features of their human condition. They take damage like a mortal and do not have supernatural abilities common to other Kindred. Since their blood is so weak they cannot produce offspring who are also thin blooded. However they are less harmed by sunlight and some may even walk during the day. Many also practice a special kind of alchemy, where they mix human and their own blood to make powerful elixirs that mimic the powers of higher generation kindred.

While a century-old vampire stands as a true threat in Jericho Heights, thin bloods present their own brand of menace to the citizens of town. While they may not have the strength of normal kindred, they work together and may even blend in with the rest of society. As a hunter you may not know if someone you just met is a mortal or a thin blood.

Final Thoughts

Developing an open ended choice game based on a role-playing system commonly played around a table presents unique challenges. There is no way to code the number of paths someone can take to achieve one’s goals. My plan for Vampire: the Masquerade—Out for Blood has always been to write enough content to accommodate the play styles of a variety of gamers, whether it is full frontal assault, subversive and manipulative, or cautious and planned out. My hope is that you will find this story is a suitable translation of the tabletop game to your mobile device or computer.