HUNTER CREATION

Building a Hunter character in Hounds of Hell is a similar task to that of Kinfolk creation, it just takes a few more stages to complete.

This page is here to guide you in your decisions when creating your character and some of the choices that you will need to make to flesh out a design or concept to a playable level inside the game. Where this may be slight intimidating if you are new to Werewolf: The Apocalypse Mind's Eye Theatre system, we shall try to guide you to a full understanding of your character and their background before you step into the game itself.

So to get started

The first thing you will need to do is register on www.puppetprince.com if, you haven't already. Joining is free and only requires an email address.

If you are new to an online roleplaying environment then we have plenty of helpful players and moderators who will be more than happy to help you out, so log into our chat at:

#Hounds:OOC

Once you've created your puppetprince account you will need to join our chronicle. Log into your puppetprince account and on the right side you should see a link to "Find a Chronicle". Browse through the available chronicles and select "Werewolf: The Apocalypse: The Hounds of Hell" on the page that loads you will find a link to join the chronicle.

Now that you've joined us, you'll need to craft your character. Every player is different in how this process is accomplished. Some like to conceive a character based on an image, some need a name first, some need a background to show them who the character is. Whatever your choice you will need some form of background for your character as the moment you arrive our players will undoubtedly want to know who your character is and where they come from, we are a roving biker gang/werewolf pack, after all.

Hunter characters use the following rules.

Hunter characters, within the Hounds of Hell System are ALL Kinfolk. In the times the Hounds find themselves in, more and more of their Kinfolk are presenting with these different abilities and powers. Hunters are almost like the Metis of the Garou world. They are rarely looked upon with the same compassion and affection as a normal Kinfolk is, most of them feared and ostracized from their families and communities. A price they all bare for the awesome capabilities they have been given. ALL Hunter praxis is treated like the power of the Weaver, not Gaia. This makes for interesting role play, as sometimes, if practiced before the wrong Garou or Shifter, it will cause conflict. Weaver is thought of as insane, as such the praxis powers are mostly as feared as if the Hunters were the witches of Salem.

Come up with a concept. Choose a name.
Choose Nature and Demeanor.
Record three starting Willpower.
Choose a Tribe.
Choose Physical, Social and Mental Traits: six in one category, four in another and three in the last.
Choose zero to five Negative Traits.
Choose two basic Hunter Praxis Powers.
Choose five Abilities.
Choose five Backgrounds.
Choose seven Humanity traits.
Choose Merits -- up to seven points' worth.
Choose Flaws -- up to seven points' worth.
Spend fifteen Freebie Traits.
Check your math: your Freebie Traits, Flaws, Negative Traits and Experience Points must pay for all Merits and additional purchases.
The three-game rule: You can adjust your sheet between games for your first three games of play (and prior to the fourth).

Consider your Concept

Kinfolk are uniquely challenging to play because so much of werewolf existence excludes them. Be sure to create a concept who will have strong social reasons to interact with the Garou.

You should always discuss your concept early on with the Storytellers, since they must approve every kinfolk that enters play.

Choose a Name

Come up with a name. This will probably be a typical human name, or nickname. Kinfolk do not have deed names like Garou do.

Choose a Nature and Demeanor

Your Nature is who you truly are, the essence of your self. Your Demeanor is how you present yourself to others. Read the full descriptions of these archetypes if you like, then choose one to be your Nature and one to be your Demeanor.

Record your Willpower

Willpower is your drive to accomplish your goals. Kinfolk start with three.

- Kinfolk do not have Rage or Gnosis

Choose a Tribe

As a Kinfolk you can born to any of the tribes, or have joined another due to mating to a Garou of your new tribe. Red Talons will only accept Lupus kin, but otherwise you may belong to any one of the thirteen tribes:

Black Furies: All-female defenders of sacred places.
Bone Gnawers: Homeless scrappers, just trying to get by.
Children of Gaia: A peace-loving tribe who believe in unity.
Fianna: Passionate Celtic bards and brawlers.
Get of Fenris: Nordic warriors to whom strength is the highest virtue.
Glass Walkers: Urban werewolves, business professionals and gunslingers.
Red Talons: All wolf-born, a tribe that hates humanity. This tribe is restricted as rare. Check with the Storytellers first.
Shadow Lords: Political power-brokers and assassins.
Silent Striders: Nomadic messengers of the Middle East.
Silver Fangs: Royalty among Garou, the noblest of leaders.
Uktena: Mystics tied to indiginous peoples around the world.
Wendigo: A fierce, traditionalist Native American tribe.

If this kinfolk is not your first in our game, the Tribe you choose must be differ from that of your prior one.

Choose Physical, Social and Mental Traits

Physical, Social, and Mental are three categories of Traits that describe your werewolf.

Choose one of these categories to be Primary -- your best area. You will choose six Traits in that category.
Choose another to be Secondary. That category gets four Traits.
The last category is Tertiary, your worst area. That category gets three Traits.

The categories of Traits are these:

Physical Traits: Quick, Strong, and Tough.
Social Traits: Charismatic, Impressive and Manipulative.
Mental Traits: Intelligent, Perceptive and Wily.

(If you choose to make your Social Traits primary, for example, you'd take seven Traits from the three listed above: Charismatic x4, Impressive x2 and Manipulative x1, or some other mix.)

You may choose alternate synonyms for these Traits, but these rules use the above names as the standard.

Choose Negative Traits

This is an optional step. You may choose up to five Negative Traits for your kinfolk, each in the Physical, Social, or Mental categories. These traits can be used against you in Challenges, but they also earn you more points to spend on your werewolf in the beginning.

You may choose to have multiples of any given Negative Trait: taking Callous means you're insensitive to others' feelings, while taking Callous x2 indicates you're a sociopath.

Negative Physical Traits: Clumsy, Cowardly, Decrepit, Delicate, Docile, Flabby, Lame, Lethargic, Puny, Sickly
Negative Social Traits: Bestial, Callous, Condescending, Dull, Feral, Naïve, Obnoxious, Repugnant, Shy, Tactless, Untrustworthy
Negative Mental Traits: Forgetful, Gullible, Ignorant, Impatient, Oblivious, Predictable, Shortsighted, Submissive, Violent, Witless

Choose Praxis

Choose two basic Hunter Praxis powers. All praxis paths must be bought in full, in order. One leads to the next. You cannot just buy a basic power listed, for example, as third on the list. You must choose them in complete order, at all times. You may buy two basic praxis powers from different paths or from the same path, the choice is yours. To learn a path or open a new path you MUST have a tutor, even if the mentor/tutor is an NPC arranged IC with your Storyteller.

Choose Abilities

Ability traits describe your skills. Choose five from the list below or from the complete list. You may have multiple levels in an Ability.

Academics Animal Ken Athletics Awareness Brawl Computer Crafts Dodge Drive Empathy Etiquette Expression Finance Firearms Intimidation Investigation Law Leadership Linguistics Lore: Garou Lore: Spirit Medicine Meditation Melee Occult Performance Politics Primal Urge Repair Rituals Science Security Scrounge Stealth Streetwise Subterfuge Survival

You may focus the Abilities Academics, Crafts, Lore, Performance, and Science into specific areas of expertise (as is reflected in the listing of "Lore: Garou" and "Lore: Spirit" above).

Each level of Linguistics is another language you speak.

Choose Backgrounds

Backgrounds describe advantages your werewolf has as they enter play. Choose five. You may have multiple levels in a Background. Your Tribe may restrict or dictate some of your choices in this area.

Arcane: Causes people to not pay attention to you or to forget you after you have left the area.
Artifact: This Background grants you access to some form of magic item.
Contacts: Sources of reliable information.
Familiar: This Background describes a mystical companion, some spirit incarnate who is willing to aid you in your endeavors.
Mana Pool: You have an additional set of Traits that you may use to power your magic.
Mentor: This Background represents the relative power level and availability of your teacher. A mentor is not a protector and will not solve all of your problems.
Pure Breed: Your lineage and pedigree. Pure Breed at levels higher than three is currently restricted by the Storytellers -- talk to them if you want an exception.
Resources: This Background represents the amount of money and equipment you have available or could get your hands on in a pinch.
Sanctuary: This Background represents the location of a 'safe place' for your character. Though it may not always be safe.

Choose Humanity Traits

Choose up to seven humanity traits from the drop down lists provided on the Puppetprince Sheet. These will come into play the more you use your praxis powers and paths.

Record Tribe Features

All Tribes provide different bonuses and flaws to the Kinfolk; these are explained in the full descriptions of the Tribes. Some of these affect your sheet. Record them now:

Children of Gaia should award themselves two bonus Social Traits of their choice. These can go above normal Social Trait maximums.
Fianna get two free Abilities from this list: Brawl, Expression, Melee and/or Performance.
Get of Fenris gain an additional "Healthy" Health Level. They also have a tribal intolerance against some kind of weakness -- record that weakness now.
Glass Walkers start with a free Influence background of their choosing.
Red Talons start with a free additional Rage Trait, which can take them above the normal maximum.
Silver Fangs start with a "quirk." Choose one from the list of Derangements.
Wendigo have different bonuses (and drawbacks) according to the season. Don't record these yet. The bookkeeper will place them on your sheet for you.

Choose Merits

Choose up to seven points' worth of Merits. You will have to account for the cost of these Merits with Freebie Points, Negative Traits and Flaws at the "Spend Freebie Points" step, below.

Choose Flaws

Choose up to seven points' worth of Flaws. Technically, you can choose more than seven points' worth, but that's all you'll get credit for later.

Spend Freebie Points

You have fifteen Freebie Points to spend. You also gain one Freebie Point from each Negative Trait you took (up to five). You also get Freebie Points equal to the value of the Flaws you took (up to seven).

You may purchase the following with Freebie Points:

Merits -- you must account for the costs of any any Merits you took, above, out of your Freebie Point total now.
More Physical, Social and Mental Traits cost 1 Freebie Point each. Your total in each category is limited to 10.
More Praxis Powers - must be bought in sequence - Basic Praxis powers are 3 points each.
More Willpower Traits cost 1 Freebie Point each. Your total limit is 5.
More Ability Traits and Backgrounds cost 1 Freebie Point each. You may not have more than 5 in any Ability or Background, with the exception of the Totem background.
Ability Specializations can be purchased for any Ability in which you have at least three levels. These cost 1 Freebie point each.