Supernatural Merits

Unbondable (••)
Prerequisites: Stamina ••, Resolve •••

Effect: The hunter is highly resistant to the intoxicating effects of vampire blood. Vampires require twice the necessary dosages (six instead of three) when attempting to bind this hunter to its will or improve her disposition toward it through blood. Available at character creation only

Kin (•••)
Effect: Werewolves start out life as ordinary people. Whether they later become werewolves through magic ritual, a pact with Satan or because of an inherited genetic abnormality is open to debate, and different hunters have different opinions. It certainly seems likely that some people are predisposed towards lycanthropy, perhaps as the result of a curse that strikes every seventh child.

A character with the Kin Merit was born carrying the legacy of lycanthropy in his blood, even though that legacy never came to fruition. Because of this legacy, werewolves respond slightly more favorably to the character than they do to regular humans and the character shares some of this empathy. The character gains a +2 bonus to all Social rolls in his dealings with werewolves, gains the benefit of the Unseen Sense Merit applying specifically to werewolves and receives a +3 bonus to resist the effects of Lunacy.

Drawback: Mortals with this Merit are typically viewed as potential breeding stock by werewolves and will have to deal with potential suitors at some point. Depending on the werewolf involved, the suit may be presented to the character as a practical arrangement, take the shape of a brief love affair or – and this happens with an alarming regularity – the character may simply be dragged off in the middle of the night to fulfill his “duties.” Even if the werewolves aren’t interested in propagating the species, they still might hang around just to see if the curse ever fully kicks in. This possibility could haunt the hunter. Might he become what he hunts? If other hunters become aware of the character’s background they might be leery of him as well.

Unseen Sense (••)
Effect: Your character has a “sixth sense” for a type of supernatural creature, chosen when you buy the Merit. For example, you may choose Unseen Sense: Vampires, or Unseen Sense: Fairies.

The sense manifests differently for everyone. A character’s hair stands on end, she becomes physically ill, or perhaps she has a cold chill. Regardless, she knows that something isn’t right when she is in the immediate proximity of the appropriate supernatural being.

Once per chapter, the player can accept the Spooked Condition (p. 183) in exchange for which the character can pinpoint where the feeling is coming from. If the target is using a power that specifically cloaks its supernatural nature, however, this does not work (though the Condition remains until resolved as usual).

Natural Medium (•••) (Spirits, from spirit slayers)
Prerequisite: Presence •••

Effect: You’ve heard the voices ever since you were a kid. You remember the first time you really tuned in on them was during a long, boring car trip. The whispers told you horrible secrets and later that night came the nightmares. Crying and terrified, you told your parents about the things you heard and they took you to see a doctor. Years of pills and psychological treatment didn’t make the voices go away, but you learned to pretend they did, just like you learned to stifle your screams and hide your tears after another nightmare.

Spirits are kept locked away from the material realm in the spirit world. From that strange and unruly place they exert their will, influencing mortals to act in ways similar to the nature of the spirit. Every now and then a human is born that shines out through the thin membrane that separates the worlds, drawing the attention of the spirits. People born with this gift (or curse) are sometimes called shamans or witch doctors. Many modern spiritualists prefer the term medium.

Eager to more directly influence the realms of flesh, the spirits congregate around these people and speak to them through the barrier. The more attention the medium pays to the spirits, the more excited the spirits become and the more they communicate and work to exert their influence over her.

A character with this Merit instinctively understands the language used by spirits and, by concentrating and spending a point of Willpower, can project her thoughts into the spirit world to commune with its denizens. The character also receives the Unseen Sense Merit applying specifically to spirits and is immune to possession by spirits (though the medium may voluntarily allow herself to be possessed).

Exactly how one becomes a medium is something of a mystery. Each medium has a different theory or story that could possibly explain their gift. Some mediums were born with a caul over their face, some developed their ability after serious head trauma, and a few mediums have cancerous growths in their brains. Whatever the cause, the end result is the same.

Drawback: Each time the medium uses her ability to speak with spirits, she excites the spirits that respond. Until the next sunrise, the spirits direct their influence at the medium, attempting to overload her senses and possess her. The character can attempt to resist these influences by rolling Resolve + Composure – the Resistance of the most potent spirit with whom she has recently communicated.

If the roll succeeds, the character experiences uncomfortable lurches of sensation and emotion until the next sunrise, but otherwise suffers no ill effects. If the roll is failed, the character is subjected to the Mental Flaw: Nightmares (see sidebar) the next time she sleeps and is considered to have automatically failed the roll to resist.