TEXT: Monster of the 
  Week
  
  Monster of The Week
  By Michael Sands
  Illustrated by Daniel Gorringe
  Edited by Steve Hickey
  First edition, June 2012.
  ISBN (print edition): 978-0-473-20466-2
  ISBN (PDF edition): 978-0-473-20467-9
  
  For Amanda and Zelda with love, for their support and tolerance over 
  the very long time this game was in development.
  Acknowledgements
  Thanks go to many people who helped me with this game. Firstly, to 
  Vincent Baker for Apocalypse World, and for not minding that I took his 
  rules and changed them all around to fit my vision. 
  Also, to the many playtesters who indulged me by joining in and 
  hunting monsters over four or five years of development (especially 
  my regular Monday night crew: Scott Kelly, Bruce Norris, Andrew 
  McLeod, Jason Pollock, and Stefan Tyler). 
  Steve Hickey, who edited the game, was one of my first enthusiastic 
  fans, the first Keeper (aside from me), and has provided great feedback 
  throughout the process. Thanks to my other early fans: Jenni Dowsett, 
  Sophie Melchior, Hamish Cameron, and Stefan Tyler. 
  Daniel Gorringe for the art: he was on the same page as me instantly in 
  terms of style, and his work is fantastic. 
  Thanks to Amanda Reilly, Todd Furler, Patrice Hede, Stephanie Pegg, 
  and Peter Aronson for finding typos above and beyond the call of duty. 
  Thanks also to everyone who contributed to the game's fundraising 
  campaign: the game would have been much rougher without you. 
  And, finally, to my wife and daughter. As the dedication says, they put 
  up with a lot while I was writing, and were supportive all along.
  
  Play-testers Roll of Honour
  Final edition: Andrew McLeod, Scott “It'll be fine” Kelly, Jason “Dark 
  past” Pollock, and Stefan “Unstoppable” Tyler, Steve Hickey, Sophie 
  Melchior, Hamish Cameron, Jenni Dowsett, Svend Andersen, Celeste 
  Mackintosh, Wayne Ulyate, Dale Elvy, Karen Wilson, Stephanie Pegg, 
  Ellen Couch, Andy Millar, and Nick Cole.
  Many more people playtested earlier versions. Thanks to you all.
  Funders Roll Of Honour
  Thanks to all of you who contributed to the preorder campaign:
  Peter Aronson, Lester Ward, Alasdair Sinclair, Sophie Melchior, 
  Malcolm Harbrow, Colin Jessup, Dev Purkayastha, Marco Andreeto, 
  Hamish Cameron, Shane Mclean, Jamas Enright, Jeremy Tidwell, Rohan 
  Smith, Ian Raymond, Morgan Davie, Stephanie Pegg, Andrew Millar, 
  Robert Oglodzinski, Herman Duyker, Todd Furler, Luke Walker, John 
  Harper, Jonathan Davis, Avram Lewis, Fealoro, Martin Gray, Eirik Kildal 
  Stangnes, Emma-Jean, Jason Pollock, Antoine Fournier, Sevag Bakalian, 
  Steve Dempsey, Rich Rogers, Marcus Constable, Yragaël Malbos, 
  Nathan Roberts, Joseph Le May, Linda Larsson, Vincent Baker, 
  Jonathan Bristow, Stuart Chaplin, Robert T Roy, Marc Majcher, Kevin 
  Lindgren, Nick Reynolds, Dale Elvy, John Ryan, Mike Olson, Brian 
  Allred, Ken Finlayson, Guns_n_Droids, Alan Jackson, Scott White, 
  Matthew Edwards, Guillaume Carré, Svend Andersen, Stefan Tyler, 
  Paul Wilson, Florian Hoheneder, Peter Borah, Bryan Chavez, Dag 
  Sverre Syrdal, David Bowers, Paul Edson, Jason L Blair, Marcus Bone, 
  Jeremy Friesen, Phil Garrad, Adam Waggenspack, Tim Ireland, Sevag 
  Bakalian, Nathan Riddell, Richard Rogers, Derek Grimm, Julianna 
  Backer, Ferrer Jean-Olivier, James Iles, Katrina Allis, Nicolas Brian, 
  Sean Dunstan, Chris Norwood, Mark Harris, Gary Anastasio, Felan 
  Parker, Steve Hickey, Noah Doyle, Karen Wilson, Sven Folkesson, Gino 
  Moretto, Frank Pitt, Chris Moriarty, Jenni Dowsett, Neal Dalton, Alden 
  Strock, Reid San Filippo, Zoe Tsang, Christopher Weeks, W. Mark 
  Woodhouse, Ben Wootten, James Gabrielsen, Aurynn Shaw, Alex Abate 
  Biral, Jason Pitre, Justin Koopmans, René John Kerkdyk, Diogo Curado, 
  Grégoire Pinson, Brett Easterbrook, Wayne West, Nicolas Ronvel, Alex 
  Fradera, Noam Rosen, Mark Shocklee, Scott Kelly, Will A Wright, John 
  Machin, Peter Edwards, Guy Milner, Joe Beason, Joe Mcdaldno, Gerry 
  Saracco, Jim Sweeney, Carl Rigney, Jonathan Walton, Keith Higdon, 
  Scott Bennett, Joshua Cupp, Parke Hultman, Bryan Rennekamp, 
  Andrew Rosenheim.
  
  Table of Contents
  There Are Monsters Out There.........1
  What You've Signed Up For...................1
  What You'll Need..................................... 2
  What You Should Read...........................2
  Feedback....................................................3
  The Hunters.........................................4
  The First Session...................................... 4
  Team Concepts......................................... 5
  Team Customisation............................6
  Example Team Concepts......................6
  Before You Create Your Hunter............8
  Moves.................................................... 8
  The Ratings......................................... 10
  The Chosen..............................................11
  The Expert...............................................16
  The Flake.................................................21
  The Initiate............................................. 25
  The Monstrous........................................30
  The Mundane..........................................35
  The Professional.....................................39
  The Spooky..............................................44
  The Wronged..........................................49
  Get Ready For Action.............................54
  Introductions......................................54
  History.................................................54
  How To Play............................................55
  Hunter Agenda................................... 55
  The Game Is A Conversation.............55
  Moves.................................................. 56
  The Basic Moves................................. 59
  Big Magic.................................................64
  Fights....................................................... 64
  Unarmed Attacks And Improvised 
  Weapons..............................................65
  Harm........................................................ 65
  Monsters and Harm...........................66
  Healing................................................ 66
  Resurrection....................................... 67
  The Luck Counter...................................68
  When You Run Out Of Luck...............68
  Gear..........................................................69
  Getting New Gear...............................69
  Weapons..............................................69
  Armour................................................71
  Other Gear...........................................71
  Gear Tags.............................................72
  Custom Gear Moves............................72
  Leveling Up............................................. 73
  Improvements.................................... 73
  Advanced Improvements..................75
  Advanced Moves................................76
  Summary: Hunter's Session.................79
  The First Time Only...........................79
  Every Game......................................... 79
  The Keeper.........................................80
  What You Do...........................................80
  How It Will Play Out...........................80
  Before Your First Game.........................81
  Think About Style..............................81
  Get Into The Keeper Mindset............82
  The Keeper Agenda............................ 82
  The Keeper Principles........................82
  Creating Your First Mystery................83
  An Example Mystery: Mongolian 
  Death Worm Attack............................83
  Preparing Your First Mystery...........86
  Mystery Countdowns.........................94
  Summary: First Mystery Creation....97
  The First Session.................................... 98
  Hunter Creation.................................98
  Running The First Mystery................100
  The Game Is A Conversation...........100
  Keeper Agenda.................................101
  
  The Keeper Principles......................101
  Always Say........................................ 104
  Moves................................................ 105
  The Basic Keeper Moves..................106
  Threat Moves....................................110
  The Basic Hunter Moves..................114
  Big Magic...........................................125
  Playbook Moves................................126
  Actions Not Covered By A Move.....126
  On With The Mystery!.........................127
  Start-Of-Mystery Moves..................127
  The Teaser........................................127
  Beginning the Investigation............128
  Use The Countdown.........................129
  I'm Not Prepared For This...............130
  Closing In On The Monster..............130
  It Always Comes To A Fight.............130
  Harm..................................................135
  Healing.............................................. 138
  An Example Fight............................. 139
  After The Mystery................................145
  Getting Ready For Next Time..........145
  Summary: Keeper's First Session......146
  Between Game Sessions......................147
  Arcs....................................................147
  Arc Templates...................................151
  Arc Custom Moves...........................153
  Summary: Arc Creation......................154
  Subsequent Mysteries.........................155
  Summary: Mystery Creation..............155
  Basic Concept....................................155
  The Hook........................................... 156
  The Threats.......................................157
  The Countdown................................ 166
  Messing With The Formula.............169
  Sessions and Mysteries....................170
  Mystery Letters................................171
  Running Subsequent Mysteries.........174
  At the Beginning of Each Session...174
  Playing the Mystery.........................174
  Summary: Keeper's Session............176
  As The Game Goes On..........................177
  At the End Of Each Mystery............177
  Checking On Your Arcs....................177
  Endgame................................................178
  Leveling Up And Improvements.....178
  Running Out Of Luck........................178
  Dealing With Arcs.............................179
  Other Things To Consider...............179
  How To End A Game.........................179
  Customising Your Game.................180
  Custom Moves.......................................180
  Triggering The Custom Move.........180
  Move Types....................................... 180
  Example Custom Moves...................181
  One-Shot Games...................................184
  One-Shot Hunters.............................184
  One-Shot Mystery Creation.............184
  One-Shot Mystery Play....................185
  Custom Threats....................................186
  Sharing The Keeper Duties.................186
  Custom Playbooks................................187
  A Whole New Game..............................189
  Inspiration.......................................190
  Games................................................ 190
  Television..........................................190
  Film....................................................190
  Novels................................................ 191
  Comics............................................... 191
  Index.................................................192
  Colophon..........................................194
  
  There Are Monsters Out There
  Most people don't believe in monsters, but they're real. When someone  
  finds out monsters are real, it's usually just before they get eaten.
  But some people are mean enough, smart enough, crazy enough, or 
  hurt enough, that they live. 
  And some of those survivors go on a crusade against the monsters.
  That's you.
  It could be that you make a stand and defend your hometown from 
  everything evil that comes there. 
  It could be that you take to the road and go hunt them down, wherever  
  you can find them. 
  It could be that you have magic powers to put you on an even footing. 
  It could be that your name came up in prophecies thousands of years 
  ago. 
  The one sure thing is that you aren't gonna go back to your old safe life.
  What You've Signed Up For
  When you play this game, most of you will make up hunters, people 
  who have devoted their lives to killing monsters. 
  One player will be the Keeper (that's short for “Keeper of Monsters and 
  Mysteries”). The Keeper will be in charge of designing the monsters 
  and mysteries that the hunters will encounter, bringing the world to 
  life, and portraying the monsters and people the hunters meet.
  The  rest  of  you  will  decide  how  the  hunters  work  together  to 
  investigate the weird situations they find, slay the monsters causing 
  the trouble, and save the people in danger.
  Your  hunters  aren't  normal  people;  not  even  normal  for  monster 
  hunters. You are the ones who stand out, larger than life and twice as 
  badass. You can change the world – save it, destroy it, or alter it 
  forever. One way or another, you will make a difference.
  1
  
  What You'll Need
  The game works best with three to five people, with one of you acting 
  as Keeper. It will work with two, or you could stretch it to six or seven 
  people without breaking anything.
  Make sure you have:
  •
  A copy of each of the hunter playbooks (these are a combined 
  rules reference and record sheet for your hunter).
  •
  Enough player reference sheets to go round.
  •
  A Keeper reference sheet.
  •
  Some mystery and arc sheets for the Keeper (just one at first, 
  and more later).
  •
  Pencils and note paper for everyone.
  •
  A pair of normal six-sided dice for each hunter (the Keeper 
  won't need dice).
  The files for all the things you need to print out can be downloaded 
  from http://genericgames.co.nz.
  Also handy, mostly for the Keeper, is a big list of names that you can 
  use for the characters that will be part of the game (I like to use the 
  Story Games Names book, but a phone book or the cast and crew list of 
  a film work just as well).
  It's a good idea to have drinks and snacks for everyone, too. 
  Each time you sit down to play expect to get through a single mystery 
  in about 2-4 hours. A mystery is one situation for the hunters to deal 
  with – like a typical monster of the week episode on Supernatural, Buffy, 
  or The X-Files. The first game will take a little longer because you have 
  to make up your hunters at the beginning.
  What You Should Read
  I've written the rulebook in the order that you'll need as you play, with 
  all the hunters' information first and then the Keeper's after.
  If you want to skip that and just hit the basics, here's some suggestions:
  •
  If you're going to play a hunter, read the hunter playbooks 
  (from p. 11) and read about moves (p. 8) and ratings (p. 10). 
  Most important is to pick which hunter type(s) you want to 
  play.
  2
  
  •
  If you're going to be Keeper, focus on the First Session section 
  (p. 98): that tells you what you need to prepare, and what to do 
  for the first game. You can manage with just that for now. It's 
  best to know the hunters' basic moves (p.  114) and playbooks 
  (from p. 11), at least in passing.
  •
  If  you're  an  experienced  roleplayer  who  hasn't  played 
  Apocalypse  World (that's  the  game  these  rules  are  adapted 
  from), check out the hunter playbooks (p. 11) and the moves 
  (p. 8) and ratings (p. 10). From there everything else should fall 
  into place.
  •
  If you've played  Apocalypse World (or another game based on 
  those  rules,  such  as  Monsterhearts or  Dungeon  World)  then 
  plenty here will be familiar. The ratings (stats in  Apocalypse 
  World) are almost the same, the playbooks (p. 11) are different, 
  and the basic moves (p. 59) are less similar than they appear at 
  first glance. Luck is new (p. 68). The Keeper's (MC in Apocalypse 
  World) agenda and principles (pages 82 & 101), threats (p.  87), 
  and moves (pages  106 &  110) are different, and mysteries 
  (pages 83 & 155) and arcs (p. 147) take the place of fronts.
  Feedback
  If you have some feedback or just want to talk about the game, you can 
  send me email at mike@genericgames.co.nz, or post at the Monster of 
  the Week forum:
  http://apocalypse-world.com/forums/index.php?board=33.0
  If you want to keep up with Monster of the Week news and updates, 
  you  can  watch  the  game  website  at  http://genericgames.co.nz or 
  follow @MotW_rpg on Twitter.
  3
  
  The Hunters
  So, you're going to be a monster hunter. I'll take you through what 
  happens the first time you sit down to play: creating hunters, coming 
  up with a team history, and getting on with investigating mysteries 
  and slaying some monsters. 
  It's written to tell you what you need to know in the order you'll need 
  it (with a few digressions along the way). 
  The First Session
  Here's an overview of how you'll create your hunters and investigate 
  your first mystery.
  The first step is to decide if the group wants to pick a team concept (p. 
  5). That's the reason you are a team, for example, “we all work for a 
  secret monster hunting agency” or “we defend our home town against 
  the monsters that keep coming here.” The Keeper may have some 
  suggestions based on what they've been planning.
  If you have a team concept that needs certain hunter types, allocate 
  the mandatory ones first.
  If you don't have a team concept, just let everyone pick a playbook 
  (that's your hunter rules and record sheet) and see what the team 
  looks like. You'll work out why they are together as you create your 
  hunters, establish their history with each other, and as you play the 
  game. 
  The hunter types are:
  •
  The Chosen: the chosen one, with a special destiny. E.g. Buffy 
  from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (p. 11).
  •
  The Expert: knows all about monsters and magic. E.g. Bobby 
  Singer from Supernatural; Rupert Giles from Buffy the Vampire 
  Slayer (p. 16).
  •
  The Flake: a conspiracy theorist, great at putting clues 
  together. E.g. Mulder or the Lone Gunmen from The X-Files (p. 
  21).
  •
  The Initiate: member of an ancient monster-slaying Sect, 
  trained to fight and use magic. The Wardens from The Dresden 
  Files; Annelise from the Twenty Palaces series (p. 25).
  4
  
  •
  The Monstrous: a monster fighting for the good guys. E.g. 
  Angel from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel; Bill Compton 
  from True Blood  (p. 30).
  •
  The Mundane: just a normal regular person, especially good at 
  dealing with regular people you meet. E.g. Xander or Cordelia 
  from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (p. 35).
  •
  The Professional: you work for an agency that hunts 
  monsters. E.g. Riley and the Initiative from Buffy the Vampire 
  Slayer; Olivia Denholm from Fringe (p. 39).
  •
  The Spooky: has psychic or magical powers. E.g. Sam 
  Winchester from Supernatural; Willow from Buffy the Vampire 
  Slayer (p. 44).
  •
  The Wronged: revenge-driven, and really tough. E.g. Dean and 
  John Winchester from Supernatural (p. 49).
  •
  There are some limited edition hunter playbooks out there too: 
  for example, the Divine, Hard Case, Snoop and Summoned 
  which were fundraiser rewards. There are fan-made 
  playbooks, too. You can find advice on making your own on 
  page 187.
  Only one hunter of each type is allowed at the same time in any game. 
  That's because you're not just  one of that type of hunter: you're the 
  archetype. There may be a whole Agency of professional monster 
  hunters, but there's just one who is The Professional.
  Follow the instructions in your playbook to create your hunter. When 
  you get to the Introductions section, wait until everyone catches up. 
  The Keeper will guide everyone as you make up your hunters, so ask 
  them if you have any questions (Keeper, instructions on how to guide 
  this process are in The First Session on page 98).
  Team Concepts
  It's good to work out why the hunters formed their team. Have a quick 
  discussion and see if you come up with an idea – even if it's just a vague 
  one. If nobody has anything, you can work it out later on (after you 
  have all made your hunters, and figured out your history together).
  Don't set your concept in stone yet, either. You'll want to revise it as 
  you make up your hunters, based on the choices you make along the 
  way.
  5
  
  Team Customisation
  Sometimes your team concept will require additional stuff on top of 
  the  normal  character  creation  options.  Decide  as  a  group  if  any 
  changes are needed, and what they will be. You can work these out at 
  any point: it might come up right away when you pick your concept, or 
  you might think of it later on.
  Your concept might require:
  •
  Equipment that isn't in your playbook options. For example: 
  your team concept has the hunters always on the move, but 
  none of your playbooks include transport in the gear section. 
  You can decide the team has a van to travel in.
  •
  Something that can be written up as a custom move (p. 180). 
  For example: the team concept is that you are all members of a 
  secret organisation, so everyone starts with a version of the 
  Professional's deal with the Agency move (p. 40).
  •
  New options when you level up (p. 73). For example: the team 
  concept has a special mystical artifact for each hunter, but the 
  powers are not initially available. Each hunter may choose to 
  unlock one of their artifact's powers when they level up.
  Example Team Concepts
  Here are some example team concepts. Use them as they are, or as 
  inspiration for your own ideas.
  Slayer and Entourage
  There's a chosen one, and their support group. Hopefully, together 
  you'll be able to save the world.
  The team has a Chosen, who is at the centre of things. An Expert or 
  Initiate makes a good mentor. A Mundane or Flake could be a friend of 
  the Chosen. A Monstrous or Spooky gives the team some magical 
  powers to draw on. 
  The Unexplained Cases Team
  The Agency needs a team to handle all the weird stuff regular agents 
  don't understand. That's you: the Unexplained Cases Team. You check 
  out the mysterious disappearances, the fungus monsters, the alien 
  abductions, the vampires, and anything else the regular agents can't 
  handle.
  6
  
  The team requires a Professional. The Flake, Mundane, Expert, Spooky, 
  and Wronged are good choices to fill out the team's skill profile. 
  The  Professional's  Agency  will  employ  the  whole  team.  As  a 
  customisation, allow any of the hunters to take the Professional's deal 
  with the Agency move as a leveling up option (p.  73). Until then, 
  they're just consultants, contractors, or temps.
  The Order
  You are all members of an ancient order of monster slayers.
  You'll need an Initiate. Everyone else makes up the team the Initiate 
  commands: the Spooky, Expert, Mundane, Flake, or Chosen all work 
  well here. 
  Everyone is a member of the order, but initially only the Initiate will 
  have to deal with your superiors. As a customisation, anyone can take 
  the Initiate move for when you are in good standing with the Sect as 
  a leveling up option (p.  73). Anyone may also substitute one of the 
  Initiate's old-fashioned weapons (p. 28) for a regular weapon choice.
  Road-tripping Hunter Family
  Your family's trade is hunting monsters. The nomadic life, drifting into 
  town just long enough to find and slay whatever is causing trouble... 
  well, it suits some of you just fine. Others, not so much.
  This  team  concept  suits  the  Wronged,  Spooky,  Expert,  Flake,  and 
  Chosen best. A Monstrous could fit in too, but not comfortably. All the 
  others except the Professional could round out the team. If there's an 
  Initiate, maybe the Sect is comprised of certain bloodlines, so everyone 
  in the family is a member.
  You are all family, or as good as family. 
  Oh, and make sure you have a cool car. Or a sensible anonymous car, if 
  that's your thing. If none of the hunters has a vehicle, you can decide 
  the team gets one as a customisation.
  7
  
  Before You Create Your Hunter
  Before you get started, you need to know about two game concepts: 
  moves and ratings. 
  The  hunter  playbooks  mention  some  other  terms  that  I  haven't 
  introduced yet. Don't worry about those, you don't need to understand 
  them just now. If you want to find out more, read the “How to Play” 
  section starting at page 55.
  Moves
  Moves  cover situations  when  the game rules  step  in  to  help  you 
  determine what happens. 
  Moves don't cover basic stuff that anyone can do. If your hunter does 
  something  that  isn't  covered  by  a  move,  and  it's  something that 
  anyone could do, then it just happens. You don't need a move to follow 
  a monster down the street, talk to a cop, or break into an empty house. 
  If there's something normal people could never do and it's not covered 
  by a move, then you can't do it either. For example, your hunter can't 
  turn invisible at will, or walk through a fire unharmed.
  Moves cover the in-between cases:
  •
  Things that normal people can't do. For example, casting a 
  magic spell.
  •
  Things that are dangerous. For example, getting into a fight 
  with a monster.
  •
  Things that are more exciting if we let the dice decide how 
  they go rather than just deciding. For example, working out 
  whether you sneak past a sleeping dragon undetected.
  Many moves require you to roll two dice and add them together 
  (usually adding another number too) and then figure out what happens 
  based on your total. Other moves give you a special ability that you can 
  use all the time, or when certain circumstances appear in the game. 
  Each move is triggered when a particular situation happens in the 
  game.  Look  at  when  the  move  says  it  happens,  and  follow  the 
  instructions when you do it.
  For example, you need to use the move  protect someone to save 
  another hunter from a bone puppet's attack. The move says when you 
  protect someone from harm, roll +Cool, so you roll the dice and get a 
  8
  
  two and a five. That's seven, plus your hunter has Cool +1 for a total of  
  eight. The move's instructions say that on a 7-9, you protect the target  
  okay but you suffer the harm that threatened instead.
  The Hunter Basic Moves
  All the hunters have a set of moves that allow them to investigate and 
  deal with monsters. These are called the “basic moves” (p. 59). There 
  are eight basic moves:
  •
  Act  Under  Pressure,  used  for  any  difficult  or  dangerous 
  action that isn't covered by another move.
  •
  Help Out, used to help another hunter do something. If you 
  succeed, you'll give them a bonus on their task.
  •
  Investigate a Mystery, used to work out what kind of monster 
  you are dealing with, what it can do, and what it's planning.
  •
  Kick Some Ass, used for fighting. Fighting monsters, mainly.
  •
  Manipulate Someone, used to try and get someone to do 
  something for you, after you give them some kind of reason.
  •
  Protect Someone, used to save someone from danger.
  •
  Read a Bad Situation, used to work out what dangers are 
  immediately threatening you. For instance, if you think you 
  are walking into a trap, or want to do some tactical analysis.
  •
  Use Magic, used to cast magic spells or use enchanted items.
  In addition, each hunter playbook has its own set of moves. These are 
  called “playbook moves.”
  9
  
  The Ratings
  Your hunter has ratings that describe how good they are in certain 
  areas that are important when hunting monsters. The ratings add to 
  (or subtract from) your dice total when you roll for a move. 
  •
  Cool is how calm and collected you are. It is added to your die 
  roll for the act under pressure and help out basic moves.
  •
  Tough is how strong and mean you are in a fight. It is added to 
  your die roll for the kick some ass and protect someone basic 
  moves.
  •
  Charm is how pleasant and persuasive you are. It is added to 
  your die roll for the manipulate someone basic move.
  •
  Sharp is how observant you are. It is added to your die roll for 
  the  investigate a mystery and  read a bad situation basic 
  moves.
  •
  Weird is how attuned to the supernatural you are. It is added 
  to your die roll for the use magic basic move.
  The ratings range from -1 to +3. 
  •
  -1 is bad
  •
  0 is average
  •
  +1 is good
  •
  +2 is really good
  •
  +3 is phenomenal
  10
  
  •
  Preppy clothes, casual wear, urban wear, normal clothes, neat 
  clothes, street wear.
  Ratings, pick one line:
  •
  Charm+2, Cool-1, Sharp+1, Tough+2, Weird-1
  •
  Charm-1, Cool+2, Sharp+1, Tough+2, Weird-1
  •
  Charm+1, Cool+2, Sharp+1, Tough+1, Weird-1
  •
  Charm-1, Cool+1, Sharp+2, Tough-1, Weird+2
  •
  Charm+1, Cool+2, Sharp-1, Tough-1, Weird+2
  Fate
  You get to decide what sort of fate is in store for you. 
  Pick how you found out about your fate, from the list below. 
  How You Found Out (pick one): 
  •
  Nightmares and visions
  •
  Some weirdo told you
  •
  An ancient cult found you
  •
  Sought out by your 
  nemesis
  •
  Attacked by monsters
  •
  Trained from birth
  •
  You found the prophecy
  •
  You found your special 
  weapon
  11
  
  Then pick two heroic and two doom tags for your fate, from the lists 
  below. The tags determine how your fate will unfold. It's okay to pick 
  contradictory tags: that means your fate is pulling both ways.
  Whenever  you  mark  off  a  point  of  Luck,  the  Keeper  will  throw 
  something from your fate at you.
  Heroic (pick two):
  •
  Sacrifice
  •
  You are the Champion
  •
  Visions
  •
  Secret training
  •
  Magical powers
  •
  Mystical inheritance
  •
  A normal life
  •
  True love
  •
  You can save the world
  •
  Hidden allies
  •
  The end of monsters
  •
  Divine help
  Doom (pick two): 
  •
  Death
  •
  You can't save everyone
  •
  Impossible love
  •
  Failure
  •
  A nemesis
  •
  No normal life
  •
  Loss of loved ones
  •
  Treachery
  •
  Doubt
  •
  Sympathy with the enemy
  •
  Damnation
  •
  Hosts of monsters
  •
  The end of days
  •
  The source of Evil
  Moves
  You get all of the basic moves, plus three Chosen moves.
  You get these two:
  •
  Destiny's Plaything: At the beginning of each mystery, roll 
  +Weird  to  see  what  is  revealed  about  your  immediate 
  future. On a 10+, the Keeper will reveal a useful detail about 
  the coming mystery. On a 7-9 you get a vague hint about it. On 
  a miss, something bad is going to happen to you.
  •
  I'm Here For A Reason: There's something you are destined to 
  do. Work out the details with the Keeper, based on your fate. 
  You cannot die until it comes to pass. If you die in play, then 
  you must spend a Luck point. You will then, somehow, recover 
  or get returned to life. Once your task is done (or you use up all 
  your Luck), all bets are off.
  12
  
  Then pick one of these:
  •
  The Big Entrance: When you make a showy entrance into a 
  dangerous situation, roll +Cool. On 10+ everyone stops to 
  watch and listen until you finish your opening speech. On a 7-
  9, you pick one person or monster to stop, watch and listen 
  until  you  finish  talking.  On  a miss, you're  marked  as  the 
  biggest threat by all.
  •
  Devastating: When you inflict harm, you may inflict +1 harm.
  •
  Acceptance: When your fate rears its ugly head, and you act in 
  accordance with any of your fate tags (either heroic or doom) 
  then mark experience.
  •
  Invincible: You always count as having 2-armour. This doesn't 
  stack with other protection.
  •
  Resilience: You heal faster than normal people. Any time your 
  harm gets healed, heal an extra point. Additionally, your wounds 
  count as 1-harm less for the purpose of the Keeper's harm moves.
  Gear
  You can have protective gear worth 1-armour, if you want it.
  You have a special weapon you are destined to wield. 
  Your Special Weapon
  Design your weapon by choosing a base, three options (which add their 
  tags to the base tags), and a material.
  Base (choose 1):
  •
  staff (1-harm hand/close)
  •
  haft (2-harm hand)
  •
  handle (1-harm hand balanced)
  •
  chain (1-harm hand area)
  Options (choose 3, duplicates allowed):
  •
  antique (add “valuable”)
  •
  artifact (add “magic”)
  •
  head (+1 harm)
  •
  spikes (+1 harm, add “messy”)
  •
  blade (+1 harm)
  •
  long (+1 harm)
  13
  
  •
  reach (add “close”)
  •
  throwable (add “close”)
  •
  chains (add “area”)
  Then pick what material the business end is made from: add “steel,” 
  “cold iron,” “silver,” “wood,” “stone,” “bone,” “teeth,” “obsidian,” or 
  anything else you want. 
  Introductions
  When you get here, wait for everyone to catch up so you can do your 
  introductions together. 
  Go around the group. On your turn, introduce your Chosen by name 
  and look, and tell the group what they know about you.
  History
  Go around the group again. On your turn, pick one of these for each 
  other hunter:
  •
  You are close blood relations. Ask them exactly how close.
  •
  They are destined to be your mentor. Tell them how this was 
  revealed.
  •
  Your best friend in the world, who you trust totally.
  •
  A rival at first, but you came to a working arrangement.
  •
  Romantic entanglement, or fated to be romantically entangled.
  •
  Just friends, from school or work or something. Ask them 
  what.
  •
  They could have been the Chosen One instead of you, but they 
  failed some trial. Tell them how they failed.
  •
  You saved their life, back when they didn't know monsters 
  were real. Tell them what you saved them from.
  Luck
  You can mark off a Luck box to either change a roll you just made to a 12, 
  as if you had rolled that; or change a wound you have just taken to count 
  as 0-harm, no matter how bad it was. If your Luck boxes all get filled, 
  you've run out of good luck.
  When you spend a point of Luck, the Keeper will bring your fate into play.
  Okay c c c c c c c Doomed
  14
  
  Harm
  When you suffer harm, mark off the number of boxes equal to harm 
  suffered. When you reach four harm, tick “Unstable.”
  Okay c c c|c c c c Dying
  Unstable: c  (Unstable injuries will worsen as time passes)
  Leveling Up
  Experience: c c c c c 
  Whenever you roll a highlighted rating, or a move tells you to, mark an 
  experience box. 
  When you have filled all five experience boxes, you level up. Erase the 
  marks and pick an improvement from the following list:
  Improvements
  c Get +1 Charm, max +3
  c Get +1 Cool, max +3
  c Get +1 Sharp, max +3
  c Get +1 Tough, max +3
  c Get +1 Weird, max +3
  c Take another Chosen move
  c Take another Chosen move
  c Gain an ally
  c Take a move from another 
  playbook
  c Take a move from another 
  playbook
  After leveling up five times, you qualify for advanced improvements, as 
  described on page 75.
  15
  
  The Expert
  I have dedicated my life to the study of the  
  unnatural. I know their habits, their  
  weaknesses. I may not be youngest or  
  strongest, but I know enough to be the 
  biggest threat.
  To make your Expert, first pick a name. 
  Then follow the instructions below to 
  decide your look, ratings, moves, 
  haven, and gear. Finally, introduce 
  yourself and pick history.
  look, pick one from each List:
  •
  Man, woman.
  •
  Thoughtful face, lined face, 
  scarred face, contemplative 
  face, stern face, avuncular face, 
  experienced face.
  •
  Old fashioned clothes, casual clothes, utility clothes, tailored 
  clothes, outdoor clothes.
  Ratings, pick one line:
  •
  Charm-1, Cool+1, Sharp+2, Tough+1, Weird=0
  •
  Charm=0, Cool+1, Sharp+2, Tough-1, Weird+1
  •
  Charm+1, Cool-1, Sharp+2, Tough+1, Weird=0
  •
  Charm-1, Cool+1, Sharp+2, Tough=0, Weird+1
  •
  Charm-1, Cool=0, Sharp+2, Tough-1, Weird+2
  Moves
  You get all of the basic moves, plus pick two Expert moves:
  •
  I've Read About This Sort Of Thing: Roll +Sharp instead of 
  +Cool when you act under pressure.
  •
  Often Right: When a hunter comes to you for advice about a 
  problem, give them your honest opinion and advice. If they 
  take your advice, they get +1 ongoing while following your 
  advice, and you mark experience.
  16
  
  •
  Preparedness: When you need something unusual or rare, 
  roll +Sharp. On a 10+, you have it here right now. On a 7-9 you 
  have it, but not here: it will take some time to get it. On a miss, 
  you know where it is, but it's somewhere real bad.
  •
  It Wasn't As Bad As It Looked: Once per mystery, you may 
  attempt to keep going despite your injuries. Roll +Cool. On a 
  10+, heal 2 harm and stabilize your wounds. On a 7-9 you may 
  either stabilize or heal 1 harm. On a miss, it was worse than it 
  looked.
  •
  Precise Strike. When you inflict harm on a monster, you can 
  aim for a weak spot. Roll +Tough. On a 10+ you inflict +2 
  harm. On a 7-9 you inflict +1 harm. On a miss, you leave 
  yourself open for the monster to hit you.
  •
  The Woman (or Man) With The Plan: At the beginning of 
  each mystery, roll +Sharp. On a 10+ hold 2, on a 7-9 hold 1. 
  Spend the hold to be where you need to be, prepared and 
  ready. On a miss, the Keeper holds 1 they can spend to have 
  you be in the wrong place, unprepared and unready.
  •
  Dark Past: You dabbled in the worst sort of mystical arts 
  before you became one of the good guys. If you trawl through 
  your memories  for something relevant to the case at hand, 
  roll +Weird. On a 10+ ask the Keeper two questions from the 
  list below. On a 7-9 ask one. On a miss, you can ask a question 
  anyway  but  that  means  you  were  personally  complicit  in 
  creating the situation you are dealing with now. The questions 
  are:
  •
  When I dealt with this creature (or one of its kind), what did 
  I learn?
  •
  What black magic do I know that could help here?
  •
  Do I know anyone who might be behind this?
  •
  Who do I know who can help us right now?
  Haven
  You have a haven set up, a safe place to work. Pick three of the options 
  below for your haven:
  •
  Lore Library. When you hit the books, take +1 forward to 
  investigate the mystery (as long as historical or reference 
  works are appropriate). 
  17
  
  •
  Mystical Library. If you use your library, preparing with your 
  tomes and grimoires, take +1 forward for use magic.
  •
  Protection Spells. Your haven is safe from monsters – they 
  cannot enter. Monsters might be able to do something special 
  to evade the wards, but not easily.
  •
  Armory. You have a stockpile of mystical and rare monster-
  killing weapons and items. If you need a special weapon, roll 
  +Weird. On a 10+ you have it (and plenty if that matters). On a 
  7-9 you have it, but only the minimum. On a miss, you've got 
  the wrong thing.
  •
  Infirmary. You can heal people, and have the space for one or 
  two to recuperate. The Keeper will tell you how long any 
  patient's  recovery is  likely to take,  and if  you  need  extra 
  supplies or help.
  •
  Workshop. You have a space for building and repairing guns, 
  cars and other gadgets. Work out with the Keeper how long 
  any repair or construction will take, and if you need extra 
  supplies or help.
  •
  Oubliette. This room is isolated from every kind of monster, 
  spirit and magic that you know about. Anything you stash in 
  there can't be found, can't do any magic, and can't get out.
  •
  Panic Room. This has essential supplies and is protected by 
  normal and mystical means. You can hide out there for a few 
  days, safe from pretty much anything.
  •
  Magical Laboratory. You have a mystical lab with all kinds of 
  weird ingredients and tools useful for casting spells (like the 
  use magic move, big magic, and any other magical moves).
  Gear
  You get three monster-slaying weapons. 
  Monster-slaying weapons (pick three):
  •
  Mallet & wooden stakes (3-harm intimate slow wooden)
  •
  Silver sword (2-harm hand messy silver)
  •
  Cold iron sword (2-harm hand messy iron)
  •
  Blessed knife (2-harm hand holy)
  •
  Magical dagger (2-harm hand magic)
  •
  Juju bag (1-harm far magic)
  18
  
  •
  Flamethrower (3-harm close fire heavy volatile)
  •
  Magnum (3-harm close reload loud)
  •
  Shotgun (3-harm close messy loud)
  Introductions
  When you get here, wait for everyone to catch up so you can do your 
  introductions together. 
  Go around the group. On your turn, introduce your Expert by name 
  and look, and tell the group what they know about you.
  History
  Go around the group again. On your turn, pick one of these for each 
  other hunter:
  •
  They  are  your  student,  apprentice,  ward,  or  child.  Decide 
  between you which.
  •
  They came to you for advice, and your advice got them out of 
  trouble. Ask them what the trouble was.
  •
  They  know  about  some  of  your  dark  secrets,  but  they've 
  agreed to keep quiet about them. Tell them what they know.
  •
  A distant relation. Tell them exactly what.
  •
  You were previously both members of an eldritch group, now 
  disbanded. Ask them why they left, then tell them why you did.
  •
  They once helped you get a singular item that is now part of 
  your haven. Tell them what it was.
  •
  You were taught by the same master. Ask them how it ended.
  •
  You saved their life in a tight spot. Tell them what happened.
  Luck
  You can mark off a Luck box to either change a roll you just made to a 12, 
  as if you had rolled that; or change a wound you have just taken to count 
  as 0-harm, no matter how bad it was. If your Luck boxes all get filled, 
  you've run out of good luck.
  Okay c c c c c c c Doomed
  19
  
  Harm
  When you suffer harm, mark off the number of boxes equal to harm 
  suffered. When you reach four harm, tick “Unstable.”
  Okay c c c|c c c c Dying
  Unstable: c  (Unstable injuries will worsen as time passes)
  Leveling Up
  Experience: c c c c c 
  Whenever you roll a highlighted rating, or a move tells you to, mark an 
  experience box. 
  When you have filled all five experience boxes, you level up. Erase the 
  marks and pick an improvement from the following list:
  Improvements
  c Get +1 Sharp, max +3
  c Get +1 Charm, max +2
  c Get +1 Cool, max +2
  c Get +1 Weird, max +2
  c Take another Expert move
  c Take another Expert move
  c Add an option to your haven
  c Add an option to your haven
  c Take a move from another 
  playbook
  c Take a move from another 
  playbook
  After leveling up five times, you qualify for advanced improvements, as 
  described on page 75.
  20
  
  The Flake
  Everything's connected. But not everyone can see 
  the patterns, and most people don't even look 
  that hard. 
  But me, I can never stop looking deeper. I can  
  never stop seeing the truth. 
  I spot the patterns. That's how I found the  
  monsters, and that's how I help kill them. 
  To make your Flake, first pick a name. Then 
  follow the instructions below to decide your 
  look, ratings, moves, and gear. Finally, 
  introduce yourself and pick history.
  look, pick one from each List:
  •
  Man, woman, transgressive, 
  concealed.
  •
  Wild eyes, moving eyes, focused 
  eyes, searching eyes, suspicious 
  eyes, wide eyes, guarded eyes.
  •
  Ratty clothes, casual clothes, rumpled suit, neat clothes, 
  comfortable clothes, army surplus gear.
  Ratings, pick one line:
  •
  Charm+1, Cool+1, Sharp+2, Tough-1, Weird=0
  •
  Charm=0, Cool+1, Sharp+2, Tough-1, Weird+1
  •
  Charm+1, Cool-1, Sharp+2, Tough+1, Weird=0
  •
  Charm+1, Cool-1, Sharp+2, Tough=0, Weird+1
  •
  Charm-1, Cool-1, Sharp+2, Tough=0, Weird+2
  Moves
  You get all of the basic moves, plus pick three Flake moves:
  •
  Connect the Dots: At the beginning of each mystery, if  you 
  look for the wider patterns that current events might be part 
  of,  roll +Sharp. On a 10+ hold 3, and on a 7-9 hold 1. Spend 
  your hold during the mystery to ask the Keeper any one of the 
  following questions:
  21
  
  •
  Is this person connected to current events more than they 
  are saying?
  •
  When and where will the next critical event occur?
  •
  What does the monster want from this person?
  •
  Is this connected to previous mysteries we have 
  investigated?
  •
  How does this mystery connect to the bigger picture?
  •
  Crazy Eyes: You get +1 Weird (max +3).
  •
  See, It All Fits Together: You can use Sharp instead of Charm 
  when you manipulate someone.
  •
  Suspicious Mind: If someone lies to you, you know it.
  •
  Often Overlooked: When you act all crazy to avoid something, 
  roll  +Weird.  On  a  10+  you're  regarded  as  unthreatening  and 
  unimportant. On a 7-9, pick one: unthreatening or unimportant. 
  On a miss, you draw lots of attention.
  •
  Contrary:  When  you seek out and receive someone's honest 
  advice on the best course of action for you, then mark experience 
  if you do something else instead. If you do exactly the opposite of 
  their advice, you also take +1 ongoing on any moves you make 
  pursuing that course.
  •
  Net Friends: You know a lot of people on the Internet. When 
  you contact a net friend to help you with a mystery, roll 
  +Charm. On a 10+, they're available and helpful – they can fix 
  something, break a code, hack a computer, or get you some 
  special information. On a 7-9, they're prepared to help, but it's 
  either going to take some time or you're going to have to do 
  part of it yourself. On a miss, you burn some bridges.
  •
  Sneaky: When  you attack from ambush, or from behind, 
  inflict +2 harm.
  Gear
  You get one normal weapon and two hidden weapons.
  Normal weapons (pick one): 
  •
  .38 revolver (2-harm close reload loud)
  •
  9mm (2-harm close loud)
  •
  Hunting rifle (2-harm far loud)
  •
  Magnum (3-harm close reload loud)
  22
  
  •
  Shotgun (3-harm close messy loud)
  •
  Big knife (1-harm hand)
  Hidden weapons (pick two):
  •
  Throwing knives (1-harm close many)
  •
  Holdout pistol (2-harm close loud reload)
  •
  Garrote (3-harm intimate)
  •
  Watchman's flashlight (1-harm hand)
  •
  Weighted gloves/brass knuckles (1-harm hand)
  •
  Butterfly knife/folding knife (1-harm hand)
  Introductions
  When you get here, wait for everyone to catch up so you can do your 
  introductions together. 
  Go around the group. On your turn, introduce your Flake by name and 
  look, and tell the group what they know about you.
  History
  Go around the group again. On your turn, pick one of these for each 
  other hunter:
  •
  They're somehow tied into it all. You've been keeping an eye 
  on them.
  •
  They're a close relative. Ask them to decide exactly what.
  •
  Old  friends,  from  a  hobby  or a job  you  had  once.  Decide 
  together what it was.
  •
  You went through hell together: maybe a monster, maybe 
  military service, maybe time in an institution. Whatever it was, 
  it bound you together, and you have total trust in each other.
  •
  Members of the same support group.
  •
  Fellow freaks. 
  •
  The signs all pointed to working together. So you found them 
  and now you work together.
  •
  You know each other through cryptozoology and conspiracy 
  theory websites.
  23
  
  Luck
  You can mark off a Luck box to either change a roll you just made to a 12, 
  as if you had rolled that; or change a wound you have just taken to count 
  as 0-harm, no matter how bad it was. If your Luck boxes all get filled, 
  you've run out of good luck.
  Okay c c c c c c c Doomed
  Harm
  When you suffer harm, mark off the number of boxes equal to harm 
  suffered. When you reach four harm, tick “Unstable.”
  Okay c c c|c c c c Dying
  Unstable: c  (Unstable injuries will worsen as time passes)
  Leveling Up
  Experience: c c c c c 
  Whenever you roll a highlighted rating, or a move tells you to, mark an 
  experience box. 
  When you have filled all five experience boxes, you level up. Erase the 
  marks and pick an improvement from the following list:
  Improvements
  c Get +1 Sharp, max +3
  c Get +1 Charm, max +2
  c Get +1 Cool, max +2
  c Get +1 Weird, max +2
  c Take another Flake move
  c Take another Flake move
  c Get a haven, like the Expert has, 
  with two options
  c Gain another option for your 
  haven
  c Take a move from another 
  playbook
  c Take a move from another 
  playbook
  After leveling up five times, you qualify for advanced improvements, as 
  described on page 75.
  24
  
  The Initiate
  Since the dawn of history, we have 
  been the bulwark against Darkness. We 
  know the Evils of the world, and we 
  stand against them so that the mass of  
  humanity need not fear. We are the  
  Flame that cleanses the Shadows.
  To make your Initiate, first pick a 
  name. Then follow the instructions 
  below to decide your look, ratings, 
  moves, Sect, and gear. Finally, 
  introduce yourself and pick history.
  look, pick one from each List:
  •
  Man, woman, masked.
  •
  Hardened body, tattooed 
  body, agile body, strong 
  body, thin body, angular body, hunched body.
  •
  Archaic clothes, unfashionable clothes, ceremonial clothes, 
  mismatched clothes.
  Ratings, pick one line:
  •
  Charm-1, Cool+1, Sharp=0, Tough+1, Weird+2
  •
  Charm=0, Cool+1, Sharp+1, Tough-1, Weird+2
  •
  Charm-1, Cool=0, Sharp-1, Tough+2, Weird+2
  •
  Charm+1, Cool-1, Sharp+1, Tough=0, Weird+2
  •
  Charm=0, Cool=0, Sharp=0, Tough+1, Weird+2
  Moves
  You get all of the basic moves, plus four Initiate moves.
  You get this one:
  •
  When  you  are  in  good  standing  with  your  Sect,  at  the 
  beginning of each mystery, roll +Charm. On a 10+ they provide 
  some useful info or help in the field. On a 7-9 you get a mission 
  associated with the mystery, and if you do it you'll get some 
  info or help too. On a miss, they ask you to do something bad. 
  If you fail a mission or refuse an order, you'll be in trouble 
  with the Sect until you atone.
  25
  
  Then pick three of these:
  •
  Ancient Fighting Arts: When using an old-fashioned hand 
  weapon, you inflict +1 harm and get +1 whenever you roll 
  protect someone.
  •
  Mystic:  Every  time  you  successfully  use  magic,  take  +1 
  forward.
  •
  Fortunes:  The  Sect  has  ancient  prophecies  or  divination 
  techniques to predict the future. Once per mystery, you may 
  use them. If you look at what the future holds, roll +Weird. 
  On a 10+ hold 3, and on a 7-9 hold 1. On a miss, you get bad 
  information  and  the  Keeper  decides how that  affects you. 
  Spend your hold to: 
  •
  have a useful object ready.
  •
  be somewhere you are needed, just in time.
  •
  take +1 forward, or give +1 forward to another hunter.
  •
  retroactively warn someone about an attack, so that it 
  doesn't happen.
  •
  Sacred Oath: You may bind yourself to a single goal, forsaking 
  something during your quest (e.g. speech, all sustenance but 
  bread and water, alcohol, lying, sex, etc). Get the Keeper's 
  agreement on this – it should match the goal in importance 
  and difficulty. While you keep your oath and work towards 
  your goal, mark experience at the end of every session and get 
  +1 on any rolls that directly help achieve the goal. If you break 
  the oath, take -1 ongoing until you have atoned.
  •
  Mentor: You have a mentor in the Sect: name them. When you 
  contact your mentor for info, roll +Sharp. On a 10+, you get 
  an answer to your question, no problem. On a 7-9 you choose: 
  they're either busy and can't help, or they answer the question 
  but you owe a favour. On a miss, your question causes trouble.
  •
  Apprentice:  You have an apprentice: name them. Your job is to 
  teach them the Sect's ways. They count as an ally: subordinate 
  (motivation: to follow your instructions to the letter).
  •
  Helping  Hand:  When  you  successfully  help  out another 
  hunter, they get +2 instead of the usual +1.
  •
  That Old Black Magic: When you  use magic, you can ask a 
  question from the investigate a mystery move as your effect.
  26
  
  Sect
  You are part of an ancient, secret order that slays monsters. Where are 
  they from? How old are they? Are they religious? Why do they stay 
  secret? How do they recruit?
  You also need to pick the Sect's traditions (these will be used by the 
  Keeper to determine the Sect's methods and actions):
  Good Traditions (pick two): 
  •
  Knowledgable
  •
  Ancient lore
  •
  Magical lore
  •
  Fighting arts
  •
  Chapters everywhere
  •
  Secular power
  •
  Flexible tactics
  •
  Modernised
  •
  Integrated in society
  •
  Open hierarchy
  •
  Rich
  •
  Nifty gadgets
  •
  Magical items
  Bad Traditions (pick one): 
  •
  Dubious motives
  •
  Tradition-bound
  •
  Short-sighted
  •
  Paranoid and secretive
  •
  Closed hierarchy
  •
  Factionalised
  •
  Strict laws
  •
  Mystical oaths
  •
  Total obedience
  •
  Tyrannical leaders
  •
  Obsolete gear
  •
  Poor
  Gear
  If the Sect has  fighting arts or  obsolete gear, then pick two old-
  fashioned weapons. If the Sect has modernised or nifty gadgets, you 
  may pick two modern weapons. Otherwise, pick one old-fashioned 
  weapon and one modern weapon.
  You also get old-fashioned armour (1-armour heavy).
  27
  
  Old-fashioned weapons:
  •
  sword (2-harm hand messy)
  •
  axe (2-harm hand messy)
  •
  big sword (3-harm hand messy heavy)
  •
  big axe (3-harm hand messy slow heavy)
  •
  silver knife (1-harm hand silver)
  •
  fighting sticks (1-harm hand quick)
  •
  spear (2-harm hand/close)
  •
  mace (2-harm hand messy)
  •
  crossbow (2-harm close slow)
  Modern weapons: 
  •
  .38 revolver (2-harm close reload loud)
  •
  9mm (2-harm close loud)
  •
  sniper rifle (3-harm far)
  •
  magnum (3-harm close reload loud)
  •
  shotgun (3-harm close messy)
  Introductions
  When you get here, wait for everyone to catch up so you can do your 
  introductions together. 
  Go around the group. On your turn, introduce your Initiate by name 
  and look, and tell the group what they know about you.
  History
  Go around the group again. On your turn, pick one for each of the 
  other hunters:
  •
  They are a lay member of your Sect. 
  •
  You fought together when the tide of monsters seemed 
  unstoppable. Ask them how it went.
  •
  Friends, but they only know your cover identity, not about the 
  Sect.
  •
  They are your close relative, or partner/spouse. Decide 
  between you exactly what the relationship is.
  •
  Fellow ancient weapons/martial arts club members.
  •
  They're described in the prophecies, but the role they will 
  28
  
  play isn't stated.
  •
  An ex-member of the Sect, but still friends. Ask them why they 
  left or got thrown out.
  •
  You met researching mystical weirdness, and you've been 
  spooky buddies ever since.
  Luck
  You can mark off a Luck box to either change a roll you just made to a 12, 
  as if you had rolled that; or change a wound you have just taken to count 
  as 0-harm, no matter how bad it was. If all your Luck boxes get filled, 
  you've run out of good luck.
  Okay c c c c c c c Doomed
  Harm
  When you suffer harm, mark off the number of boxes equal to harm 
  suffered. When you reach four harm, tick “Unstable.”
  Okay c c c|c c c c Dying
  Unstable: c  (Unstable injuries will worsen as time passes)
  Leveling Up
  Experience: c c c c c 
  Whenever you roll a highlighted rating, or a move tells you to, mark an 
  experience box. 
  When you have filled all five experience boxes, you level up. Erase the 
  marks and pick an improvement from the following list:
  Improvements
  c Get +1 Weird, max +3
  c Get +1 Cool, max +2
  c Get +1 Sharp, max +2
  c Get +1 Tough, max +2
  c Take another Initiate move
  c Take another Initiate move
  c Get command of your chapter of 
  the Sect
  c Get a Sect team under your 
  command
  c Take a move from another 
  playbook
  c Take a move from another 
  playbook
  After leveling up five times, you qualify for advanced improvements, as 
  described on page 75.
  29
  
  The Monstrous
  I feel the hunger, the lust to destroy. But I fight it, I  
  never give in. I'm not human any more, not really,  
  but I have to protect those who still are. That way I  
  can tell myself I'm different to the other monsters.  
  Sometimes I even believe it.
  To make your Monstrous, first pick a name. 
  Then follow the instructions below to decide 
  your look, ratings, breed, moves, and gear. 
  Finally, introduce yourself and pick history.
  look, pick one from each List:
  •
  Man, woman, concealed, transgressive.
  •
  Sinister aura, powerful aura, dark aura, 
  unnerving aura, pleasant aura, 
  energetic aura, evil aura.
  •
  Archaic clothes, casual clothes, ragged 
  clothes, tailored clothes, stylish 
  clothes, street clothes, outdoor clothes.
  Ratings, pick one line:
  •
  Charm-1, Cool-1, Sharp=0, Tough+2, Weird+3
  •
  Charm-1, Cool+1, Sharp+1, Tough=0, Weird+3
  •
  Charm+2, Cool=0, Sharp-1, Tough-1, Weird+3
  •
  Charm-2, Cool+2, Sharp=0, Tough=0, Weird+3
  •
  Charm=0, Cool-1, Sharp+2, Tough-1, Weird+3
  Breed
  You're half-human, half-monster: decide if you were always this way 
  or if you you were originally human and transformed somehow. 
  Now decide if you were always fighting to be good, or if you were evil 
  and changed sides.
  Define your monstrous breed by picking a curse, moves, and natural 
  attacks. 
  Create the monster you want to be: whatever you choose defines your 
  breed in the game. Some classic monsters with suggestions for picks 
  are  listed  below.  These  are  only suggestions:  feel  free  to  make  a 
  different version!
  30
  
  Monster Breed Suggestions
  •
  Vampire: Curse: feed (blood or life-force). Natural attacks: Base: 
  life-drain or Base: teeth; add +1 harm to base attack.  Moves: 
  immortal or unquenchable vitality; mental domination. 
  •
  Werewolf: Curse: vulnerability (silver). Natural attacks: Base: 
  claws; Base: teeth. Moves: shapeshifter (wolf and/or wolfman); 
  claws of the beast or unholy strength.
  •
  Ghost: Curse: vulnerability (rock salt). Natural attacks: Base: 
  magical force; add hand range to magical force. Moves: 
  incorporeal; immortal.
  •
  Faerie: Curse: pure drive (joy). Natural attacks: Base: magical 
  force; add ignore-armour to magical force. Moves: flight; 
  preternatural speed.
  •
  Demon: Curse: pure drive (cruelty). Natural attacks: Base: claws; 
  +1 harm to claws. Moves: dark negotiator; unquenchable 
  vitality.
  •
  Orc: Curse: dark master (the orc overlord). Natural attacks: Base: 
  teeth; add ignore-armour to teeth. Moves: Unholy strength; 
  dark negotiator.
  •
  Zombie: Curse: pure drive (hunger), feed (flesh or brains). 
  Natural attacks: Base: teeth; +1 harm to teeth. Moves: immortal; 
  unquenchable vitality.
  Curses, pick one:
  •
  Feed: You must subsist on living humans – it might take the 
  form of blood, brains, or spiritual essence but it must be from 
  people. You need to  act under pressure to resist feeding 
  whenever a perfect opportunity presents itself.
  •
  Vulnerability: Pick a substance. You suffer +1 harm when you 
  suffer harm from it. If you are bound or surrounded by it, you 
  must act under pressure to use your powers.
  •
  Pure Drive: One emotion rules you. Pick from: hunger, hate, 
  anger, fear, jealousy, greed, joy, pride, envy, lust, or cruelty. 
  Whenever you have a chance to indulge that emotion, you 
  must do so immediately, or act under pressure to resist.
  •
  Dark Master: You have an evil lord who doesn't know you 
  changed sides. They still give you orders, and do not tolerate 
  refusal. Or failure.
  31
  
  Natural Attacks
  Pick a Base and add an extra to it, or two Bases.
  •
  Base: teeth (3-harm intimate)
  •
  Base: claws (2-harm hand)
  •
  Base: life-drain (1-harm intimate healing)
  •
  Base: magical force (1-harm magical close)
  •
  Add +1 harm to a base
  •
  Add ignore-armour to a base
  •
  Add an extra range to a base (add intimate, hand, or close).
  Moves
  You get all the basic moves, plus pick two Monstrous moves:
  •
  Immortal: You do not age or sicken, and whenever you suffer 
  harm you suffer 1-harm less.
  •
  Incorporeal: You may move freely through solid objects (but 
  not people).
  •
  Unnatural Appeal: Roll +Weird instead of +Charm when you 
  manipulate someone.
  •
  Unholy Strength: Roll +Weird instead of +Tough when you 
  kick some ass.
  •
  Preternatural Speed: You go much faster than normal people. 
  When you chase, flee, or run take +1 ongoing.
  •
  Claws of the Beast: All your natural attacks get +1 harm.
  •
  Mental Dominion: When you gaze into a normal human's eyes 
  and exert your will over them, roll +Charm. On a 10+, hold 3. 
  On a 7-9, hold 1. You may spend your hold to give them an 
  order. Regular people will follow your order, whatever it is. 
  Hunters can choose whether they do it or not. If they do, they 
  mark experience.
  •
  Unquenchable Vitality: When you have taken harm, you can 
  heal yourself. Roll +Cool. On a 10+, heal 2-harm and stabilise 
  your injuries. On a 7-9, heal 1-harm and stabilise your injuries. 
  On a miss, your injuries worsen.
  •
  Dark Negotiator: You can use the manipulate someone move 
  on monsters as well as people, if they can reason and talk. 
  •
  Flight: You can fly.
  32
  
  •
  Shapeshifter: You may change your form (usually into an 
  animal) – decide if you have just one alternate form or several, 
  and detail them. You gain +1 to investigate a mystery when 
  using an alternate form's superior senses (e.g. smell for a wolf, 
  sight for an eagle).
  •
  Something Borrowed: Take a move from a hunter playbook 
  that is not currently in play.
  Gear
  If you want, you can take one handy weapon:
  •
  .38 revolver (2-harm close reload loud)
  •
  9mm (2-harm close loud)
  •
  magnum (3-harm close reload loud)
  •
  shotgun (3-harm close messy)
  •
  big knife (1-harm hand)
  •
  brass knuckles (1-harm hand quiet small)
  •
  sword (2-harm hand messy)
  •
  huge sword (3-harm hand heavy)
  Introductions
  When you get here, wait for everyone to catch up so you can do your 
  introductions together. 
  Go around the group. On your turn, introduce your Monstrous by name 
  and look, and tell the group what they know about you.
  History
  Go around the group again. When it's your turn, pick one for each of 
  the other hunters:
  •
  You lost control one time, and almost killed them. Ask them 
  how they stopped you.
  •
  They tried to slay you, but you proved you're a good guy. Ask 
  them what convinced them.
  •
  Romantic obsession on your part. Ask them if they know, and 
  if they reciprocate.
  •
  Close relations, or a distant descendant. Tell them which.
  •
  You saved them from another of your kind, and prevented 
  reprisals against that individual (maybe it's another good one, 
  or maybe it has a hold over you).
  33
  
  •
  They are tied to your curse or origin. Tell them how.
  •
  You fought together against the odds, and prevailed.
  •
  They saved you from another hunter who was prepared to kill 
  you. Ask them what happened.
  Luck
  You can mark off a Luck box to either change a roll you just made to a 12, 
  as if you had rolled that; or change a wound you have just taken to count 
  as 0-harm, no matter how bad it was. If all your Luck boxes get filled, 
  you've run out of good luck.
  Okay c c c c c c c Doomed
  Harm
  When you suffer harm, mark off the number of boxes equal to harm 
  suffered. When you reach four harm, tick “Unstable.”
  Okay c c c|c c c c Dying
  Unstable: c  (Unstable injuries will worsen as time passes)
  Leveling Up
  Experience: c c c c c 
  Whenever you roll a highlighted rating, or a move tells you to, mark an 
  experience box. 
  When you have filled all five experience boxes, you level up. Erase the 
  marks and pick an improvement from the following list:
  Improvements
  c Get +1 Charm, max +2
  c Get +1 Cool, max +2
  c Get +1 Sharp, max +2
  c Get +1 Tough, max +2
  c Take another Monstrous move
  c Take another Monstrous move
  c Gain a haven, like the Expert 
  has, with two options
  c Take a natural attacks pick
  c Take a move from another 
  playbook
  c Take a move from another 
  playbook
  After leveling up five times, you qualify for advanced improvements, as 
  described on page 75.
  34
  
  The Mundane
  You heard about how monsters only 
  pick on people with crazy powers 
  who can fight back on even terms? 
  Yeah, me neither. But, hell, I ended  
  up in this monster-hunting team so 
  I gotta do what I can, right? 
  To make your Mundane, first 
  pick a name. Then follow the 
  instructions below to decide 
  your look, ratings, moves, and 
  gear. Finally, introduce yourself 
  and pick history.
  look, pick one from each List:
  •
  Man, woman, boy, girl.
  •
  Friendly face, alluring 
  face, laughing face, 
  trustworthy face, 
  average face, serious face, sensual face.
  •
  Normal clothes, casual clothes, goth clothes, sporty clothes, 
  work clothes, street clothes, nerdy clothes.
  Ratings, pick one line:
  •
  Charm+2, Cool+1, Sharp=0, Tough+1, Weird-1
  •
  Charm+2, Cool-1, Sharp+1, Tough+1, Weird=0
  •
  Charm+2, Cool=0, Sharp-1, Tough+1, Weird+1
  •
  Charm+2, Cool=0, Sharp+1, Tough+1, Weird-1
  •
  Charm+2, Cool+1, Sharp+1, Tough=0, Weird-1
  Moves
  You get all the basic moves, plus pick three Mundane moves:
  •
  Always  The  Victim:  When  another  hunter  uses  protect 
  someone to protect you, they mark experience. Whenever a 
  monster captures you, you mark experience.
  •
  Oops! If you want to stumble across something important, 
  roll +Weird. Treat the results as if you had  investigated a 
  35
  
  mystery, but anything you discover is by dumb luck rather 
  than skill (e.g. literally tripping over a clue).
  •
  Let's Get Out Of Here! If you can protect someone by telling 
  them what to do, or by leading them out, roll +Charm instead 
  of +Tough.
  •
  Panic Button: When you need to escape,  name the route 
  you'll try and roll +Sharp. On a 10+ you're out of danger, no 
  problem. On a 7-9 you can go or stay, but if you go it's going to 
  cost you (you leave something behind or something comes 
  with you). On a miss, you are caught halfway out.
  •
  The Power of Heart: When fighting a monster, if you  help 
  someone, don’t roll+Cool. You automatically help as though 
  you’d rolled and got a total of 10.
  •
  Trust Me: When you tell a normal person the truth in order 
  to protect them from danger, roll +Charm. On a 10+ they'll do 
  what you say they should, no questions asked. On a 7-9 they do 
  it, but the Keeper chooses one from: 
  •
  They ask you a hard question first.
  •
  They stall and dither a while.
  •
  They have a “better” idea. 
  On a miss, they're going to think you're crazy and maybe 
  dangerous too.
  •
  What  Could  Go  Wrong?:  Whenever  you  charge  into 
  immediate danger without hedging your bets, hold 2. You 
  may spend your hold to:
  •
  Inflict +1 harm.
  •
  Reduce someone's harm suffered by 1.
  •
  Take +2 forward on an act under pressure roll.
  •
  Don't Worry, I'll Check It Out: Whenever  you go off by 
  yourself to check out somewhere (or something) scary, mark 
  experience.
  36
  
  Gear
  You get two Mundane weapons and a means of transport.
  Mundane weapons (pick two):
  •
  Golf club, baseball bat, cricket bat, or hockey stick (2-harm 
  hand innocuous messy)
  •
  Pocket knife or multitool (1-harm hand useful small)
  •
  Small handgun (2-harm close loud reload)
  •
  Hunting rifle (3-harm far loud reload)
  •
  Sledge-hammer or fire axe (3-harm hand messy)
  •
  Nunchuks (2-harm hand area)
  Means of transport (pick one): 
  •
  Skateboard
  •
  Bicycle
  •
  Fairly new car in decent condition
  •
  Classic car in terrible condition
  •
  Motorcycle
  •
  Van
  Introductions
  When you get here, wait for everyone to catch up so you can do your 
  introductions together. 
  Go around the group. On your turn, introduce your Mundane by name 
  and look, and tell the group what they know about you.
  History
  Go around the group again. When it's your turn, pick one for each of 
  the other hunters:
  •
  You are close relations. Tell them exactly how you're related.
  •
  Initially rivals, you both now respect each others' talents.
  •
  Romantically involved, or you just have a crush on them. Ask 
  them which they prefer.
  •
  They're your hero, exactly the kind of monster hunter you 
  aspire to be. Tell them why you worship them.
  •
  Good friends. Tell them if it's from way back, or recently.
  •
  You're a bit suspicious of them (maybe due to their unnatural 
  powers or something like that).
  37
  
  •
  They introduced you to the existence of monsters. Tell them 
  how you feel about that.
  •
  You saved their life from a monster due to an unlikely chain of 
  events. Tell them what.
  Luck
  You can mark off a Luck box to either change a roll you just made to a 12, 
  as if you had rolled that; or change a wound you have just taken to count 
  as 0-harm, no matter how bad it was. If all your Luck boxes get filled, 
  you've run out of good luck.
  Okay c c c c c c c Doomed
  Harm
  When you suffer harm, mark off the number of boxes equal to harm 
  suffered. When you reach four harm, tick “Unstable.”
  Okay c c c|c c c c Dying
  Unstable: c  (Unstable injuries will worsen as time passes)
  Leveling Up
  Experience: c c c c c 
  Whenever you roll a highlighted rating, or a move tells you to, mark an 
  experience box. 
  When you have filled all five experience boxes, you level up. Erase the 
  marks and pick an improvement from the following list:
  Improvements
  c Get +1 Charm, max +3
  c Get +1 Cool, max +2
  c Get +1 Sharp, max +2
  c Get +1 Tough, max +2
  c Take another Mundane move
  c Take another Mundane move
  c Get back one used Luck point
  c Get back one used Luck point
  c Take a move from another 
  playbook
  c Take a move from another 
  playbook
  After leveling up five times, you qualify for advanced improvements, as 
  described on page 75.
  38
  
  The Professional
  It's kind of strange when your regular 9-to-5 job 
  is to hunt down monsters. Still, that's the job I 
  got when I accepted that mysterious transfer. It 
  pays well, and the benefits are good. Like they 
  say “you don't have to be crazy to work here, but  
  it sure helps!”
  To  make  your  Professional,  first  pick  a 
  name. Then follow the instructions below to 
  decide your look, ratings, Agency, moves, 
  and  gear.  Finally,  introduce  yourself  and 
  pick history.
  look, pick one from each List:
  •
  Man, woman.
  •
  Chiseled face, scarred face, 
  unshaven face, soft face, young face, 
  old face, determined face.
  •
  Tailored suit, shabby suit, perfect suit, utility coveralls, 
  battledress, paramilitary uniform, lab coat.
  Ratings, pick one line:
  •
  Charm=0, Cool+2, Sharp-1, Tough+2, Weird-1
  •
  Charm-1, Cool+2, Sharp+1, Tough+1, Weird=0
  •
  Charm+1, Cool+2, Sharp+1, Tough-1, Weird=0
  •
  Charm-1, Cool+2, Sharp+1, Tough=0, Weird+1
  •
  Charm=0, Cool+2, Sharp+2, Tough-1, Weird-1
  Agency
  Decide who it is you work for. Are they a black-budget government 
  department, a secret military arm, a clandestine police team, a private 
  individual's crusade, a corporation, a scientific team, or what? 
  Is the Agency's goal to: destroy monsters, study the supernatural, 
  protect people, gain power, or something else?
  39
  
  Pick two resource tags for the Agency, and two red tape tags:
  Resources (pick two): 
  •
  Well-armed
  •
  Well-financed
  •
  Rigorous training
  •
  Official pull
  •
  Cover identities
  •
  Offices all over the place
  •
  Good intel
  •
  Recognised authority
  •
  Weird tech gadgets
  •
  Support teams
  Red Tape (pick two):
  •
  Dubious motives
  •
  Bureaucratic
  •
  Secretive hierarchy
  •
  Cryptic missions
  •
  Hostile superiors
  •
  Inter-departmental rivalry
  •
  Budget cuts
  •
  Take no prisoners policy
  •
  Live capture policy
  •
  On-call 24/7 
  Moves
  You get all the basic moves, plus four Professional moves.
  You get this one:
  •
  When  you  deal with the Agency, requesting help or gear, or 
  making excuses for a failure, roll +Sharp. On a 10+, you're good – 
  your request for gear or personnel is okayed, or your slip-up goes 
  unnoticed. On a 7-9, things aren't so great. You might get chewed 
  out by your superiors and there'll be fallout, but you get what you 
  need  for  the  job.  On  a miss,  you  screwed  up:  you  might  be 
  suspended or under investigation, or just in the doghouse. You 
  certainly aren't going to get any help until you sort it all out.
  Then pick three of these:
  •
  Bottle It Up: If you want, you can take up to +3 bonus when 
  you act under pressure. For each +1 you use, the Keeper holds 
  1. That hold can be spent later – one for one – to give you -1 on 
  any move except act under pressure.
  •
  Unfazeable: Take +1 Cool (max +3).
  •
  Battlefield Awareness: You always know what's happening 
  around you, and what to watch out for. Take +1 armour (max 
  2-armour) on top of whatever you get from your gear.
  •
  Leave No One Behind:  In combat, when  you help someone 
  escape, roll +Sharp. On a 10+ you get them out clean. On a 7-9, you 
  40
  
  can either get them out or suffer no harm, you choose. On a miss, 
  you fail to get them out and you've attracted hostile attention.
  •
  Tactical Genius: When you read a bad situation, you may roll 
  +Cool instead of +Sharp
  •
  Medic: You have a full first aid kit, and training to heal people. 
  When  you  do  first  aid,  Roll  +Cool.  On  a  10+  the  patient  is 
  stabilized and healed of 1 harm. On a 7-9 choose one: heal 1 harm; 
  stabilize the injury. On a miss, you cause an extra 1 harm. First aid 
  can only be used once per injury.
  •
  Mobility: You have a truck, van, or car built for monster 
  hunting. Choose two good things and one bad thing about it. 
  •
  Good things: roomy; surveillance  gear; fast; stealthy; 
  intimidating;  classic;  medical  kit;  sleeping  space; 
  toolkit; concealed weapons; anonymous; armoured (+1 
  armour inside); tough; monster cage. 
  •
  Bad things: loud; obvious; temperamental; beaten-up; 
  gas-guzzler; uncomfortable; slow; old.
  Gear
  Pick one serious weapon and two normal weapons. 
  You get  either a flak vest (1-armour hidden)  or combat armour (2-
  armour heavy) for protection.
  Serious weapons (pick one):
  •
  assault rifle (3-harm far automatic loud)
  •
  grenade launcher (4-harm far area messy loud reload)
  •
  sniper rifle (4-harm far)
  •
  grenades (4-harm close area messy loud)
  •
  submachine gun (3-harm close automatic loud)
  41
  
  Normal weapons (pick two): 
  •
  .38 revolver (2-harm close reload loud)
  •
  9mm (2-harm close loud)
  •
  hunting rifle (2-harm far loud)
  •
  shotgun (3-harm close messy)
  •
  big knife (1-harm hand)
  Introductions
  When you get here, wait for everyone to catch up so you can do your 
  introductions together. 
  Go around the group. On your turn, introduce your Professional by 
  name and look, and tell the group what they know about you.
  History
  Go around the group again. On your turn, pick one for each of the 
  other hunters:
  •
  Your relationship with them has romantic potential. So far it 
  hasn't gone further.
  •
  They're on the Agency's watch list, and you've been keeping an 
  eye on them. 
  •
  You are related. Tell them how close.
  •
  You met on a mission and worked together unofficially. And 
  successfully.
  •
  They've  worked  with  the  Agency  before,  and  they're  well 
  regarded.
  •
  You were friends back in training, before the Agency recruited 
  you. This could be military, law enforcement, or some weirder 
  school: decide the details between you.
  •
  They pulled  you  (and maybe your team)  out  of a terrible 
  FUBARed mission.
  •
  You got sent to “deal with them” as a hazard to the Agency's 
  policies one time. Tell them how you resolved this.
  42
  
  Luck
  You can mark off a Luck box to either change a roll you just made to a 
  12, as if you had rolled that; or change a wound you have just taken to 
  count as 0-harm, no matter how bad it was. If all your Luck boxes get 
  filled, you've run out of good luck.
  Okay c c c c c c c Doomed
  Harm
  When you suffer harm, mark off the number of boxes equal to harm 
  suffered. When you reach four harm, tick “Unstable.”
  Okay c c c|c c c c Dying
  Unstable: c  (Unstable injuries will worsen as time passes)
  Leveling Up
  Experience: c c c c c 
  Whenever you roll a highlighted rating, or a move tells you to, mark an 
  experience box. 
  When you have filled all five experience boxes, you level up. Erase the 
  marks and pick an improvement from the following list:
  Improvements
  c Get +1 Cool, max +3
  c Get +1 Charm, max +2
  c Get +1 Sharp, max +2
  c Get +1 Tough, max +2
  c Take another Professional move
  c Take another Professional move
  c Add a new resource tag for your 
  Agency or change a red tape tag
  c Get command of an Agency 
  team of monster hunters
  c Take a move from another 
  playbook
  c Take a move from another 
  playbook
  After leveling up five times, you qualify for advanced improvements, as 
  described on page 75.
  43
  
  The Spooky
  I can do things, things that 
  normal people can't. But there's 
  a price – I haven't paid it in full, 
  yet, but the bill's gonna come 
  due soon. It's best I don't tell 
  you any more. You get too close, 
  you'll get hurt.
  To make your Spooky, first 
  pick a name. Then follow the 
  instructions below to decide 
  your look, ratings, moves, 
  dark side and gear. Finally, 
  introduce yourself and pick 
  history.
  look, pick one from each List:
  •
  Man, woman, boy, 
  girl, concealed.
  •
  Burning eyes, dark eyes, pained eyes, blank eyes, unblinking 
  eyes, piercing eyes, shadowed eyes, creepy eyes.
  •
  Ratty clothes, casual clothes, goth clothes, neat clothes, nerdy 
  clothes.
  Ratings, pick one line:
  •
  Charm+1, Cool=0, Sharp+1, Tough-1, Weird+2
  •
  Charm-1, Cool+1, Sharp=0, Tough+1, Weird+2
  •
  Charm+2, Cool=0, Sharp-1, Tough-1, Weird+2
  •
  Charm=0, Cool-1, Sharp+1, Tough+1, Weird+2
  •
  Charm-1, Cool-1, Sharp+2, Tough=0, Weird+2
  Moves
  You get all the basic moves, plus pick three Spooky moves:
  •
  Telepathy:  You can read people's thoughts and put words in 
  their mind. This can allow you to investigate a mystery or read 
  a bad situation without needing to actually talk. You can also 
  manipulate someone without speaking. You still roll moves as 
  44
  
  normal,  except  people will not  expect  the  weirdness of  your 
  mental communication.
  •
  Hex: When you cast a spell (with use magic), you can pick the 
  following extra magical effects: 
  •
  The target contracts a disease.
  •
  The target immediately suffers harm (2-harm magic 
  ignore-armour).
  •
  The target breaks something precious or important.
  •
  The Sight: You can see the invisible, especially spirits and 
  magical influences. You may communicate with (maybe even 
  make deals  with)  the  spirits you  see,  and  you  have  more 
  opportunities to spot clues when you investigate a mystery.
  •
  Premonitions: At the start of each mystery, roll +Weird. On a 
  10+, you get a detailed vision of something bad that is yet to 
  happen. You take +1 forward to prevent it coming true, and mark 
  experience if you stop it. On a 7-9+ you get clouded images of 
  something bad that is yet to happen: mark experience if you stop 
  it. On a miss, you get a vision of something bad happening to you 
  and the Keeper holds 3, to be spent one-for-one as penalties to 
  rolls you make.
  •
  Hunches: When something bad is happening (or just about to 
  happen) somewhere that you aren't, roll +Sharp. On a 10+ you 
  knew where you needed to go, just in time to get there. On a 7-9, 
  you get there late – in time to intervene, but not prevent it 
  altogether. On a miss, you get there just in time to be in trouble 
  yourself.
  •
  Tune In: You can attune your mind to a monster or minion. 
  Roll +Weird. On a 10+, hold 3. On a 7-9, hold 1. On a miss, the 
  monster becomes aware of you. Spend one hold to ask the Keeper 
  one of the following questions, and gain +1 ongoing while acting 
  on the answers:
  •
  Where is the creature right now?
  •
  What is it planning to do right now?
  •
  Who is it going to attack next?
  •
  Who does it regard as the biggest threat?
  •
  How can I attract its attention?
  45
  
  •
  The Big Whammy: You can use your powers to kick some ass: 
  roll  +Weird  instead  of  +Tough.  The  attack  has  2-harm  close 
  obvious ignore-armour. On a miss, you'll get a magical backlash.
  •
  Jinx: You can encourage coincidences to occur, the way you 
  want. When you jinx a target, roll +Weird. On a 10+ hold 2 and 
  on a 7-9 hold 1. On a miss, the Keeper holds 2 over you to be 
  used in the same way. Spend your hold to: 
  •
  Interfere with a hunter, giving them -1 forward.
  •
  Interfere with what a monster, minion, or bystander is 
  trying to do.
  •
  Inflict 1-harm on the target due to an accident.
  •
  The target finds something you left for them.
  •
  The target loses something that you will soon find.
  The Dark Side
  Your powers have an unsavory source, and sometimes you get tempted 
  to do things you shouldn't. These could  be orders from whatever 
  granted your power, or urges that bubble up from your subconscious. 
  Something like that. Whatever it is, it's unsettling.
  Pick three tags for your dark side: 
  •
  Violence
  •
  Depression
  •
  Secrets
  •
  Lust
  •
  Dark bargain
  •
  Guilt
  •
  Soulless
  •
  Addiction
  •
  Mood swings
  •
  Rage
  •
  Self-destruction
  •
  Poor impulse control
  •
  Greed for power
  •
  Hallucinations
  •
  Pain
  •
  Paranoia
  The Keeper can ask you to do nasty things (in accordance with the 
  tags), when your powers need you to. If you do whatever is asked, mark 
  experience. If you don't do it, then your powers are unavailable until 
  the end of the mystery (or you cave and do it anyway). As you mark off 
  Luck boxes, these requests will get bigger and nastier.
  46
  
  Gear
  You get two normal weapons and any magical items or amulets that 
  you use to invoke your powers.
  Normal weapons (pick two): 
  •
  .38 revolver (2-harm close reload loud)
  •
  9mm (2-harm close loud)
  •
  hunting rifle (2-harm far loud)
  •
  shotgun (3-harm close messy)
  •
  big knife (1-harm hand)
  Introductions
  When you get here, wait for everyone to catch up so you can do your 
  introductions together. 
  Go around the group. On your turn, introduce your Spooky by name 
  and look, and tell the group what they know about you.
  History
  Go around the group again. On your turn, pick one of these for each 
  hunter:
  •
  They taught you to control your powers, to the extent that you 
  can control them at all.
  •
  You are blood-kin. Decide together exactly what.
  •
  You are married, or romantically involved. Decide between 
  you the exact relationship.
  •
  You're old friends, and trust each other completely.
  •
  You used your powers on them one time. Decide if it was for 
  selfish reasons or not, and tell them if they found out about it.
  •
  You've known each other some time, but since your powers 
  manifested, you keep them at a distance emotionally.
  •
  You hope that they can help you control your powers.
  •
  They saw you use your powers for selfish or vindictive reasons. 
  Ask them who the victim was, and then tell them what you did.
  47
  
  Luck
  You can mark off a Luck box to either change a roll you just made to a 
  12, as if you had rolled that; or change a wound you have just taken to 
  count as 0-harm, no matter how bad it was. If all your Luck boxes get 
  filled, you've run out of good luck. As you mark off Luck boxes, your 
  dark side's needs will get nastier.
  Okay c c c c c c c Doomed
  Harm
  When you suffer harm, mark off the number of boxes equal to harm 
  suffered. When you reach four harm, tick “Unstable.”
  Okay c c c|c c c c Dying
  Unstable: c  (Unstable injuries will worsen as time passes)
  Leveling Up
  Experience: c c c c c 
  Whenever you roll a highlighted rating, or a move tells you to, mark an 
  experience box. 
  When you have filled all five experience boxes, you level up. Erase the 
  marks and pick an improvement from the following list:
  Improvements
  c Get +1 Weird, max +3
  c Get +1 Charm, max +2
  c Get +1 Cool, max +2
  c Get +1 Sharp, max +2
  c Take another Spooky move
  c Take another Spooky move
  c Change some, or all, your dark 
  side tags
  c Get a mystical library, like the 
  Expert's haven option
  c Take a move from another 
  playbook
  c Take a move from another 
  playbook
  After leveling up five times, you qualify for advanced improvements, as 
  described on page 75.
  48
  
  The Wronged
  They took my loved ones. Back then I wasn't  
  strong enough to fight, but I studied, trained, 
  and now I'm ready to kill the things that took 
  my loved ones. 
  I'll cleanse the world of their taint. That's all  
  I have left.
  To make your Wronged, first pick a 
  name. Then follow the instructions 
  below to decide your look, ratings, who 
  you lost, moves, and gear. Finally, 
  introduce yourself and pick history.
  look, pick one from each List:
  •
  Man, woman.
  •
  Sad eyes, icy eyes, angry eyes, 
  untouchable eyes, emotionless 
  eyes, hurt eyes, harrowed eyes.
  •
  Nondescript clothes, ragged clothes, casual clothes, hunting 
  gear, army surplus gear, old clothes.
  Ratings, pick one line:
  •
  Charm=0, Cool+1, Sharp-1, Tough+2, Weird+1
  •
  Charm=0, Cool=0, Sharp+1, Tough+2, Weird=0
  •
  Charm+1, Cool=0, Sharp+1, Tough+2, Weird-1
  •
  Charm-1, Cool-1, Sharp=0, Tough+2, Weird+2
  •
  Charm+1, Cool-1, Sharp=0, Tough+2, Weird+1
  Who You Lost
  Who did you lose? Pick one or more of: your parent(s), your sibling(s), 
  your spouse/partner, your child(ren), your best friend(s).
  What did it? With the Keeper's agreement, pick the monster type.
  Why couldn't you save them? You were (pick one or more): at fault, 
  selfish, injured, weak, slow, scared, in denial, or complicit.
  49
  
  Moves
  You get all the basic moves plus three Wronged moves.
  You get this one:
  •
  I  Know  My  Prey: You  get  +1  ongoing  when  knowingly 
  investigating,  pursuing  or  fighting  the  monster  type  that 
  caused your loss.
  Then pick two of these: 
  •
  Berserk: No matter how much harm you take, you can keep 
  going until the current fight is over. During a fight, the Keeper 
  may not use harm moves on you and you cannot die. When the 
  fight ends, all harm takes effect as normal.
  •
  NEVER  AGAIN:  In  combat,  you  may  choose  to  protect 
  someone without rolling, as if you had rolled a 10+, but you 
  may not choose to “suffer little harm.”
  •
  What Does Not Kill Me...: If you have suffered harm in a fight, 
  you gain +1 ongoing until the fight is over.
  •
  Fervor: When you manipulate someone, roll +Tough instead 
  of +Charm.
  •
  Safety First: You have jury-rigged extra protection into your 
  gear, giving you +1 armour (maximum 2-armour).
  •
  DIY Surgery: When  you do quick and dirty first aid on 
  someone (including yourself), roll +Cool. On a 10+ it's all good, 
  stabilize the injury and heal 1 harm. On a 7-9 pick one: 
  •
  Stabilise the injury but the patient takes -1 forward.
  •
  Heal 1-harm and stabilise for now, but it will return as 
  2-harm and become unstable again later.
  •
  Heal  1-harm  and  stabilise  but  the  patient  takes  -1 
  ongoing until it's fixed properly. 
  On a miss, the Keeper chooses what damage you did.
  •
  Tools Matter: With your signature weapon (see your gear, 
  below), you get +1 to kick some ass.
  50
  
  Gear
  Pick one signature weapon and two practical weapons. 
  You have protective wear, suited to your look, worth 1-armour. 
  If you want, you may take a classic car, classic motorcycle, plain 
  pickup, or plain van.
  Signature Weapons, pick one:
  •
  Sawn-off shotgun (3-harm hand/close messy loud reload)
  •
  Hand cannon (3-harm close loud)
  •
  Fighting knife (2-harm hand quiet)
  •
  Huge sword or huge axe (3-harm hand messy heavy)
  •
  Specialist  weapons  for  destroying  your  foes  (e.g.  wooden 
  stakes and mallet for vampires, silver dagger for werewolves, 
  etc.). 4-harm against the specific creatures it targets, 1-harm 
  otherwise, and other tags by agreement with the Keeper.
  •
  Enchanted dagger (2-harm hand magic)
  •
  Chainsaw (3-harm hand messy unreliable loud heavy)
  Practical weapons, pick two:
  •
  .38 revolver (2-harm close reload loud)
  •
  9mm (2-harm close loud)
  •
  hunting rifle (2-harm far loud)
  •
  shotgun (3-harm close messy loud)
  •
  big knife (1-harm hand)
  •
  brass knuckles (1-harm hand stealthy)
  •
  assault rifle (3-harm close automatic loud)
  Introductions
  When you get here, wait for everyone to catch up so you can do your 
  introductions together. 
  Go around the group. On your turn, introduce your Wronged by name 
  and look, and tell the group what they know about you.
  51
  
  History
  Go around the group again. When it's your turn, pick one for each of 
  the other hunters:
  •
  They helped you at a critical point in your quest for revenge. 
  Tell them what you needed help with.
  •
  They stood between you and what you needed to find out. Ask 
  them why.
  •
  They also lost a friend or relative to these monsters. Ask them 
  who it was.
  •
  Relations, close or distant. Tell them exactly what.
  •
  You saved their life, back when they were a pathetic newbie 
  hunter. Ask them what you saved them from.
  •
  You respect their hard-earned knowledge, and often come to 
  them for advice.
  •
  They showed you the ropes when you were learning how to 
  fight.
  •
  They saw you absolutely lose it and go berserk. Tell them what 
  the situation was, and ask them how much collateral damage 
  you caused.
  Luck
  You can mark off a Luck box to either change a roll you just made to a 
  12, as if you had rolled that; or change a wound you have just taken to 
  count as 0-harm, no matter how bad it was. If your Luck boxes all get 
  filled, you've run out of good luck.
  Okay c c c c c c c Doomed
  Harm
  When you suffer harm, mark off the number of boxes equal to harm 
  suffered. When you reach four harm, tick “Unstable.”
  Okay c c c|c c c c Dying
  Unstable: c  (Unstable injuries will worsen as time passes)
  52
  
  Leveling Up
  Experience: c c c c c 
  Whenever you roll a highlighted rating, or a move tells you to, mark an 
  experience box. 
  When you have filled all five experience boxes, you level up. Erase the 
  marks and pick an improvement from the following list:
  Improvements
  c Get +1 Tough, max +3
  c Get +1 Cool, max +2
  c Get +1 Sharp, max +2
  c Get +1 Weird, max +2
  c Take another Wronged move
  c Take another Wronged move
  c Gain a haven, like the Expert 
  has, with two options
  c Add one more option to your 
  haven
  c Take a move from another 
  playbook
  c Take a move from another 
  playbook
  After leveling up five times, you qualify for advanced improvements, as 
  described on page 75.
  53
  
  Get Ready For Action
  Once you've picked your hunter playbook, work through it to create 
  your hunter, making the choices your playbook gives you.
  The Keeper will guide you through the process, and can answer any 
  questions you have.
  Introductions
  When you've all reached the “Introductions” section, you'll take turns 
  introducing your hunter to the others. Describe how your hunter 
  looks, and the main things the team would know about you. What are 
  you good at? What drives you? What personality traits stand out?  The 
  Keeper, or the other hunters, might have some questions for you too. 
  Answer them as appropriate.
  History
  When everyone has introduced their hunters, you'll each take another 
  turn,  this  time  picking  “History.”  That's  the  significant  shared 
  memories, or relationships, between the hunters. Each playbook has a 
  list to choose from. For each other hunter, pick an option from the list. 
  Many of them require some additional detail. Sometimes the history 
  choice will tell you who decides on the detail. If not, just work it out 
  between you. The Keeper or the other hunters might ask questions 
  here as well. Answer these, too. 
  At each other hunter's turn, they'll pick a history option for you, so in 
  the end each pair of hunters will have two history choices defining 
  their backstory.
  Take a few moments to work out what the history choices imply about 
  the team. Work out the hows and whys of how you came to work 
  together based on your history. Tie this in to your team concept, or use 
  it to build a team concept if you didn't pick one already.
  Highlight Ratings
  You all need to highlight ratings. Each of you takes a turn, to pick the 
  other hunter on the team you feel closest to right now. For your first 
  mystery, use what you know about them and the history options you 
  picked to guide you. The hunter you pick will then choose one of the 
  ratings to highlight: tick that rating's highlight box. The Keeper will 
  then pick a second rating for you to highlight. Mark that one too.
  54
  
  Whenever you roll one of the highlighted ratings, mark one experience 
  (whether you succeed on the roll or not).
  The Keeper will have prepared a mystery for you to investigate, and 
  will start by telling you what clues drew you in. 
  Moves for the Beginning Of The Mystery
  If you have a move for the beginning of a mystery, you should do that 
  now. 
  The Chosen has a move they always make at this point. 
  The Expert, Flake, Initiate, and Spooky all have moves that take place 
  now. If you picked one of those moves, check if you have to make it 
  now (if it's mandatory) or decide if you want to (if it's optional).
  How To Play
  This is what you do when you are playing your hunter.
  Hunter Agenda
  When you're playing your hunter:
  •
  Act like you're the hero in this story (because you are).
  •
  Make your own destiny.
  •
  Find the damn monsters and stop them.
  •
  Play your hunter like they're a real person.
  Think like your hunter would think. Do what your hunter would do. 
  Remember that you're a badass: extremely dangerous, and good at 
  what you do.
  You need to work out what's behind each situation. Then work out how 
  to find it and what its weaknesses are. Then kill it. 
  The Game Is A Conversation
  This is an improvisational game in which you create a story together. 
  The story emerges from a conversation between the players, with the 
  Keeper describing the initial situation and the rest of the players 
  describing  what  their  hunters  do  in  response.  This  leads  into an 
  ongoing  back-and-forth  between  the  Keeper and  hunters,  as  each 
  decision and action leads to a new situation, requiring new decisions 
  about what happens next.
  55
  
  The Keeper will describe the game's world to you, and ask questions. 
  You respond to that world (with descriptions, and moves when they 
  are called for), and answer those questions. Keep your agenda in mind 
  as you do it.
  Moves
  Hunters make moves to find the monster, and to kill it. Moves are 
  moments of danger and uncertainty. You never know quite how they'll 
  turn out.
  Your hunter's moves cover all the things you can do where the game's 
  rules get involved in the story. 
  Most of the time, you'll be describing what your hunter says, where 
  they go, or what they do without activating a move. That goes for 
  everything that a normal person could do, in situations where failure 
  would not be interesting and where there's no particular danger. 
  In circumstances where a normal person couldn't do what you want to 
  do, or the drama of the story requires it, or it's dangerous, that's when 
  the moves come in and control how well you do.
  Here are some examples:
  Archer is checking out the site of a monster attack. There's blood and 
  guts all over the place, and police have walked in and out of the area.  
  Archer starts trying to track where the monster went after the attack.  
  What does she discover?
  Chris realises that a ghul is sneaking up on him, so he gets out his  
  sawn-off shotgun and blasts it in the face as it leaps for him. Does Chris  
  get hurt? How badly? What about the ghul?
  A roof beam comes down on Ted as a giant spider smashes through the 
  wall and scampers to freedom. Rainer grabs a chair and tries to wedge  
  the beam so there's room for Ted to escape. Does she succeed? How 
  badly is Ted hurt? Is he trapped?
  You Have To Make The Move
  A key element of the use of moves is “you have to make the move.” 
  This means that if you want to (for instance) manipulate someone in 
  the game, you need to describe your hunter doing that. How do you 
  ask? What do you offer, to make them do what you want? Why would 
  they believe your offer is genuine? 
  For example:
  56
  
  Alan, the Keeper: “The flayed one is racing you to the car, and it looks  
  like it's going to get to you before you can close the door. So Mark, what  
  do you do now?”
  Mary, playing her hunter Mark: “I kick some ass!”
  Alan: “What are you doing?”
  Mary: “I'm going to smash it out the way with my baseball bat so I can 
  get in the car.”
  Alan: “That sounds like you're not really getting into a fight: what's 
  most important? Killing the flayed one or getting to the car?”
  Mary: “Oh, yeah, killing it I guess. I'll stop running and just start  
  smashing it on the head.”
  Alan: “Sure. The flayed one brandishes its skinning knife as it grabs 
  you. It screams, 'You will become one of us now, hunter!' Now roll kick 
  ass.”
  It works the other way too – if you are describing what you are doing, 
  someone might notice that you are making one of the moves. In that 
  case, go ahead and roll the dice to see what happens.
  For example:
  Alan: “Okay, you get to the place the body was found. You can still see 
  some bloodstains on the concrete, and there's some scratches there that 
  might be related to the attack.”
  Mary: “I want to carefully check the bloodstains, to work out how she  
  was killed. Like is it a blood spray from a torn throat or did she bleed  
  out slowly from a wound or what?”
  Alan: “That sounds like you're  investigating a mystery. Why don't 
  you roll?”
  Sometimes the Keeper will ask you questions to clarify what's going 
  on. That's  cool; for the  game  to work,  everyone needs  to  clearly 
  understand what's happening, so make sure your answer in as much 
  detail as you can.
  Rolling the Dice
  Often the rules for a move will tell you to roll, say, +Cool. This means 
  you should grab two everyday six-sided dice, roll them, add them 
  together and then add whatever number is written down for your 
  hunter's Cool. 
  57
  
  If it says something else instead of Cool (usually another rating), then 
  add that number instead. So, if you are told to roll +Weird, roll two dice 
  and add your Weird rating. If you are told to roll +Tough, roll two dice 
  and add your Tough rating. If you have a negative rating, like -1, then 
  you subtract one from your total instead.
  The move description will say what the different results mean. Usually, 
  7 or higher is good, and 10 or higher is really good. A result of 6 or 
  lower is a miss, and means the Keeper will have an opportunity to 
  screw your hunter over.
  Example:
  I need to roll “manipulate someone.” That's a +Charm roll, and my  
  Charm is +1. I roll the dice and get a 2 and a 5. My total is 1 + 2 + 5 = 8.  
  That's a partial success for manipulate someone.
  Bonuses and Holds
  Sometimes a move will give you a bonus to future dice rolls: you get to 
  take the bonus “forward” or “ongoing.” Sometimes a move will give 
  you a “hold.”
  Forward
  If you get +1 forward, you get +1 on your very next roll only.
  For example, another hunter can give you a bonus of +1 forward as the  
  result of a move. The next thing that happens is that you charge in to  
  attack a monster. You get +1 on your kick some ass roll. If you had 
  decided to use magic instead, to cast a protection spell, then you would  
  have gained the +1 on  that roll. Once you have used the bonus, it's 
  gone.
  Ongoing
  If you get +1 ongoing, you get +1 to every roll you make until the 
  situation no longer applies.
  For example, if you read a bad situation, you might be awarded +1 
  ongoing while using an escape route you spotted. You get +1 on all rolls  
  while escaping via that route, but nothing more once you have escaped. 
  You also get no bonus if you don't try to escape that way.
  Hold
  When you get a hold, you'll get a number of points. Each point can be 
  spent one-for-one to get a specific effect. The move will list the effects 
  you can spend your hold on. 
  58
  
  For example, you are interviewing monster attack witnesses and make 
  an investigate a mystery roll. Your result gives you 3 hold that can be 
  spent to ask the Keeper questions from the list in the move.
  You ask a witness, “Did you see where the attacker went?” and spend 
  one hold. (“Where did it go?” is one of the questions.) 
  The Keeper says (as Mrs Henderson, the witness), “It scurried over  
  there, and pulled up that grating and went into the sewers.” 
  As the conversation with the witnesses continues, you spend the next  
  hold to ask the Keeper about the monster's powers. “Hey, from all the  
  things they've told me, can I work out any powers?” (“What can it do?” 
  is another question.) 
  The Keeper replies, “The witness descriptions don't agree at all. It must 
  be able to change shape or maybe change memories.” 
  Later the last hold goes to ask the Keeper about whether a witness is  
  hiding something. That exhausts your hold, so you don't get any more  
  questions for now.
  The Basic Moves
  I introduced the basic moves earlier. Now that you're about to start, 
  you need the whole deal so you know what you can do.
  Act Under Pressure
  This covers trying to do something under conditions of particular 
  stress or danger. Examples of acting under pressure are: staying on 
  task while a banshee screams at you; barricading a door before the 
  giant rats catch up; resisting the mental domination of a brain-worm; 
  fighting on when you're badly injured.
  When you act under pressure, roll +Cool. 
  On a 10+ you do what you set out to. 
  On a 7-9 the Keeper is going to give you a worse outcome, hard choice, 
  or price to pay.
  On a miss, things go to hell.
  Help Out
  When you  help another hunter with a move they are making, roll 
  +Cool.
  On a 10+ your help grants them +1 to their roll.
  59
  
  On a 7-9 your help grants them +1 to their roll, but you also expose 
  yourself to trouble or danger.
  On a failure, you expose yourself to trouble or danger without helping.
  Investigate A Mystery
  Investigating  can  be  done  any  number  of  ways:  following  tracks, 
  interviewing witnesses, forensic analysis, looking up old folklore in a 
  library, typing the monster's name into Google, capturing the monster 
  and conducting tests on it, and so on. Anything that might give you 
  more information about what's going on is fair game for an investigate 
  move.
  When you investigate a mystery, roll +Sharp. 
  On a 10+ hold 2, and on a 7-9 hold 1.
  One hold can be spent to ask the Keeper one of the following questions:
  •
  What happened here?
  •
  What sort of creature is it?
  •
  What can it do?
  •
  What can hurt it?
  •
  Where did it go?
  •
  What was it going to do?
  •
  What is being concealed here?
  On a miss, you reveal some information to the monster or whoever you 
  are talking to. The Keeper might ask you some questions, which you 
  have to answer.
  It's important that your attempts to investigate (and the results you 
  get from them) are plausible and consistent with what's happening.
  The Keeper may ask, “how do you find that out?” If you don't have a 
  good answer, choose another question instead. 
  Kick Some Ass
  This is used when you are fighting something that's fighting you back.
  When you get into a fight and kick some ass, roll +Tough.
  On any success (i.e., total 7 or more) you inflict harm on (and suffer 
  harm from) whatever you're fighting. The amount of harm is based on 
  the established dangers in the game. That usually means you inflict the 
  harm rating of your weapon and your enemies inflict their attack's 
  harm rating on you.
  60
  
  If you roll a 10+, choose one extra effect:
  •
  You gain the advantage: take +1 forward, or give +1 forward to 
  another hunter.
  •
  You inflict terrible harm (+1 harm).
  •
  You suffer less harm (-1 harm).
  •
  You force them where you want them.
  On a miss, you get your ass kicked instead.
  Manipulate Someone
  This move is used to get people to do what you want, but you need to 
  give them a reason to do it first. What counts as a reason will depend 
  on your relationship with the person. Maybe you've given them a 
  reason to trust you, or you offer them a reward to do it, or maybe you 
  have real (or faked) authority. 
  Once you have given the target a reason,  tell them what you want 
  them to do and roll +Charm. 
  For a normal person:
  •
  If you get 10+, then they'll do it as long as you reward them as 
  promised.
  •
  On a 7-9, they'll do it, but only if you do something for them 
  right now to show that you mean it.
  •
  On a miss, your approach is completely wrong: you offend or 
  anger the target. 
  For another hunter:
  •
  On a 10+ they mark experience and get +1 forward if they do 
  what you ask. 
  •
  On a 7-9, they mark experience if they do what you ask. 
  •
  On a miss, it's up to that hunter to decide how badly you 
  offend or annoy them. They mark experience if they do not do 
  what you asked. 
  Manipulating Monsters
  Manipulate someone does not normally work on monsters, even if 
  they can reason and talk. You can try and make a deal with one if you 
  really want, but you don't get to roll to ensure it keeps its side of the 
  bargain. You just have to hope it's an honourable fiend. Good luck with 
  that.
  61
  
  If you take the Monstrous move dark negotiator (or any other move 
  that  specifically  allows  it)  then  you  are  allowed  to  manipulate 
  monsters, at least if they can reason and talk. 
  Minions may or may not be susceptible to manipulation. It may be 
  possible to manipulate minions who are human, or almost human; 
  those that are incapable of speech or reason cannot be manipulated.
  Protect Someone
  If someone is about to suffer harm and you can somehow prevent it, 
  then you can try to protect them.
  When you prevent harm to another character, roll +Tough. 
  On any success (i.e., 7 or more), you protect them okay, but you'll 
  suffer some or all of the harm they were going to get. 
  If you got a 10+ choose an extra: 
  •
  You suffer little harm (-1 harm).
  •
  All impending danger is now focused on you.
  •
  You inflict harm on the enemy.
  •
  You hold the enemy back.
  On a miss, then you end up making things worse.
  Read A Bad Situation
  When you look around and read a bad situation, roll +Sharp. 
  On a 10+ hold 3, and on a 7-9, hold 1.
  One hold can be spent to ask the Keeper one of the following questions:
  •
  What's my best way in?
  •
  What's my best way out?
  •
  Are there any dangers we haven't noticed?
  •
  What's the biggest threat?
  •
  What's most vulnerable to me?
  •
  What's the best way to protect the victims?
  If you act on the answers, you get +1 ongoing while the information is 
  relevant. For example, if you ask for the best way in to the monster's 
  lair then you'll get +1 while you are infiltrating it. But once you're in, 
  the information doesn't help you any more.
  On a miss, you might mis-read the situation (e.g. “Everything is fine 
  here! It will be totally safe to go investigate alone!”), or you might 
  62
  
  reveal tactical details to your enemies (which means the Keeper can 
  ask the questions above of you).
  Use Magic
  When you use magic, say what you're trying to achieve and how you 
  do the spell, then roll +Weird. 
  If you get a 10+, the magic works without issues: choose your effect.
  On a 7-9, it works imperfectly: choose your effect and a glitch. The 
  Keeper will decide what effect the glitch has. 
  On a miss, you lose control of the magic. This never ends well.
  By default the magic has one of the effects listed below, lasts for 
  around thirty minutes, and does not expose you to danger, unwanted 
  attention, or side-effects. If there's a glitch that might change.
  Effects:
  •
  Inflict harm (1-harm ignore-armour magic obvious).
  •
  Enchant a weapon. It gets +1 harm and +magic.
  •
  Do one thing that is beyond human limitations.
  •
  Bar a place or portal to a specific person or a type of creature.
  •
  Trap a specific person, minion, or monster.
  •
  Evict a spirit or curse from the person, object, or place it 
  inhabits.
  •
  Summon a monster into the world.
  •
  Communicate  with  something  that  you  do  not  share  a 
  language with.
  •
  Observe another place or time.
  •
  Heal 1-harm from an injury, or cure a disease, or neutralize a 
  poison.
  Glitches:
  •
  The effect is weakened.
  •
  The effect is of short duration.
  •
  You take 1-harm ignore-armour.
  •
  The magic draws immediate, unwelcome attention.
  •
  It has a problematic side effect.
  The Keeper may require one or more of the following: 
  •
  The spell requires weird materials.
  63
  
  •
  The spell will take 10 seconds, 30 seconds, or 1 minute to cast.
  •
  The spell requires ritual chanting and gestures.
  •
  The spell requires you to draw arcane symbols.
  •
  You need one or two people to help cast the spell.
  •
  You need to refer to a tome of magic for the details.
  If you want to do magic that goes beyond these effects, it counts as big 
  magic. Big magic uses different rules, described below.
  Big Magic
  If you want to perform an act of magic that goes further than the use 
  magic move (or your other moves) allow, use these rules for big magic.
  First, say what magical effect you want to make happen.
  The Keeper will determine what you need to do for this magic spell. 
  The Keeper picks some of these:
  •
  You need to spend a lot of time (days or weeks) researching 
  the magic ritual.
  •
  You need to experiment with the spell – there will be lots of 
  failures before you get it right.
  •
  You need some rare and weird ingredients and supplies.
  •
  The spell will take a long time (hours or days) to cast.
  •
  You need a lot of people (2, 3, 7, 13, or more) to help.
  •
  The spell needs to be cast at a particular place and/or time.
  Once the Keeper has specified the requirements, you just need to make 
  them happen and the magic will go ahead. There's no specific roll for 
  making big magic work, but you might need to succeed on some other 
  moves, like use magic or act under pressure, as part of the process.
  Of course, magic is always perilous and big magic is way more perilous 
  than the usual sort. The side-effects and dangers of big magic are at 
  the Keeper's discretion.
  Fights
  Here are some things to remember when you get down to the slaying.
  Don't always go right to rolling dice for kick some ass. That move puts 
  you in danger of harm as well as your enemy. If you can find a way to 
  attack without putting yourself in danger, then you can inflict harm on 
  64
  
  the enemy without suffering any yourself (and without needing to 
  succeed on a roll). 
  Remember  you  can  try  to  protect  someone whenever  they  are 
  threatened with harm. Think about who needs protecting, and where 
  everyone is in relation to each other. If you set things up right, you 
  might even be able to save a teammate from the harm they're going to 
  suffer if they miss a roll.
  Remember that you can help another hunter to give them +1 on a roll. 
  This can sometimes be the difference between life and death.
  Unarmed Attacks And Improvised Weapons
  If your hunter has been caught unarmed, and is just fighting with fists 
  and feet, you do 0-harm hand/intimate. You can still hurt things if you 
  have a bonus to harm. That could come from getting a 10+ on a kick 
  some ass roll, or a move you have.
  If your hunter grabs a random object to use as a weapon, decide 
  between you and your Keeper about how it is rated. Here are some 
  guidelines:
  •
  If it's hardly more dangerous than a punch, 0-harm hand.
  •
  If it's sharp or heavy (kitchen knife, lamp), 1-harm hand.
  •
  If it's really heavy (microwave, bar stool), 2-harm hand heavy.
  •
  If you can throw it, add +close.
  Harm
  When you take harm, the Keeper will tell you what happened and how 
  many points of harm it was. Mark off that number of boxes on your 
  harm track. There might be an additional effect: the Keeper will tell 
  you if there is.
  Injury severity depends on how much harm you have suffered:
  •
  0-harm wounds have only minor, short term effects.
  •
  4-7 harm wounds are serious and unstable. They will get worse 
  unless treated. Mark the “Unstable” box. 
  •
  8-harm or more will kill a normal human, including a hunter.
  •
  Note that armour reduces the harm suffered by the number of 
  points it is rated for.
  There are more details in the Keeper section (p. 135).
  65
  
  Monsters and Harm
  Monsters  are  a  lot  harder  to  kill  than  humans.  Minions  (lesser 
  supernatural creatures) can be as well.
  All monsters (and some minions) have  weaknesses. That means they 
  cannot be killed until you use their weakness against them. How to use 
  a  weakness  against  a  monster  depends  on  what  the  weakness  is. 
  Weaknesses can include:
  •
  Things that can be used as a weapon: e.g. fire, cold iron.
  •
  Specific methods of attack: e.g. a silver weapon, decapitation.
  •
  Something to do: e.g. a magic ritual, a burial procedure.
  •
  A harmful environment: e.g. sunlight, running water.
  If you know the monster's weakness, use it. 
  If you don't know its weakness, find out using your moves. 
  If you don't use a creature's weakness, it will come back, even if you 
  win the fight.
  Healing
  A 0-harm wound goes away right after you get it. It can cause a 
  momentary problem, but after that it is purely cosmetic.
  Moderate wounds (1-3 harm) will improve when your hunter has a 
  chance to rest up (e.g. a decent night's sleep), or get some medical 
  attention. This rest/treatment will reduce an injury by 1-harm.
  Serious  wounds  (4+  harm)  require  treatment.  They  are  normally 
  unstable, meaning that they will worsen if untreated (the Keeper will 
  tell you when to mark off another point of harm). Left too long, serious 
  wounds will kill you. If a move tells you that the injury is now stable, 
  you can erase the mark in the unstable box. If you take more harm and 
  are still at 4-harm or more, then your injuries become unstable again.
  What counts as treatment depends on the wound, but it will usually be 
  one of the following:
  •
  A hunter's healing move.
  •
  Time in an infirmary in someone's haven.
  •
  A visit to a doctor or emergency room.
  •
  A magic spell. 
  Healing moves will mention how many harm they heal. 
  66
  
  If a wound is “stabilised” via a move, then you can clear the “Unstable” 
  box. Your injuries won't get worse on their own any more.
  Healing Between Mysteries
  After a mystery is concluded, but before the next one, all the injured 
  hunters will get some healing. 
  If there was a while to rest between mysteries, then heal all your harm.
  If there was no time to rest between mysteries, then heal 1-harm.
  Resurrection
  If someone wants to bring a slain hunter (or someone else) back from 
  the dead, this requires big magic. But there's an extra step for this 
  particular case.
  When you return to life, roll -Weird (so subtract three if you have +3 
  Weird, add one for -1 Weird, etc.). The weirder you are, the weirder it 
  is when you come back from the dead.
  On a 10+, you have changed a little. Mark experience and pick any one 
  of the options below (for 7-9 or miss results).
  On a 7-9, choose one of these:
  •
  You come  back a little bit  broken  (memory loss, stressed, 
  disconnected).
  •
  You come back a little different. Add 1 to one rating (max +3) 
  and subtract 1 from another (min -2).
  •
  You come back very different. Change to a new playbook, just 
  as if you took that advanced improvement (see p. 75).
  •
  Your revival satisfies an ancient prophecy.
  •
  Something comes back with you (e.g. a possessing spirit, a 
  slain monster is revived, an ancient evil is released), but it's 
  not a pressing danger.
  •
  You, or the one who brought you back, owes a favour to a 
  powerful monster.
  On a miss, choose one of these:
  •
  You come back broken (soulless, insane, depressive). 
  •
  You come back disabled. Take -1 to a rating (to -2, at worst).
  •
  Your revival satisfies an ancient, dark, and terrible prophecy.
  67
  
  •
  Something comes back with you (e.g. a possessing spirit, a 
  slain monster is revived, an ancient evil is released). It is an 
  immediate and pressing danger.
  •
  You, or the one who brought you back, owes a huge debt (soul, 
  firstborn, ten years of servitude, etc.) to a powerful spirit, 
  monster, or demon.
  The Luck Counter
  Every hunter has a certain amount of Luck that they can call on in 
  emergencies. Your playbook has a Luck counter that keeps track of 
  how much is left. 
  You can choose to mark off a point of Luck in return for a lucky break. 
  Specifically, when you spend a point of Luck, you can choose one of 
  these:
  •
  Decrease a wound you just suffered to 0-harm. 
  •
  After you roll, retroactively change the result to a 12.
  You only get a limited supply of Luck. Make it count.
  When You Run Out Of Luck
  When you have marked off all your Luck, the Keeper is allowed to hit 
  you with more bad stuff. Fate will be looking for some payback. 
  If your playbook includes fate-related stuff (such as the Chosen's fate 
  or the Spooky's dark side), running out of Luck means all that bad stuff 
  is going to start happening.
  68
  
  Gear
  Here are the rules for gear, vehicles, teams, allies, havens and all that.
  Getting New Gear
  If you want to get something that you could just buy, just buy it. 
  You can also get new gear when you take certain improvements. 
  If you want something that you couldn't just buy (like a flamethrower, 
  or a magical artifact), or something you don't have the resources to 
  get, then you need to do something special (like call in a favour, or 
  steal it). Tell the Keeper what you're doing, and play through the 
  acquisition attempt to see how well it works.
  The same thing can apply if you want an ally, a team under your 
  command, or something else hard to arrange (like an Expert's haven).
  If you do everything necessary to get the new gear, well, then you get 
  it (even without using an improvement or anything like that).
  Weapons
  All weapons have some “tags” (i.e. lists of descriptions) that describe 
  how they work. All weapons have a harm and range tag, that let you 
  know how much harm an injury from it causes, and how far away the 
  target can be. 
  For example: Power drill (2-harm hand loud messy)
  “2-harm” “hand,” “loud,” and “messy” are the tags. “2-harm” is the 
  harm tag, “hand” is the range tag, and “loud” and “messy” are  
  descriptive tags.
  Here's what the tags mean:
  •
  1-harm, 2-harm, 3-harm, etc: This is how much harm the 
  weapon inflicts when you use it on something.
  •
  automatic: This weapon can use automatic fire, which gives 
  you either +area or +1 harm. Use of automatic fire will hasten 
  the need to reload.
  •
  area: This weapon can hit multiple foes. You may divide the 
  harm you inflict among multiple targets.
  •
  balanced: This weapon is easy to wield and hold on to.
  69
  
  •
  close: This weapon is effective at fairly close quarters – outside 
  arms' reach, but not too far.
  •
  far: This weapon is effective at long range.
  •
  fire: The weapon sets things on fire. 
  •
  hand: This weapon is effective at a hand to hand combat range 
  – within arms' reach.
  •
  healing:  This  weapon  transfers  life  energy:  the  wielder  is 
  healed for as many points of harm as were inflicted. E.g. if you 
  inflict 2-harm, then you get healed for 2-harm of your injuries.
  •
  heavy: This weapon is heavy and difficult to wield.
  •
  holy: This weapon has been blessed. This will be more effective 
  against monsters with a weakness to holy items.
  •
  ignore-armour:  This  weapon  ignores  protective  armour. 
  Armour has no effect on the harm it causes. If armour has the 
  magic tag, then a weapon needs both ignore-armour and magic 
  to bypass the armour.
  •
  innocuous: This weapon doesn't draw suspicion.
  •
  intimate: This weapon is effective at the closest of quarters – 
  within the embrace of your foe.
  •
  loud: This weapon is loud enough that it draws attention.
  •
  magic: This weapon is enchanted, and so can affect certain 
  creatures that are proof against normal weapons.
  •
  many: These weapons are small enough you can carry a large 
  number of them.
  •
  [a material]: This weapon is made from the named material, 
  and is thus useful against monsters with that weakness.
  •
  messy: This weapon spreads a lot of blood and gore around. 
  •
  quick: This weapon is quick to prepare and attack with.
  •
  reload: This weapon has limited ammunition, and may run out 
  at a bad time and need to be reloaded.
  •
  slow: This weapon is slow to prepare and attack with.
  •
  small: This weapon is tiny and easy to conceal.
  •
  unreliable:  This  weapon  needs  regular  cleaning  and 
  maintenance, otherwise it just isn't gonna work.
  •
  useful: This weapon has other uses aside from violence.
  70
  
  •
  valuable:  This  weapon  is  antique,  or  made  of  valuable 
  materials.
  •
  volatile: This weapon is dangerous and unstable.
  Custom Weapons
  If your hunter (or your foes) get a new weapon that needs tags, you can 
  define your own. Think about the way the weapon is used and what 
  effects it will have, then write down tags in accordance with that. 
  Every weapon must have a harm and range tag. There's no upper limit 
  on the harm rating, but 4 or more is unusually destructive. Use the 
  existing weapons as a guide. The permitted range tags are intimate, 
  hand, close, and far. Other tags are optional.
  For example, a hunter decides they want a super-soaker type water 
  gun for a monster that has “water” as a weakness. It needs a “liquid” 
  tag (not “water,” because you could fill it with something else too), so 
  write it: water gun (0-harm close liquid).
  Armour
  Armour reduces the harm suffered by the wearer, by the number of 
  points that it is rated for. For example, if you are wearing a leather 
  jacket worth 1-armour, and a sewer mutant claws your arm for 3-
  harm, you only suffer a 2-harm injury.
  1-armour  includes  heavy  leather  jackets,  motorcycle  armour, 
  bulletproof  or  stab-proof  vests  and  other  light  but  significant 
  protection.
  2-armour includes military body armour, police riot gear, mediaeval 
  mail, or other seriously bulky and highly effective protective gear.
  If armour has the magic tag, then normal weapons that have ignore-
  armour don't bypass the rating. Only weapons that have magic and 
  ignore-armour will bypass magic armour.
  Normally hunters can only get gear worth 1 or 2-armour. Armour 
  worth  more than that would  be something very rare and special: 
  perhaps ancient magic, or the results of weird science.
  Other Gear
  In general your hunter can simply use other gear without needing any 
  extra rules for it. 
  71
  
  It's not necessary to define every piece of equipment that comes into 
  play, but if something becomes significant in play then you can define 
  it in more detail so that everyone's on the same page. This can be done 
  via gear tags and custom gear moves.
  Gear Tags
  Defining tags for a piece of gear gives you a definition of what it can 
  do, and the advantages or disadvantages of using it. 
  Tags come into play by opening up possibilities for the hunters. For 
  example, night-vision goggles (tag: see in the dark) allow you to follow 
  a creature's tracks even when it's dark.
  Custom Gear Moves
  If tags aren't quite enough, you can also define a custom move for gear. 
  Custom moves are dealt with in detail on page 180, but the basic idea is 
  simple: just define when the gear works, and what it does for the user.
  For example, if you get a sports car, you could define a custom move to 
  represent its speed and performance. E.g. “When you flee or pursue in 
  a sports car, you get +1 ongoing.” 
  72
  
  Leveling Up
  You get an experience point whenever you roll a highlighted rating 
  (whether you succeed or fail) or when a move tells you to. Mark your 
  next experience box.
  Whenever you mark the fifth experience box on your playbook, you 
  level up. Erase all five marks and choose an improvement from the list 
  in your playbook. Mark the improvements off as you take them: each 
  can only be selected once.
  Then you start collecting experience marks again, until you level up 
  again when you get another five experience points.
  When you have leveled up five times, you can start choosing from the 
  advanced improvements list as well (p. 75). 
  Improvements
  There are ten types of improvement. Here are the details:
  Get +1 To A Rating (Max +X)
  Permanently raise the specified rating. The maximum is a limit: you 
  can only raise the rating to the listed maximum, and no further. If your 
  rating is already at (or above) the listed maximum, then don't select 
  this improvement.
  For example, your hunter has Tough=0 and you select an improvement:  
  “+1 Tough (maximum +3).” Increase your Tough rating to Tough +1.
  Take Another Move From Your Playbook
  Select another one of the moves from your playbook. 
  Take A Move From Another Playbook
  Select a move from any other playbook that's available in your game 
  (whether in use or not).
  This improvement requires a little care. It won't always make sense to 
  take certain moves (especially supernatural ones). Make sure that the 
  new move makes sense for your hunter.
  Gain an Ally/Gain a Team
  You gain a new ally or a friendly team of people to help you out. You 
  might already know the ally/team, or they might be new to the story.
  Allies and teams are defined the same way, even though an ally is 
  individual  and  a  team  is  several  people  (usually  2-6).  The  main 
  73
  
  difference is that for a team, the motivation describes how they act as 
  a team, but the individual members can have their own, different, 
  motivation when they do their own thing.
  Pick one of the following types (the “motivation” is the guideline for 
  the Keeper about how they act):
  •
  Ally: subordinate (motivation: to follow your exact 
  instructions)
  •
  Ally: lieutenant (motivation: to execute the spirit of your 
  instructions)
  •
  Ally: friend (motivation: to provide emotional support)
  •
  Ally: bodyguard (motivation: to intercept danger)
  •
  Ally: confidante (motivation: to give you advice and 
  perspective)
  •
  Ally: backup (motivation: to stand with you)
  If the ally/team members don't have names yet, pick them now. Decide 
  what their background is too, how they look, and any special skills 
  they bring.
  Gain A Haven Like The Expert Has
  You get a haven. When you take this, it will tell you how many options 
  you can pick from the list in the Expert playbook. 
  Decide how you got the haven, and where it is.
  Add An Option To Your Haven
  Select a new haven option from the list in the Expert playbook. You 
  have added this facility to your haven. 
  Don't bother taking this improvement if you don't have a haven!
  Initiate: Gain Command Of Your Chapter Of The Sect
  The Initiate can take this. It means they get promoted to be head of 
  their local chapter. This gives the Initiate access to all the Sect's local 
  facilities and command of the chapter's members. 
  It doesn't mean you can constantly bring people along to help you on 
  your mysteries – you need to take a team under your command for 
  that. 
  You can still call on resources from the Sect on a case by case basis, 
  using your usual start-of-the-mystery move, but you can ask for bigger 
  things now. Of course, your new superiors also expect more from you.
  74
  
  Mundane: Erase a Luck Mark
  Erase a used Luck mark from your sheet. You have bought some time 
  before Fate comes for you.
  Professional: Add Resource Tag/Change Red Tape Tag
  If you want to add a new resource tag, pick one from the list in the 
  Agency section of your playbook.
  If you want to change a red tape tag, erase the one you don't want and 
  put a new one from the list in its place.
  Either of these changes may imply the Agency is altering tactics or 
  objectives, so there might be further consequences because of this.
  Spooky: Change Some Or All Of Your Dark Side Tags
  Erase the old tags and substitute new ones that you want to change to. 
  You don't get to have any fewer, just change them around.
  This  implies  that  you  have  changed  your  relationship  with  your 
  powers in some way.
  Advanced Improvements
  After a hunter has leveled up five times, they unlock the advanced 
  improvements. That's a list of new improvements you can choose from 
  in addition to the basic improvements. From now on, when you level 
  up choose from either the basic or advanced improvement lists.
  Some of the playbooks have special advanced improvements of their 
  own. These are unlocked at the same time (after five level-ups).
  +1 to Any Rating (Max +3)
  Just like the normal +1 to a specific rating advance, except you can 
  choose whichever you want. +3 is the maximum for any rating – once 
  you're there, you can't improve any further.
  Change Your Hunter To A New Type
  When you change your type, pick another playbook you wish to change 
  to. 
  Your ratings and history stay the same.
  You may change your name or look, if you want.
  For your old moves, check each one and decide (with the Keeper) if it is 
  intrinsic to who you are, or just something you did for a while. If it's 
  intrinsic, keep that move. If not, erase it. 
  75
  
  Then add new moves from your new playbook, as if you were creating 
  a new hunter.
  Finally, you may or may not get the new gear, or keep your old gear, 
  depending what makes sense given the circumstances of your change.
  Make A Second Hunter
  Create a new hunter to join the team. You can play both hunters at 
  once,  or maybe  take  turns, deciding  which  will come  along on a 
  mystery on a case-by-case basis. 
  Make up the new hunter as normal, except for history. Only pick 
  history for the hunters played by different people – don't tie your own 
  hunters together with history picks.
  Retire To Safety
  Your hunter retires to a safe place. They no longer actively hunt 
  monsters, and have found a place to live that's safe from old enemies.
  Give your hunter to the Keeper to look after from now on. They are 
  safe from the Keeper's threats, and never count as a threat themselves. 
  Your retired hunter might, at your and the Keeper's discretion, count 
  as an ally for the other hunters.
  Erase One Used Luck Mark
  Erase a used Luck mark from your sheet. You have bought some time 
  before Fate comes for you.
  Mark Two Of Your Basic Moves As Advanced
  This means you get better at the basic moves. 
  There's a new result for each advanced move, that applies when you 
  roll a 12 or higher. These 12+ results represent the extraordinary levels 
  of success you can now achieve. See below for details.
  Advanced Moves
  If you have advanced a basic move, there is now an even better result 
  when you roll a 12 or more for it.
  For  act  under  pressure,  on  a  12+  you  rise  above  the  pressure 
  completely.  You  may  choose  to  either  do  what  you  wanted  and 
  something extra, or to do what you wanted to absolute perfection (so 
  that people will talk about it for years to come).
  For help out, on a 12+ you make the difference. The person you are 
  helping acts as if they just rolled a 12 on their move, regardless of what 
  they actually got.
  76
  
  For kick some ass, on a 12+ you devastate and overawe your enemy. 
  You inflict and suffer harm as normal, and pick one of these enhanced 
  effects:
  •
  You completely hold the advantage. All hunters involved in 
  the fight get +1 forward.
  •
  You suffer no harm at all.
  •
  Your attack inflicts double the normal harm. 
  •
  Your attack drives the enemy away in a rout.
  For protect someone, on a 12+ you defend them perfectly. Both you 
  and the character you are protecting are unharmed and out of danger. 
  If you were protecting a bystander, they also become your ally (pick a 
  type for them as if you had taken the “gain an ally” improvement on 
  leveling up, see p. 73).
  For  manipulate someone, on a 12+ you absolutely convince them. 
  They do what you want right now. For a hunter, they must act under 
  pressure to resist your request. If they do what you ask, they mark one 
  experience and take +1 ongoing while doing what you asked. For a 
  bystander, not only do they do what you want right now, they also 
  become your ally (pick a type for them as if you had taken the “gain an 
  ally” improvement on leveling up, see p. 73).
  For  investigate a mystery, on a 12+ you may ask the Keeper any 
  question you want about the mystery, not just the listed ones.
  For  read a bad situation, on a 12+ you may ask the Keeper any 
  question you want about the situation, not just the listed ones.
  For use magic, on a 12+ you are infused with magical power. What you 
  wanted to do happens and the Keeper will offer you some extra benefit 
  on top of that.
  Playbook-Specific Advanced Improvements
  These are only available to the hunters of the type listed. They become 
  available after you have leveled up five times, the same as the usual 
  advanced improvements.
  For the Chosen
  •
  Delete one doom tag from your fate, and (optionally) change 
  one heroic tag as well.
  For the Initiate
  •
  Become the leader, or effective leader, of the whole Sect.
  77
  
  This operates similarly to becoming the leader of your chapter. You are 
  now in charge of everything. You don't have superiors any more 
  (except maybe divine ones), but you'll still have to manage the factions 
  within the Sect to get things done.
  For the Monstrous
  •
  You have freed yourself from the curse of your kind: your 
  curse no longer applies, but you lose 1 Weird.
  •
  You turn evil (again): retire this character, they become one of 
  the Keeper's threats.
  Turning evil takes your hunter out of your control permanently. The 
  character is now a threat, for the Keeper to use against the hunters. 
  Given how many of the team's secrets your hunter knows, this option 
  shouldn't be chosen lightly!
  For the Professional
  •
  You can get some or all of the hunters hired by your agency 
  (they'll get the deal with the agency move, as well as salary 
  and benefits).
  All the hunters you pick are now Agency employees. They all get the 
  deal with the Agency move, and everything else that goes along with 
  being an agent.
  For the Spooky
  •
  You discover how to use your powers at a lower price. Delete 
  one dark side tag permanently.
  For the Wronged
  •
  You track down the specific monster(s) responsible for your 
  loss – the Keeper must make the next mystery about them.
  Note that this doesn't mean you get to automatically win. You just get 
  a shot at them. Keeper, the Wronged's targets should be central to the 
  next mystery but otherwise create the mystery as normal.
  •
  Change the target of your vengeful rage. I know my prey now 
  applies to these monsters instead.
  78
  
  Summary: Hunter's Session
  There's two parts to this: the things you'll do just at the start of a new 
  game, and then the things you'll do every time.
  The First Time Only
  •
  Optionally, come up with a team concept.
  •
  Create your hunter while everyone else creates theirs.
  •
  Go around the group: each of you introduces your hunter to 
  the others
  •
  Go around the group again: each of you picks a history option 
  for every other hunter on the team.
  •
  Tidy up the team concept and work out your backstory.
  •
  Go on to the things you do every game:
  Every Game
  •
  Highlight ratings for each hunter. Decide who you are closest 
  to and ask them to pick one rating to highlight, then the 
  Keeper will pick another.
  •
  Do all the start-of-mystery moves.
  •
  Get the first clue from the Keeper, and make a plan.
  •
  Investigate the mystery: interview witnesses; check out where 
  key events happened; look into any other weird stuff going on.
  •
  When  you  know  what  it  is  you're  hunting,  work  out  its 
  weaknesses and where to find it.
  •
  When you roll a highlighted rating, mark experience. When 
  you mark your fifth experience point, level up.
  •
  Protect all the innocent bystanders.
  •
  Go and kill the monster!
  79
  
  The Keeper
  If you are going  to be the Keeper, your responsibilities are quite 
  different to playing a hunter. This section takes you through all that.
  It's written to tell you what you need to know in the order you'll need 
  it (with some digressions along the way). 
  What You Do
  Your job as Keeper has two parts. 
  First, before each game you need to spend a few minutes inventing a 
  mystery: a monster and a situation for the hunters to investigate and 
  sort out. 
  Second, when you sit down to play, you are responsible for portraying 
  the hunters' world:  describing the places, people and monsters that 
  they meet, and how those things react to the hunters' actions. 
  Incidentally, the term “Keeper” comes from the classic game Call of 
  Cthulhu. It's short for “Keeper of Arcane Lore” there, but in Monster 
  of the Week the meaning is “Keeper of Monsters and Mysteries.”
  This  section  is  written  in  the  order  you'll  be  doing  things,  both 
  preparing for the game and then playing it. But first I'll talk a bit about 
  the way you need to think about the game.
  How It Will Play Out
  This is an improvisational game. You will start each mystery having 
  defined the monster and other details, but you won't know how the 
  situation will play out once the hunters get involved. Let them do what 
  they want and then you decide how the people and monsters and 
  anything else reacts to those actions.
  The game is improvised in the wider scale too; as your story about the 
  hunters and their world will develop a backstory and mythology as you 
  play. When something happens in an individual  mystery, you can 
  weave some of those events back into later events to build a consistent 
  world.
  I've codified my best practices for running Monster of the Week into a 
  'toolbox' of advice. This toolbox owes a huge debt to Vincent Baker: in 
  Apocalypse World he described his methods for running that game. As 
  he does, I describe an  agenda for what you do as Keeper, what you 
  80
  
  should always say, the principles you use to create the world, and the 
  moves you can make.
  No Planning Ahead
  One  thing  that  is  definitely  not part  of  your  Keeper's  toolbox  is 
  deciding what is going to happen to the hunters. You'll prepare the 
  situation that they're coming in to investigate, and you'll think about 
  what would happen if they didn't come. 
  But once you sit down to play your mystery with the hunters, then 
  everything is up to them. They get to choose which places they visit, 
  which people they talk to, how they chase down the monster, and 
  everything else. 
  Your preparation gives you a sketch of what's going on, just enough for 
  you to work out how everything will react to what the hunters do. 
  It's fine to speculate about what is likely to happen. Say if you have a 
  hunter who is likely to be sympathetic to a particular person in the 
  mystery, you can go ahead and think about some possible things that 
  might happen because of that. Or perhaps you set up a place because 
  you are sure that the hunters will track the monster down there and 
  have a big fight. That sort of thing is fine: just as long as you remember 
  it's only a possible outcome. 
  What you should not do is force the story to go a certain way. Instead, 
  let the hunters do whatever they want, in the situation you have set up 
  for them.
  Before Your First Game
  There's a few things you need to do before you begin.
  1.
  Think about the style you want.
  2.
  Get into the Keeper mindset.
  3.
  Create a mystery for the hunters to investigate.
  Think About Style
  Before you begin playing, spend some time thinking about the style 
  you want to bring to the game. Consider the monster hunter fiction 
  that  excites  you  the most,  and  maybe  watch  or read  some  of it. 
  Generate some ideas about how you want the world of the game to 
  work, how it will look to the hunters, and what sorts of things might be 
  going on. 
  81
  
  The game is going to be built by you and the other players together: at 
  this stage, you're the only one involved, so consider your ideas just a 
  sketch.  Once the hunters are created and the game begins, all your 
  sketches might get overwritten. Having something in mind gives you a 
  skeleton of the world to begin with, but you'll fill in the details as a 
  group, in play.
  Get Into The Keeper Mindset
  You also need to prepare yourself for how to run the game. This is 
  summed up by the Keeper agenda and principles. I'll have more to say 
  about these later, but I'll present them here so you have them in mind 
  while you prepare your first mystery.
  The Keeper Agenda
  The Keeper agenda  is  what you  should focus on in  play. It's the 
  foundation for everything else you do.
  Your agenda is made up of three elements:
  •
  Make the world seem real.
  •
  Play to see what happens.
  •
  Make the hunters' lives dangerous and scary.
  The Keeper Principles
  The Keeper principles are more specific applications of your agenda.
  There are twelve principles:
  •
  Put horror in everyday situations.
  •
  Address yourself to the hunters, not the players.
  •
  Use the Keeper moves, never use their names.
  •
  Be a fan of the hunters.
  •
  Build up a coherent mythology of the world as you play.
  •
  Nothing  is  safe.  Kill  bystanders  and  minions,  burn  down 
  buildings, let monsters be slain.
  •
  Name everyone they meet, make them seem like normal folks.
  •
  Ask questions and build on the answers.
  •
  Sometimes give the hunters exactly what they earned, rather 
  than everything they wanted.
  •
  Think about what's happening off-screen.
  82
  
  •
  You don't always have to decide what happens.
  •
  Everything is a threat.
  Creating Your First Mystery
  Before  each  game,  you'll  create  a  mystery  for  the  hunters  to 
  investigate. Here's how to build the first one.
  A mystery is made up of six basic elements. You can create them in any 
  order, but I'll show you the order I usually use:
  •
  A basic concept for the mystery.
  •
  The hook that got the hunters' attention.
  •
  The monster.
  •
  The minions, bystanders, and locations that are involved.
  •
  The mystery countdown.
  •
  Optionally: custom moves for special aspects of the mystery.
  Before I get into the guts of it, here's what a finished mystery looks 
  like. This is a write-up of one of my mysteries. Read it, and then I'll talk 
  about how the pieces fit together. 
  An Example Mystery: Mongolian Death Worm Attack
  The hunters get a report of some strange deaths at a local museum. 
  Professor Josh Singer, Dr Jennifer Sofia, and Michelle Fitzsimmons were 
  last seen alive working late unpacking and cleaning up new items for 
  the  collection.  The  next  morning  they  were  found  “burned  and 
  partially dissolved” (according to police reports).
  The monsters are three newly hatched Mongolian death worms. 
  They're bright red and look moist and 
  intestinal. Each is about 5cm thick and 
  50cm long. They have a deadly venom 
  that they can spit, and excrete via the  
  skin. Plus, they can shoot lightning bolts. 
  They like things dry, and water is 
  poisonous to them. 
  There's someone here working for the 
  monster, sort of. Dr Kelly Morrison 
  became obsessed with them during field 
  work in the Gobi Desert, and she 
  83
  
  smuggled the eggs back. Her plan didn't include them hatching and 
  getting out, but now that they have she wants to protect and observe 
  them.
  While the hunters are investigating, they are likely to come across  
  these people:
  •
  Dr Frances Ferrara, who worked with the victims. She'll be helpful 
  to the hunters, which may endanger her.
  •
  Detective Patrick Eagan. He's the police officer in charge of 
  investigating the deaths, and won't appreciate the hunters 
  getting involved.
  •
  Chris Larsen, museum administrator. A stickler for procedure, he 
  will annoy the hunters with demands for authorisation and 
  interfere with anything he thinks is strange or against the rules.
  The Natural History Museum is a large, modern complex. It's divided  
  into several wings, each with plenty of exhibition halls, offices, store  
  rooms, and work rooms. Looking for things here, the hunters are going  
  to be poking into all kinds of dark corners.
  The worms have split up and are looking for warm, dry spaces to nest.  
  Once they find those (and finish digesting their initial meal) they'll 
  start hunting through the museum: they won't need to start small, 
  either, due to their venom. Humans will be on the menu right away.  
  Once they've eaten and grown, they'll mate (each is hermaphroditic) 
  and each lay a clutch of eggs. When those hatch, a plague of dozens of  
  worms will spread out from the museum.
  What That All Means
  That mystery writeup shows the level of detail you need to play the 
  game. You also give the hunters a reason to come and investigate the 
  situation and to deal with the monster(s) at the bottom of it. You start 
  the game knowing what the monster's doing, some important people 
  and places, and with a plan about what will happen if the hunters don't 
  sort it out. 
  When you're making up your own mystery, some of these elements will 
  be defined in game terms to make it easier for you to manage them. I 
  left the jargon out of the example, but I'll describe each of the pieces 
  now. These are the six mystery elements I mentioned before.
  84
  
  Components Of A Mystery
  The  basic concept is your original idea, the thought that led to this 
  mystery.
  In the example, the basic concept is the Mongolian death worms – the  
  stories are awesome, so I wanted to make a mystery about them.
  The hook is whatever has drawn the hunters' attention to the situation: 
  reports of deaths or disappearances, a monster sighting, or some weird 
  phenomena. You'll tell the hunters up front what the hook is, but after 
  that it's totally up to them how they deal with what's going on.
  In the example, the hook is the reports of the first three deaths.
  Next there's the  monster. The monster has a type that defines its 
  motivation, a description of what it looks like, what it can do, the ways 
  it can fight the hunters, and some powers (its supernatural abilities). 
  Monsters also have a  weakness: until the hunters use the monster's 
  weakness against it, it cannot be destroyed.
  Mongolian Death Worms are monsters. They are  beasts, with the 
  motivation “to run wild, killing and destroying.” 
  Attacks: Venom (4-harm hand/close poison); Lightning blast (3-harm  
  close electricity stun).
  Powers: Venom; Lightning blast.
  Weakness: Water.
  Custom move: Mongolian Death Worm venom. When you are poisoned 
  by a worm, its venom will cause 1-harm every five minutes until the 
  injury is stabilized or the affected area is flushed clean with water.
  That section at the end, the venom  custom move (p.  180), is there to 
  define exactly what the creature can do. A custom move gives you a 
  definite rule saying what effect the power has when it comes into play.
  Next up are minions. These are servants of the main monster, who help 
  it out and work against the hunters. Minions also get a type and 
  motivation to guide you about how they act.
  In the example, Dr Kelly Morrison is a minion. She's a guardian, with 
  the motivation “to bar a way or protect something.” She's going to try  
  and protect the worms as they nest and breed, because she wants to  
  study and understand them.
  There's also a list of bystanders. These are the people involved in the 
  situation. These can be people who are in danger, who might help the 
  85
  
  hunters' investigation, who might get in the way. Bystanders each 
  have a type and associated motivation.
  Dr Francesco Ferrara, is a victim with the motivation “to put herself in 
  danger.” She'll put herself in danger by helping the hunters as much as  
  she can.
  Detective Patrick Eagan is a detective, with the motivation “to rule 
  out explanations.” If the hunters talk to him, they'll quickly discover  
  that the deaths were no normal accident or criminal attack.
  Chris Larsen is an official with the motivation “to be suspicious.” He is 
  there  to  get in the way of the hunters by bringing up annoying  
  regulations they need to comply with, and that sort of thing. Just so the 
  hunters don't have too easy a time exploring the museum. 
  Next up is one or more locations that will be important. Locations are 
  allocated a type from a list. The type has a descriptive name and a 
  motivation. Locations usually aren't able to do things, but in the game 
  they can act as if they do. The motivation tells you what sort of things 
  this particular place will do
  In the example, the one location is the Natural History Museum. It's a 
  Wilds, with the motivation “to contain hidden things.” The plan is to  
  have it full of scary places, and fake-out scares, as well as people to  
  protect and worms to hunt down.
  Those elements: monsters, minions, bystanders, and locations are threats. 
  Threats are the things that make trouble for the hunters, one way or 
  another. Each threat gets a type and a corresponding motivation. 
  Any kind of threat can have a custom move, too, not just monsters. This 
  mystery just happened to only need one for the worms themselves.
  The last required element is a countdown. That's what would happen if 
  the hunters never dealt with this situation. I've summarized it in the 
  final paragraph of the example, but when you're making your own 
  mysteries, you'll note down six particular events that will happen 
  unless the hunters prevent them.
  That  covers  enough  ideas  and  game-related  notes  to  get  started 
  creating your first mystery.
  Preparing Your First Mystery
  This first mystery is going to be everyone's introduction to the hunters 
  and to your game's world. Build a straightforward hunt, to give the 
  hunters space to talk and get a sense of how the team operates. Pick a 
  86
  
  classic  monster  that  everyone will  recognise  from  folklore,  urban 
  legend, or pop culture. 
  Once you have a monster, come up with a basic concept. Think about 
  what the creature could want, and what bad stuff is going to happen if 
  the hunters don't stop it. The bad stuff might be personal, local, or 
  apocalyptic in scale.
  I'll build an example ghost story while we go through the process, to 
  illustrate each piece.
  The  basic concept is  a  haunted house  story. There'll  be  a  ghost, 
  murdered unjustly, who wants restitution and is lashing out at anyone  
  who stays in the house.
  Marie O'Connell is the angry ghost. She was murdered by her husband 
  Damian (in an unjustified jealous rage) and subsequently drove him to  
  suicide.
  The Hook
  Now come up with a hook for the hunters. That's the mysterious event 
  or clue that points to a supernatural problem. The hook is what came 
  to the hunters' attention: it needs to clearly point to the mystery.
  The ideal hook screams “There is a monster here!” to a hunter, but 
  would  be  easily  dismissed  by  normal  folks  who  don't  believe  in 
  monsters. It also suggests what sort of monster it might be.
  A family just moved into the haunted house and attracted the attention  
  of the ghost. The house has been in the family for a long time, but  
  uninhabited for many years. Local news reports have been running  
  puff pieces about the haunting. Specifically, the family have heard  
  strange noises, objects have been moved, and parts of the house are  
  always  cold.  The  articles  mention  the  tragic  suicide  of  Damian 
  O'Connell in the house 42 years ago, after his wife Marie disappeared. 
  The Threats
  Now the mystery needs some threats. These are the things that will 
  interfere with the hunters as they attempt to sort out the mystery.
  Threats come in four types:
  •
  Monsters (the big bad behind these events).
  •
  Minions (allies of the monster, usually weaker creatures).
  •
  Bystanders (normal folks who are involved).
  •
  Locations (significant places).
  87
  
  Monsters
  Start with the monster. Most mysteries will have just one: the single 
  creature behind everything bad that's going to happen. 
  Monsters need the following details:
  •
  A description.
  •
  Monster type and motivation.
  •
  Supernatural powers.
  •
  Attacks and armour.
  •
  How much harm will kill it.
  •
  Any weaknesses it has.
  •
  Custom moves for its powers (optional).
  First, pick the monster's type. The twelve types (and the motivations 
  that go with them) are:
  •
  Beast (motivation: to run wild, destroying and killing)
  •
  Breeder (motivation: to give birth to, bring forth, or create 
  evil)
  •
  Collector (motivation: to steal specific sorts of things)
  •
  Destroyer (motivation: to bring about the end of the world)
  •
  Devourer (motivation: to consume people)
  •
  Executioner (motivation: to punish the guilty)
  •
  Parasite (motivation: to infest, control and devour)
  •
  Queen (motivation: to possess and control)
  •
  Sorcerer (motivation: to usurp unnatural power)
  •
  Tempter (motivation: to tempt people into evil deeds)
  •
  Torturer (motivation: to hurt and terrify)
  •
  Trickster (motivation: to create chaos)
  In my example, Marie O'Donnell, a ghost seeking justice, makes a good 
  executioner with the motivation “to punish the guilty.” To give her a 
  reason to be angry at the hunters, she wants to be properly laid to rest  
  (Damian buried her under the basement floor), and treats anyone who 
  isn't actively doing that as one of the guilty parties she is punishing.
  Next up, think about the supernatural powers the monster possesses. 
  Think about your initial inspiration for the monster and work out what 
  it can do. There's no particular level of detail you need for monster 
  88
  
  powers. Some might be a simple descriptive note, such as “can fly.” For 
  others you might need more detail: note down as much about the 
  power's effects and limitations as you can think of (this is a custom 
  move for the power: there's more about them on page 180).
  For powers, Marie has the ability to appear instantly anywhere in the 
  house. And telekinesis which allows her to throw knives and stuff  
  around, and hold doors and windows closed. 
  As she's only a ghost, a lot of attacks won't hurt her. Only attacks using  
  rock  salt,  cold  iron,  or  magic  can  harm  her  at  all  (I'm  drawing  
  inspiration straight from Supernatural here).
  Once you know the monster's powers, it's time to make a note of its 
  attacks. Think about how it hurts and kills, and define an attack for 
  each method. Attacks are described just like hunter weapons: how 
  much harm is inflicted, the range of the attack, and any descriptive 
  tags for additional effects. Pick something in the range of 2 to 4 harm 
  for each attack.
  Marie's attack uses her telekinetic powers. I describe this as  2 to 4-
  harm close (the exact harm will depend on what she has to work with:  
  the kitchen will be especially dangerous). 
  Now decide how resilient the monster is. 
  Decide how many points of harm will kill it. Take eight as your basic 
  minimum (the same as a hunter). Increase it based on how large and 
  robust  the  monster  is.  There's  no  set  maximum,  but  more  than 
  fourteen would be exceptional. Sometimes a monster might be more 
  fragile, too: in those cases, reduce the harm capacity.
  Secondly  decide  if  it  has  an  armour rating,  based  on  its  innate 
  toughness or a power that makes it harder to hurt. 1- or 2- armour is 
  normal. Higher values make it difficult for the hunters to hurt the 
  monster, and no armour makes the monster very vulnerable. 
  Marie is an averagely resilient ghost. I'll set her harm capacity to eight. 
  But I won't give her any armour: her incorporeal power is enough for 
  the hunters to deal with.
  Now think about a weakness. All monsters must have one, and most 
  monsters have two or three. If the monster's weakness is not used 
  against it, then the hunters cannot kill it. Weaknesses come in three 
  main types:
  •
  Something that will harm the monster directly, such as using 
  silver against a werewolf.
  89
  
  •
  An environment that weakens or harms the monster, such as 
  sunlight against a vampire.
  •
  A special  ritual or action  that  must  be taken,  such as an 
  exorcism to drive out an evil spirit.
  Think about your idea about the monster, and decide what it will have 
  as weaknesses. 
  For weaknesses, I pick “her mortal remains” (that works well with 
  allowing  proper  burial  to  lay  her  to  rest)  and  “the  house”  (her 
  association is so great that harming the house can also harm her). 
  If  you  haven't  already worked  out what  the monster is trying to 
  achieve, give that some thought now. If the initial concept doesn't 
  suggest a plan, look at the type you have given the monster. Use the 
  motivation as a starting point, and work out what is the worst thing 
  that this monster could be planning to do here? 
  Marie  is  obsessed  with  being  laid  to  rest  properly.  She  can't  
  communicate with anyone directly, she's just going to violently attack 
  them whenever they don't seem to be helping her. If people persist in  
  not helping, she's just going to kill them. Because the family have been  
  here longest without helping her, she'll target them first.
  Minions
  Decide if the monster is working on its own or if it has minions to help 
  it. If there will be minions, detail them now. Minions can be weaker 
  individuals of the same kind of monster, allied creatures of different 
  kinds, human worshippers, or human servants (perhaps unwitting).
  Minions need the following details:
  •
  A description.
  •
  Minion type and motivation.
  •
  Supernatural powers, if any.
  •
  Attacks and armour.
  •
  How much harm will kill it.
  •
  A weakness (optional).
  •
  Custom moves for powers (optional).
  There are ten minion types:
  •
  Assassin (motivation: to kill the hunters)
  •
  Brute (motivation: to intimidate and attack)
  •
  Cultist (motivation: to save their own skin at any cost)
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  •
  Guardian (motivation: to bar a way or protect something)
  •
  Right hand (motivation: to back up the monster)
  •
  Plague (motivation: to swarm and destroy)
  •
  Renfield (motivation: to push victims towards the monster)
  •
  Scout (motivation: to stalk, watch, and report)
  •
  Thief (motivation: to steal and deliver to the monster)
  •
  Traitor (motivation: to betray people)
  Minions may have powers and weaknesses like a monster. They are 
  usually weaker, but otherwise you can follow the rules and guidelines 
  for monster powers and weaknesses. 
  A group of minions can be defined the same as an individual. Do this if 
  the minions are a gang or swarm of nameless goons or critters, to keep 
  things simple. Define their attacks, armour, and harm  capacity to 
  account for the group as a whole.
  Define attacks, harm capacity, and armour for all minions. Minion 
  attacks should be in the 1- to 4- harm range (group minions should 
  have their attacks boosted by one to represent their multiple attacks). 
  The amount of harm required to kill the minion should range from 5 to 
  10 (although weaker and stronger minions are both possible). Groups 
  of minions can be given a single harm track for all of them: harm taken 
  represents defeat of the group as a whole.
  If minions have armour, they normally have 1-armour, and only rarely 
  2-armour or higher.
  There's no obvious minions in the situation so far, but I have an idea  
  that Marie has a psychic connection with the rats that live in the  
  house. They'll make good minions, probably mainly to keep an eye on  
  everyone in the house.
  Possessed rats are scouts (motivation: to stalk, watch, and report). If  
  they attack, they do 1-harm intimate as a swarm. 10-harm must be  
  inflicted to disperse the group completely.
  Bystanders
  Bystanders are the normal people who are involved in the situation. 
  They're the victims, witnesses, interfering cops, and anyone else.
  Bystanders need the following details:
  •
  A name.
  •
  A description.
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  •
  Bystander type and motivation.
  There are nine types of bystander:
  •
  Busybody (motivation: to interfere in other people's plans)
  •
  Detective (motivation: to rule out explanations)
  •
  Gossip (motivation: to pass on rumours)
  •
  Helper (motivation: to join the hunt)
  •
  Innocent (motivation: to do the right thing)
  •
  Official (motivation: to be suspicious)
  •
  Skeptic (motivation: to deny supernatural explanations)
  •
  Victim (motivation: to put themselves in danger)
  •
  Witness (motivation: to reveal information)
  Include at least two bystanders: it's important to have some people for 
  the hunters to save. 
  Start  by  defining  the  people  directly  involved  in  the  situation: 
  surviving victims, witnesses, official investigators. Think about why 
  they are here, why they're involved in the monster's plan, and what 
  they want to achieve. Coming up with those details helps develop them 
  as real people, in a real world.
  You generally don't need to worry about how much harm a bystander 
  can take (it will almost always be seven, the same as a hunter) or what 
  their weapons are. If a bystander has a good chance of getting involved 
  in a fight (helpers in particular might do this), note down what they're 
  armed with. 
  It's a good idea to include some partially defined bystanders: just a 
  name and type. You can use them in play for unexpected bystander 
  characters: just add any extra details at the time.
  For bystanders, there's the family who've moved into the house. Their 
  names are Mark and Andi Hadley and their kids Sean and Ashley. 
  The family moved to the country for Andi to get a rest after quitting a  
  stressful job, and to help with Sean's asthma. Mark has a job he can do  
  from the country – he's a web designer. Andi was a lawyer. Sean is 11 
  and Ashley is 6. 
  Now I need to pick which sort of bystander each one is.
  Mark Hadley. Bystander: Skeptic (motivation: to deny supernatural  
  explanations). Having him regard any talk of ghosts or  magic  as 
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  foolishness will give the hunters something they need to deal with: how  
  do they handle Mark and still get the ghost sorted out?
  Andi Hadley. Bystander: Witness (motivation: to reveal information). 
  Because I've made Mark into someone difficult, I'll make Andi helpful. 
  At least, that will be her intention at first. Once things get strange and  
  stressful, she won't handle it well.  Helpful bystanders are a whole new  
  sort of problem for the hunters!
  Sean  Hadley.  Bystander:  Victim  (motivation:  to  put  himself  into 
  danger). I'm going for the easy “kids in peril” scares here.
  Ashley Hadley. Bystander: Helper (motivation: to join in the hunt). I 
  can see a six year old being totally fascinated by a team of monster  
  hunters. Of course she wants to help out!
  The bystanders could be rounded out with some more people in the 
  town, but I think we have enough.
  Locations
  Locations are places that can cause trouble for the hunters. They're 
  metaphorically hostile, encompassing all the stuff that can go wrong 
  around the hunters (like the phones not working, or a car not starting, 
  or getting lost and ending up alone in the dark).
  Locations need the following details:
  •
  A name.
  •
  A description.
  •
  Location type and motivation.
  •
  Optionally, a map.
  •
  Optionally, one or more custom moves.
  There are ten location types:
  •
  Crossroads (motivation: to bring people, and things, together)
  •
  Deathtrap (motivation: to harm intruders)
  •
  Den (motivation: to harbor monsters)
  •
  Fortress (motivation: to deny entry)
  •
  Hellgate (motivation: to create evil)
  •
  Hub (motivation: to reveal information)
  •
  Lab (motivation: to create weirdness)
  •
  Maze (motivation: to confuse and separate)
  •
  Prison (motivation: to constrain and prevent exit)
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  •
  Wilds (motivation: to contain hidden things)
  Define a location for anywhere that you expect significant parts of the 
  mystery will take place. Anywhere that is going to be an important 
  scene of investigation or action, or where the monster is active should 
  be written up as a location threat. 
  Good locations to start with are:
  •
  The general area.
  •
  The monster's lair.
  •
  Places where the monster has been active, or attacked 
  someone.
  •
  Places that the bystanders will be found.
  Maps can help define the location so that everyone can see how it 
  looks. Even a quick sketch of the area can help the group picture 
  what's going on and what the place is like. Another good source for 
  town or region maps is to find an appropriate looking place in Google 
  Maps and print it out.
  We have the O'Donnell house. A location is an obvious fit, but what 
  kind? Maybe it's a huge, rambling place, making it a perfect  Maze 
  (motivation: to confuse and separate). That will give lots of good moves  
  to force the hunter to explore dark, cluttered rooms... alone. The house 
  has one custom move: Once Marie closes the front door, if you try to 
  leave the house, you can not get out. Only laying Marie to rest, or 
  destroying her, will allow the hunters (and family) to leave.
  There's also the nearby town. It's likely the hunters will do a bit of  
  preliminary  asking  around,  making  a  Hub  (motivation:  to  reveal 
  information) a good choice. The town's small, not much more than a 
  service centre for nearby farms. There's a run-down motel that the  
  hunters will probably end up staying in, a diner, and a couple of bars.  
  More Threats
  As you continue to detail the mystery, you may realise that you need to 
  go back and add another threat of a certain type. Just put them in as 
  you think of them.
  Mystery Countdowns
  Each mystery has a  countdown: this is the sequence of the terrible 
  things that will happen if the hunters don't stop the monster. The 
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  countdown will be your guide to what will be going on off-screen as the 
  hunters investigate.
  To  create  the  countdown,  think  about  what  would  happen  if  the 
  hunters never came to help.
  •
  Who would be attacked? 
  •
  Who would die? 
  •
  What is the monster's ultimate plan?
  Once you have an idea, divide it into six events in the order they will 
  occur. Then allocate them to the steps in the countdown. Countdowns 
  always have the following six steps:
  1.
  Day.
  2.
  Shadows.
  3.
  Dusk.
  4.
  Sunset.
  5.
  Nightfall.
  6.
  Midnight.
  The names of each  step are metaphorical: the “sunset”  step of a 
  countdown doesn't have to happen at sunset, the names are picked to 
  give a sense of things getting worse.
  As the countdown is what would happen if the hunters didn't interfere, 
  it normally won't play out how you wrote it. But even when the 
  monster's plan has been derailed, it will still be trying to achieve its 
  goals and the countdown is useful as a guide (or something to adapt) to 
  determine what happens next.
  For example:
  Here's the countdown for our haunted house story.
  Day: Marie traps the Hadleys in the house.
  Shadows: Marie begins scaring them, hoping to push them towards the 
  cellar by fear.
  Dusk: Mark is killed while trying to get a window open.
  Sunset: Marie tries to get Andi and the kids to dig up her remains, but  
  they don't understand and she kills them all in a rage.
  Nightfall: In another year, Marie kills four more people who squat in  
  the house overnight.
  Midnight: Five years later, another family moves in and Marie kills  
  them.
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  This is all the stuff that will happen if the hunters never came. I expect  
  that with the hunters present, they'll be trapped in the house as well as 
  (or instead of) the Hadleys. After that, I'm not sure how it will go. We'll 
  find out when we play.
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  Summary: First Mystery Creation
  •
  Come up with a cool but uncomplicated  basic concept for the 
  monster and mystery.
  •
  Create a hook: the clue that caught the hunters' attention.
  •
  Create the monster: name, description, type & motivation, then 
  define its powers, weaknesses, attacks, armour, harm capacity, 
  optionally custom moves.
  •
  Create  the  minions (if  any):  name,  description,  type  & 
  motivation, then define their powers, attacks, armour, harm 
  capacity, optionally weaknesses and custom moves.
  •
  Create the bystanders (at least two): name, description, type & 
  motivation.
  •
  Create  the  locations: name, description, type &  motivation, 
  optionally maps and custom moves.
  •
  Define the mystery  countdown: six terrible events that would 
  occur if the hunters never came.
  97
  
  The First Session
  Getting everyone into a room to play is the next step. 
  I'm going to assume that you get all the saying, “Hi,” and getting 
  snacks and drinks and catching up out of the way first, and I'll tell you 
  about the game stuff you need to do.
  Hunter Creation
  The first thing you need to do is guide the other players through the 
  process of creating their hunters. 
  Introduce the idea of team concepts (p.  5). Help the group come up 
  with a concept, something that gets them all excited. If nobody comes 
  up with an exciting concept now, you can wait until later to work that 
  out (after they've decided their history is best).
  Next,  allocate  hunter  playbooks.  If  the  team  has  a  concept  that 
  requires  certain  playbooks,  have  people  choose  from  those  first. 
  Otherwise, just let everyone have a quick look at each and grab the one 
  they like the look of. If anyone is having trouble, ask them what sort of 
  hunter they would like and you can suggest which playbooks suit that 
  idea.
  Then get everyone to follow the instructions in their playbook up to 
  “Introductions.” Be ready to answer any questions, and watch for 
  anyone who seems to be having trouble. You can help them work out 
  what's best for their idea of the hunter. Put some questions to the 
  whole group, too, and get everyone's input.
  If you have any limited edition or fan-made hunter playbooks that you 
  want to add to the selection, do it. If one of the group has one that 
  they've brought along, that should be fine too. Talk it through if you 
  have any doubts about it (for instance, if you think adding that type of 
  hunter to the mix won't fit the game style you've planned).
  As everyone gets close to done, go around those who finished and find 
  out what they picked, and point out any implications you can see from 
  their choices. For example, there might be a mismatch between the 
  ratings they picked and what they need to roll for their moves, or 
  possible duplication of abilities with the other hunters. That sort of 
  thing isn't necessarily bad, but it's worth thinking about whether they 
  really want to do it.
  98
  
  Introductions
  Once everyone's ready to introduce themselves, lead the group as they 
  take turns to introduce their hunter. The most important things they 
  should include are name, playbook and looks, and they can add more if 
  they want. 
  You should ask a few questions of each player to tease out more details 
  that you and the others might need to know, especially about things 
  that will have a big impact on the game (the Chosen's destiny, the 
  Professional's agency, the Wronged's loss, etc).
  History
  Then go around the group again and have each player pick their 
  hunter's history with the other hunters. They do this by picking one of 
  the shared events or relationships from the list in their playbook.
  Some picks require extra details: follow the instructions listed. If it 
  doesn't say who decides, the player concerned gets the final word. 
  Help with suggestions if anyone has a mind-blank when the time 
  comes to think of something, and make sure everyone's cool with the 
  answer. 
  At the end, each hunter should have two facts about their history with 
  every other member of the team (one they picked themselves, and one 
  picked by the other hunter about them). 
  Now you can work out the team's story, based on all those bits of 
  history. You don't need to go into detail, but work out the basics of 
  how the hunters got to know each other and started hunting monsters 
  together, and maybe a rough chronology of what happened when.
  Highlight Ratings
  Last step before the mystery starts is to highlight ratings.
  Go around the group again and have everyone pick the hunter they 
  feel closest to, based on the introductions and history. The chosen 
  hunter selects a rating to highlight for the hunter who picked them 
  and you, as Keeper, pick another. There's a “highlight” box to tick 
  beside each rating to remind them of their current highlights. Tell 
  everyone that when they roll a highlighted rating, they should mark 
  experience (whether they succeed or not). 
  When you make your highlight selection, pick based on one of these:
  •
  An important rating (that they will roll a lot, based on their 
  hunter's moves).
  99
  
  •
  A rating relevant to how they introduced themselves (for 
  example, if someone is interested in magic, then highlight 
  Weird even if they're not very good at it)
  •
  A rating they're likely to need for the mystery ahead.
  •
  The rating that they want you to pick.
  These options are based on your Keeper principle “Be a fan of the 
  hunters.” I'll talk more about the principles soon.
  Mention How Things Work
  This is a good time to explain the player agenda (p. 55), basic moves (p. 
  9), what to roll and add (p. 57), when to mark experience (p. 73), using 
  Luck (p. 68), and how to level up (p. 73). Give just enough detail to get 
  started, rather than trying to explain everything right now. You can 
  remind them, or fill in more details as they are needed.
  Running The First Mystery
  I'm going to start by talking a bit about the way to play the game, then 
  remind you of the Keeper agenda and principles, then discuss how to 
  use them. I will then introduce two more concepts you need: what you 
  should always say and the Keeper moves. That will give you all the 
  rules you need to run the game. I'll pull all of this together to explain 
  how to run your mystery on page 127.
  The Game Is A Conversation
  This is an improvisational game in which you create a story together. 
  The story emerges from a conversation between the players. You'll 
  describe an initial situation and the other players will describe how 
  their  hunters  respond.  This  leads  into  an  ongoing  back-and-forth 
  between you and the hunters, as each decision the hunters make leads 
  to a new situation, requiring new decisions about what happens next.
  To help you make your decisions about what happens next in unsure 
  circumstances, the rules restrict you to certain options. These parts of 
  the conversation are called “moves.” Keeper moves work differently to 
  hunter moves: your moves are less specific, to allow you to build the 
  game's world in accordance with your responsibilities. They flow from 
  your Keeper agenda, Keeper principles, and the things you should 
  always say, so I'll explain more about those, first.
  100
  
  Keeper Agenda
  Remember that your agenda is to:
  •
  Make the world seem real.
  •
  Play to see what happens.
  •
  Make the hunters' lives dangerous and scary.
  Using the Keeper Agenda
  Making the world seem real means that you describe the world in a way 
  that makes sense. Most things are going to be the same. The rules of 
  magic and monsters should be consistent. Normal people will act like 
  normal people. 
  Play to see what happens means you let the story develop naturally. 
  When you prepare a mystery, you decide what will happen if the 
  hunters don't get involved. When the hunters start interfering in the 
  monster's plans, let the results from that happen organically, based on 
  what the hunters do and the moves you decide to make.
  Make the hunters' lives dangerous and scary. Well, that's just what it says. 
  The hunters are cool action heroes and for that to matter they need to 
  be dealing with horrific and overwhelming stuff. The harder it is to 
  save the bystanders they meet, the more rewarding it will be when 
  they manage.
  Your principles, the things you should always say, and your moves are 
  all designed to support you in sticking to your agenda.
  The Keeper Principles
  Remember that your principles are:
  •
  Put horror in everyday situations.
  •
  Address yourself to the hunters, not the players.
  •
  Use the Keeper moves, but never use their names.
  •
  Be a fan of the hunters.
  •
  Build up a coherent mythology of the world as you play.
  •
  Nothing  is  safe.  Kill  bystanders  and  minions,  burn  down 
  buildings, let monsters be slain.
  •
  Name everyone they meet, make them seem like normal folks.
  •
  Ask questions and build on the answers.
  101
  
  •
  Sometimes give the hunters exactly what they earned, rather 
  than everything they wanted.
  •
  Think about what's happening off-screen.
  •
  You don't always have to decide what happens.
  •
  Everything is a threat.
  Using the Keeper Principles
  The Keeper principles keep your agenda at the front of your mind. 
  Here's more detail on each of the principles:
  Put horror in everyday situations because that's a way to make it hit 
  home. If the victims are regular people, just like us, then that gives the 
  horror an emotional bite. Plus we're creating a world almost like the 
  real one.
  Address the hunters, not the players to keep things immediate. If you talk 
  to Diana the hunter instead of Stefan the player, you're putting him 
  into that zone, where he needs to deal with what Diana has in front of 
  her right now. 
  Make your move but never use its name. You have a list of moves you are 
  allowed to make  (see p. 106). You should not, however, tell the hunters 
  that you are picking a particular move from the list. Tell them what 
  happens in the story, the actions that comprise your move. “The swamp 
  gargoyle grabs you and leaps up onto the roof, leaving everyone else in the  
  alley” is a lot more interesting than  “I separate you! Francis, you're 
  grabbed and on the roof now.” Grounding your moves in the events of the 
  game keeps the sense that things are happening because they make 
  sense, rather than that you picked an option from a list.
  Be a fan of the hunters because that's the whole point of the game. We're 
  here to see how awesome these hunters can be. Your job is to make life 
  hard for them, but only so you can see how the hell they get out of 
  their next predicament!
  Build up a coherent mythology of the world as you play is another way to 
  make the world seem real. When the hunters fight a vampire, it should 
  have the same instincts, powers and weaknesses as the vampire they 
  fought a month ago (unless you already know that there are several 
  kinds of vampire, of course.) Keep track of what's happened, and how 
  it fits together. Then you can start working out the deeper truths that 
  underlie it all.
  Nothing is safe because this is a horror game. The monsters are going to 
  kill people (or worse) unless the hunters stop them. And the same goes 
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  for your monsters and minions: when the hunters track them down, let 
  them die. Let stuff burn, explode, or fall into a magical rift forever.
  Name everyone they meet, make them seem like normal folks is there to 
  make the hunters want to save these people. But normal folks could be 
  jerks, or dumb, or annoying, and they still need to be saved. If the 
  hunters meet a bystander a second time, make sure that bystander 
  remembers  what  happened  last  time  and  acts  based  on  what  the 
  hunters did then.
  Ask questions and build on the answers helps you populate the world. At 
  the beginning, none of you know what the story is here. You're going 
  to invent details as you fill the world, but some of this is up to the 
  other players. When a hunter does something, ask how they do it. 
  What did it seem like to everyone else? Why do they do it that way? 
  Have you fought one of these creatures before? What did you learn 
  then? Use the answer they give you and expand on it: build it into the 
  game's  mythology and into the mysteries and recurring threats you 
  create.
  Sometimes give them exactly what they earned, rather than what they wanted 
  keeps things interesting. Usually it's pretty obvious what the hunters 
  want when they make a move, but you don't have to give them more 
  than  the  rules  say.  For  example,  maybe  they  ask  “who's  most 
  vulnerable?”  and your answer could  be  “well, you  can  see where 
  another ghoul is hiding, you could get behind it” but sometimes the 
  answer is “the one that's half dead on the floor in front of you.” Don't 
  always do this – remember to do what your preparation and honesty 
  demand (see the always say section, below). But, sometimes, just do 
  what the rules demand.
  Think about what's happening off-screen is a reminder that what you're 
  focused on right here and now isn't the only thing that's going on. 
  What is the monster doing at the moment? What about the people the 
  hunters  talked  to  before?  Who  is  in  danger  and  who  is  up  to 
  something? If the hunters have split up, what are the others doing?
  You don't always have to decide what happens. Sometimes there are places 
  where you have a choice – would the monster kill this victim right 
  now, say – and you don't have a clear idea how it should play out. 
  Maybe you can give the hunters a chance to intervene. Or you could 
  think about what's going through this monster, minion or bystander's 
  head, and let  them decide. Does the monster really want to kill that 
  person, or would it maybe take them captive, or maybe scare them and 
  leave? Or maybe the victim has a plan? You don't need to make every 
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  single judgment based on a perfect first impulse. There are other ways 
  to work it out.
  Everything is a threat. Obviously the monsters and minions are threats, 
  but so is everything else. “Threat” here is meant very broadly – a 
  threat is anything that's going to make trouble for the hunters. So 
  even the people the hunters are trying to help are going to be threats. 
  They'll get in the way, or panic, or do something really stupid. That 
  applies to everything else that turns up in the game, too. Places, 
  objects, cults, police departments. Everything is a threat.
  Always Say
  When it's time for you to say something, what you say is one of these:
  •
  what the principles demand.
  •
  what the rules demand.
  •
  what your prepared mystery and arcs demand.
  •
  what honesty demands.
  Using What You Always Say
  The “always say” rules ensure you stick to your job.
  Say something that the principles demand. The principles keep the style of 
  the game grounded in action-horror, and help you decide what will 
  come next.
  Say what the rules demand. When someone makes a move, follow the 
  rules for that move. Don't apply them inconsistently.
  Say what  your prepared mysteries  and  arcs demand. That's what  you 
  prepared  them  for,  after  all.  If  the  mystery  countdown  says  the 
  rakshasa is going after the mayor next, that's what you say (unless 
  other events have changed its plan, of course). Arcs are ongoing or 
  recurring threats, like season-long stories or big bad monsters (I talk 
  more about them on page  147), but are treated here the same as 
  mysteries.
  Say what honesty demands means you should let the hunters know 
  anything they would be aware of. For example, there's a monster 
  waiting to ambush them and they're walking right into it. But as 
  experienced, bad-ass hunters they would know to be careful here. It 
  makes sense to say to them “This would be a good ambush spot – 
  maybe you want to read a bad situation?” Or, if they're talking about 
  the werewolf they're hunting and they say “Silver kills werewolves” 
  104
  
  but that isn't true for your werewolves, then let them know “Actually 
  silver is a myth, but wolfsbane works.” Or if they're going to make a 
  move like protect someone and they'll need to throw themselves in 
  front of a flesh-stitcher, let them know that they're going to suffer a 
  lot of harm if they do it. 
  More generally: don't let dumb, unsaid stuff trip the hunters up. 
  Extending that, you can always give a player a do-over if a situation 
  wasn't what they thought it was. For example, if someone chooses to 
  suffer harm as a move result, thinking it will only be a minor injury but 
  in fact it's enough to kill them. In that case, let them go back and 
  choose the option that keeps them alive instead.
  Moves
  Moves cover situations when the game rules step in to help determine 
  what happens. 
  For the hunters, their moves cover specific cases. Hunter moves say 
  that when a hunter does this, it is resolved like so. Your Keeper moves 
  are more general, giving you broad but definite options. 
  Just as the hunters have basic moves and playbook moves, you have a 
  set of basic Keeper moves. You also get moves that go with each type of 
  threat, and harm moves for when someone (or something) gets hurt.  
  To Do It, You Have To Do It
  This is important: when you (or the hunters) make any move, you must 
  describe how it happens. 
  Always say what is happening in the game, not just the rules side of 
  things. Don't tell someone “roll act under pressure!” tell them “the 
  warlock's gaze insinuates itself into your mind and as it hisses 'kill 
  your comrades' you feel an overwhelming urge to comply. What do you 
  do?”
  There's a flip-side to this as well. When one of the hunters is doing 
  something that is a move, make sure they follow the rules for that 
  move. For example, if someone says “I go up to the park ranger and ask 
  her `Did you see anything weird last Sunday night?'” then you should 
  ask them to roll the  investigate move before you decide how the 
  ranger answers.
  105
  
  The Basic Keeper Moves
  Every time it's your turn in the conversation to tell the hunters what 
  happens, or when they look at you expecting you to say something, use 
  one of these moves:
  •
  Separate them.
  •
  Reveal future badness.
  •
  Reveal off-screen badness.
  •
  Inflict harm, as established.
  •
  Make them investigate.
  •
  Make them acquire stuff.
  •
  Tell them the possible consequences and ask if they want to go 
  ahead.
  •
  Turn their move back on them.
  •
  Offer an opportunity, maybe with a cost.
  •
  Take away some of the hunters' stuff.
  •
  Put someone in trouble.
  •
  Make a threat move, from one of your mystery or arc threats.
  •
  After every move, ask what they do next.
  Using The Keeper Moves
  These moves are your main tool in play. Most of the time, when you're 
  saying something, it will be one of these Keeper moves. Here are the 
  detailed explanations of them all:
  Separate them is just that. You can arrange a separation lots of different 
  ways. Maybe a monster grabs someone, maybe someone falls behind, 
  or maybe you can just say “While Francis is checking out the kitchen, 
  you're upstairs searching the bedrooms.” Anything to get the hunters 
  away from each other and from the people they're trying to help. 
  Separating people can be used to make them vulnerable, or you can use 
  it to put certain people together, away from the others, if you think 
  that will lead to something interesting.
  Reveal future badness allows you to hint at something that the hunters 
  will need to deal with later. It can be obvious, for example when they 
  see a reptoid approaching, or when they ask about what's likely to 
  happen as part of an investigate move. It can be subtle, such as you 
  mention the sun is setting (and, by implication, that the monsters are 
  106
  
  coming), or they hear an indistinct noise ahead of them while they 
  explore a haunted house. It could be something from your mystery 
  countdown that will be happening soon. It could be something from 
  one of your arcs, that might not matter right now, but which creates 
  awareness of bigger problems for the hunters.
  Reveal off-screen badness is similar, but it's something happening right 
  now, somewhere else. It could be things seen or heard in the distance 
  (screams, sirens, a fire, etc). Or it could be what's going on from 
  someone else's point of view, such as a potential victim seeing the 
  monster coming for them. You can even cut away from the hunters, 
  just like in a TV show, and show the players who is in danger, or who is 
  up to something.
  Inflict harm, as established is used when an injury was threatening and 
  nothing prevented it. The “as established” part is important – you can 
  only inflict harm that is plausible and already present in the story. For 
  example, if a hunter is pushed down a flight of stairs you immediately 
  have a good idea of the potential harm. It is likely they'll be shaken and 
  bruised, possible that they broke a bone or got a concussion, but they 
  can't suffer severe burns.
  Make them investigate keeps the game moving. Each mystery is all about 
  finding clues, until they face the monster behind it all. Whenever the 
  hunters get stumped, ask them where they look next. If they ask you 
  for information, ask them how they find it out, then get them to make 
  the  investigate  a  mystery move.  Make  sure  that  the  results  of 
  investigation  work  with  the  method  used:  when  a  hunter  asks  a 
  witness questions, they can learn different sorts of things to when they 
  analyse  samples  in  a  lab.  If  you  can't  see  how  they'll  discover 
  something given what they are doing, ask them to explain how they 
  will find out that answer based on that method. If they can't explain it, 
  then tell them to ask a different question: one that they could find out 
  the answer to.
  Make  them  acquire  stuff.  Use  this  move  when  the  hunters  need 
  something special, like they want to build a spirit detector, or cast a 
  spell, or find an old book, or get a new weapon. Ask them how they pay 
  for it, steal it, or find it.
  Tell them the possible consequences and ask. Often, the hunters will want 
  to do something but it isn't a move. Let them know they can do it, but 
  only if they pay a certain price or suffer certain effects. For example, 
  you can get away through that vent, but you'll have to leave your 
  shotgun behind. Or you can grab that bag, but only by putting yourself 
  107
  
  in the firing line. The consequences could be a move, too: “you can do 
  it, but you'll need to act under pressure.”
  Turn their move back on them is for when a hunter misses a move roll. 
  Whatever they were trying to do happens to them instead. If they were 
  trying to protect someone, they made the danger worse. If they were 
  investigating a mystery, they revealed something to the monster. If 
  they were using magic, it has the opposite of its intended effect.
  Offer an opportunity, maybe with a cost. If they need something, offer 
  what  they need and tell  them what  they need  to  pay for it. For 
  example, maybe the sheriff will let them continue investigating in his 
  town, but only if they guarantee his children's safety.
  Take away some of the hunters' stuff. Things can break. They can be 
  dropped.  They  can  be  thrown  across  the  room  by  a  monster,  or 
  smashed to pieces. The “taking away” doesn't have to be permanent, 
  either: cellphones can lose the signal, the car could be out of gas, or a 
  gas leak might make it too dangerous to fire a gun right now.
  Put someone in trouble. Hunters are out to save people, so you need to 
  provide people for them to save. Threaten bystanders, endanger other 
  members of the team, and send monsters after a hunter's family. Plus 
  there are other kinds of trouble as well, such as suspicious cops or 
  neighbours who don't like the hunters snooping around.
  Make a threat move, from one of the current mystery's threats or one of your  
  arc threats. This list of Keeper moves is not the whole story. Each type 
  of threat has its own list of special moves it can make. Use these when 
  the threats are present and active.
  After every move, ask what they do next. Just as it says, every time you 
  make a move, immediately ask what the hunters do next. Let them 
  drive the action, by asking what they do next at every chance you get.
  Which Keeper Move To Use
  Mostly it will be obvious what should happen next, and picking your 
  move is easy. Other times it's not so obvious, and you might need to 
  think a little about what you will do. That's fine, take a moment if you 
  need to. Or you can just ask the hunters what they do – that's a good 
  default move when you can't think of anything right now.
  Soft Moves And Hard Moves
  “Soft moves” and “hard moves” are a bit of terminology to describe 
  two ways to use Keeper moves. 
  108
  
  A soft move is one that threatens danger, or pushes the hunters in a 
  certain direction, but there's a way to a stop the danger, or divert it. 
  For example: “The ice weasel races down the hall, teeth bared to rend!” 
  This  is  a  reveal  future  badness  move,  and  gives  the  hunters 
  something to react to – they can do something to prevent the danger, 
  or ignore it and do something else instead.
  A hard move doesn't give the hunters a chance to react. 
  For example: “The ice weasel shoulders your arm out the way, and its  
  teeth bite deep into your shoulder, ripping through clothes, skin, and  
  muscle. Take four harm.” 
  This time it's inflict harm as established, but because it's used as a 
  hard move, the hunter doesn't have any chance to respond (or avoid 
  suffering the harm).
  Soft Moves Set Up Hard Moves
  Use soft moves to set up situations that will lead to a hard move. A soft 
  move gives the hunters something to deal with. If they solve that 
  problem, great. If not, then a follow-up hard move is the consequence 
  of failure.
  When To Make A Hard Move Without Setting It Up
  As well as a failed attempt to deal with a soft move, events in play can 
  turn out so that a hard move is appropriate. Specifically:
  •
  When the hunters hand you a golden opportunity.
  •
  When a hunter misses a roll (that is, rolls a 6 or less).
  •
  When a hunter has used up all their Luck.
  Handing you a golden opportunity is a situation where, for example, the 
  hunter says, “I leap down into the horde of zombies!” If you inflict 4-
  harm on them from zombie bites and clawing, then that's too bad: they 
  knew what they were getting into.
  Missing a roll (with a total of six or less) is always a time when you can 
  make a hard move. The hunter's screwed something up badly, so do 
  whatever  you  need  to.  For  example,  if  a  hunter  tries  to  protect 
  someone and blows it, then you can inflict harm on the victim, maybe 
  even kill them: make whatever was threatened come to pass. 
  The last one's a different case. When someone has used all their Luck, they 
  become doomed. This means you are allowed to make hard moves 
  against them any time. For example, let's say a hunter says “I'll go 
  109
  
  check out the camp site” and you know that yeti have set up an 
  ambush there. Normally it would make sense to give them a chance to 
  spot this, for instance by asking if they want to read a bad situation 
  as they approach. But if the hunter has used all their Luck (and doesn't 
  make a point of checking for danger), then you may make a hard move, 
  which means they only find out when two yeti grab them.
  These situations are times when you are  justified making as hard a 
  move as you like. You don't have to, but you can. Always refer back to 
  your agenda and principles when you make these choices.
  Threat Moves
  Each type of threat has its own set of special moves it can make. Use 
  these as well as the basic Keeper moves when you're describing what a 
  threat is doing.
  Threat moves are used in the same way as the basic Keeper moves, 
  except that a particular threat has to be the source of the move.
  Monster Threat Moves
  Monsters get fourteen moves:
  •
  Hint at its presence
  •
  Display its full might
  •
  Appear suddenly
  •
  Attack with great force and fury
  •
  Seize someone or something
  •
  Attack with stealth and calculation
  •
  Order underlings to do terrible acts
  •
  Destroy something
  •
  Escape, no matter how well contained it is
  •
  Give chase
  •
  Return to home ground
  •
  Boast and gloat, maybe revealing a secret
  •
  Return from seeming destruction
  •
  Use an unnatural power
  Using Monsters
  Monsters are the key threat type, always there in the shadows, behind 
  everything bad that is happening. They should be dangerous and scary, 
  110
  
  but also remote at first. Let the monster be revealed slowly, as the 
  hunters  close  in.  This  will  be  matched  by  the  hunters  gradually 
  learning about the monster's powers and weaknesses. 
  Don't be afraid to use the monster threat moves to get it out of trouble, 
  either. Especially in cases where the hunters track it down early in the 
  mystery, you can let it escape for the time being, allowing it (and the 
  hunters) a chance to rest and regroup.
  Finally, it will likely come down to a fight between the hunters and the 
  monster. This is the chance to throw everything at them: use all its 
  unnatural powers, gloat, and generally make the final fight as tough 
  and exciting as possible.
  Minion Threat Moves
  Minions get eleven moves:
  •
  A burst of sudden, uncontrolled violence
  •
  Make a coordinated attack
  •
  Capture someone, or steal something
  •
  Reveal a secret
  •
  Deliver someone or something to the master
  •
  Give chase
  •
  Make a threat or demand on behalf of the master
  •
  Run away
  •
  Use an unnatural power
  •
  Display a hint of conscience or humanity
  •
  Disobey the master, in some petty way
  Using Minions
  Minions are there to support and guard the monster. While monsters 
  should be kept at a distance to start with, it's fine for minions to be 
  noticed and fought early in the mystery.
  Minions can also be used to build up tension, giving the hunters a 
  feeling of being surrounded by danger, or of constantly being watched. 
  Don't have minions always fight to the death: they can flee, surrender, 
  or offer a deal to be left alive or betray their master. This is especially 
  true for human minions.
  111
  
  Bystander Threat Moves
  Bystanders get ten moves:
  •
  Go off alone
  •
  Argue with the hunters
  •
  Get in the way
  •
  Reveal something
  •
  Confess their fears
  •
  Freak out in terror
  •
  Try to help the hunters
  •
  Try to protect people
  •
  Display inability or incompetence
  •
  Seek help or comfort
  Using Bystanders
  Bystanders don't normally intend to cause trouble for the hunters, but 
  they do so anyway. Think of each bystander as a person who wants one 
  simple thing (picked to go with their motivation). A victim might want 
  to just stay in his apartment, whatever the hunters say is coming. An 
  official might just want to finish the paperwork and be done with this 
  case, without dealing with any crazy hunters.
  When  thinking  about  bystander  moves,  consider  the  bystander's 
  motivation, and what dumb thing they could  do that will lead to 
  trouble for the hunters. What can the bystander complicate for the 
  hunters? How can they get in the way? This applies even when the 
  bystander helps the hunters: this will give the hunters extra problems, 
  starting with keeping the helper alive.
  Bystander motivations are not always things that immediately lead to 
  trouble. For example:
  •
  A witness is motivated to reveal information. Although when 
  you reveal information to a hunter, that does tend to lead to 
  trouble: telling the hunters where to find a monster usually 
  leads to them going to fight it! Witnesses might also give the 
  hunters  too  much  information,  or  tell  them  something 
  incomplete or just plain wrong.
  •
  A  helper can easily create trouble despite wanting to help 
  the hunters, just by giving the hunter someone to look after. 
  112
  
  Or consider a helper who tries to lure the monster towards 
  the hunters.
  •
  An innocent, wanting to do the right thing, can cause trouble 
  by insisting that the authorities get involved, or by telling 
  people the whole truth at an inopportune time.
  Any normal person the hunters talk to should be given a name and 
  threat type, almost always a bystander type. If you have no particular 
  idea what their role in the story is going to be, default to witness if 
  they might have some clues for the hunters, or victim otherwise.
  Location Threat Moves
  Locations get eleven moves:
  •
  Present a hazard
  •
  Reveal something
  •
  Hide something
  •
  Close a way
  •
  Open a way
  •
  Reshape itself
  •
  Trap someone
  •
  Offer a guide
  •
  Present a guardian
  •
  Something doesn't work properly
  •
  Create a particular feeling
  Using Location Threats
  Locations normally don't have intentions in the way that monsters, 
  minions and bystanders do. Instead they stand in for things that go 
  wrong around the hunters, due to hazards in the environment. For 
  example, in a maze, an exit door could get jammed, or the GPS in the 
  hunters' car might start glitching out.
  Location threat moves give you ways to move the mystery along, or 
  put obstacles in the way of the hunters. They're useful to pace the 
  mystery as it plays out – to slow the progress down, or speed it up. The 
  moves also work well when there's action, to keep things exciting.
  113
  
  The Basic Hunter Moves
  The earlier description of the basic hunter moves (on page  59) is 
  written from the hunters' point of view. Here's some extra information 
  about the moves from the Keeper's point of view.
  Act Under Pressure
  Here's the move:
  When you act under pressure, roll +Cool. 
  On a 10+ you do what you set out to. 
  On a 7-9 the Keeper is going to give you a worse outcome, hard choice,  
  or price to pay.
  On a miss, things go to hell.
  This is a general purpose move, for any time a hunter tries something 
  that is dangerous or liable to fail, and isn't covered by any other moves 
  (either a basic move, or one from a playbook). 
  The pressure can be anything from being detected when they're hiding 
  to resisting death as they try and escape a blazing building.
  Make sure you establish what the pressure is at the start, so the 
  hunters know what they're in for if they mess up. You need to know 
  what they're trying to do, and to let them know what's making it hard. 
  A result of 7-9 tells you to give them a worse outcome, hard choice, or 
  price to pay – they can do what they wanted, if they accept what you 
  pick. It is still a success, so they should be able to do what they wanted, 
  although the cost might be high enough that they decide not to. Use 
  your agenda and principles to help decide.
  For our hiding example, maybe they can stay hidden, but only if they 
  let the monster trap them in a dead end. Or they have to go so far back 
  that they can no longer see what's happening. In both of these cases, 
  the hard choice is about where they're positioned in the story. They 
  could stay hidden, but have to pay the price.
  For the burning building, maybe they can escape if they jump out a 
  second floor window. Or they can run through flames to escape or stay 
  somewhere that is safe for now. In these cases, the price is some harm 
  from the fall or the fire.
  On a miss, then whatever the pressure was overwhelmed the hunter.
  114
  
  Help Out
  Here's the move:
  When you  help another hunter with a move they are making, roll 
  +Cool.
  On a 10+ your help grants them +1 to their roll.
  On a 7-9 your help grants them +1 to their roll, but you also expose  
  yourself to trouble or danger.
  On a failure, you expose yourself to trouble or danger without helping.
  This is used when a hunter wants to help another hunter make a move. 
  Helping will give the other hunter +1 on a single roll. It's okay to see 
  what the first roll is before deciding to help out, as long as it still 
  makes sense that the hunter could do something to help improve the 
  results.
  Make sure they tell you what concrete action they are taking to help 
  out. If they can't think of how they help, then they don't get to do it.
  A result of 7-9 means that the hunter succeeds in helping, but exposes 
  themselves to trouble. A lot of the time this trouble will be obvious, as 
  when they are helping someone kick some ass. Here you could inflict 
  harm on both of the hunters. In other cases the trouble will be less 
  obvious, such as a when trying to help  investigate a mystery by 
  interviewing witnesses: this might lead to hostile rumours circulating 
  about the hunter later on, or make an enemy of a witness.
  On a miss, the help does no good and the helper exposes themselves to 
  trouble or danger. This could be the same as the danger of the move 
  being helped, or something else entirely.
  Investigate A Mystery
  Here's the move:
  When you investigate a mystery, roll +Sharp. 
  On a 10+ hold 2, and on a 7-9, hold 1.
  One hold can be spent to ask the Keeper one of the following questions:
  •
  What happened here?
  •
  What sort of creature is it?
  •
  What can it do?
  •
  What can hurt it?
  115
  
  •
  Where did it go?
  •
  What was it going to do?
  •
  What is being concealed here?
  On a miss, you reveal some information to the monster or whoever you  
  are talking to. The Keeper might ask you some questions, which you  
  have to answer.
  The  investigate a mystery move will be used frequently. When the 
  hunters begin each new mystery, they will have (at best) a vague idea 
  of what they're hunting.  Investigation is the main way to find out 
  what's going on, where the monster is, who they need to protect, and 
  anything else they need to know.
  The move covers any investigation technique the hunters can think of: 
  interviewing witnesses, sending monster DNA to the lab, tracking it 
  through the alleys, looking at a dead body and reconstructing what 
  happened, looking through ancient tomes of monster lore, and hacking 
  into police databases. These are all legitimate ways to investigate. 
  Ask yourself, “Could they conceivably find anything useful that way?” 
  If the answer is “yes,” tell them to go ahead. If the answer is “no” then 
  ask, “How would you find that out?” If they have a good reply, let them 
  know the answer. If there still isn't a way to find out, you can ask them 
  to pick a different question instead.
  It's important that you give the hunters as many clues as you can. It's 
  easy to make the hunters work hard to discover the details of the 
  mystery. But  that isn't  part of your agenda.  Every success on an 
  investigate move should give the hunters something solid. You should 
  also be generous with obvious details, even on a miss.
  For example, if a hunter is investigating by looking at the body of a 
  monster victim, you should describe the state of the body first. “It's 
  been  ripped  apart,  looks  like  it  went  for  the  heart. The  heart  is 
  missing.” Those details don't require a move, because they're obvious 
  and don't address the  investigate questions directly. If the hunter 
  then gets a success on the roll, they may ask you to tell them about the 
  creature's powers – that's something that requires careful analysis of 
  the scene and injuries. 
  Sometimes the answer to one of the questions will be a negative, such 
  as when you are asked for more about the creature's weaknesses when 
  the hunters have already discovered them all. In these cases, make it 
  clear that they know this. “Your hours poring over the books tell you 
  that the creature has no more weaknesses.”
  116
  
  Misses for this move lend themselves to trouble with normal people 
  (e.g. annoying the witness; being caught stealing evidence, etc) or 
  giving away information to their enemies (e.g. the monster or minions 
  hear about questions being asked; the hunters are observed in their 
  evidence collection; etc).
  An Example Investigation
  Here's an example showing how an investigation scene might play out. 
  Our cast is:
  •
  Mary, playing Mark (a Wronged hunter).
  •
  Chris, playing Cray (a Spooky hunter).
  •
  Alan, the Keeper (who is also playing Officer Hannah Tarlton, a 
  bystander).
  The investigation:
  Hannah has brought the hunters to the place she saw an attack take 
  place. The hunters are posing as FBI agents.
  Alan (speaking as Hannah): “Right, here's where it happened,” says 
  Hannah, “You can see the blood on the wall there. Our witness 
  said the attacker ran off down that alley and over a fence.”
  Chris (speaking as Cray): “You mind if I take some samples?” Then I 
  just start, without waiting for permission. 
  Alan (speaking as Hannah): “Uh, sure. Forensics are already taking a  
  look at it.”
  Mary (speaking as Mark): “So, what did the witness have to say about 
  the attacker? I'm interested in anything, even if it's kinda weird.”
  Alan: Okay, roll investigate a mystery for me.
  Mary rolls the dice and adds Mark's Sharp.
  Mary: I got a nine. One question? 
  Alan: Well, you already asked about the witness seeing anything weird, 
  so I figure you're interested in its powers?
  Mary: Definitely.
  Alan: Okay, Hannah says “Well, the guy claimed that the attacker just  
  vaulted over that fence down there. But he'd been drinking.”
  Mary (speaking as Mark): “Right. Witnesses, huh?”
  Chris: While they are chatting I want to test the bloodstains to work out 
  what it is. 
  Alan: Um, how do you test a bloodstain for what kind of monster 
  attacked? I can't see how you'd work that out.
  117
  
  Chris: I'm going to get out my chemistry test kit and try the samples  
  with, like, silver to see if there's a reaction that you might see  
  from werewolf blood, or if there's sulphur present that might  
  mean it was a demon, or if it reacts to holy water, that could be a  
  vampire or demon blood. That sort of thing.
  Alan: I guess that might work. But only for things you could learn from  
  the bloodstains – and it seems to be mainly human blood, maybe 
  all human. Roll it.
  Chris rolls the dice and adds Cray's Sharp.
  Chris: Yeah, a twelve. First question: what is it?
  Alan: Okay, you find a couple of splashes of blood that are a slightly  
  different colour – more richly red, and slower drying. They react  
  to the holy water test, and let's say you had garlic in there too.  
  The blood starts smoldering in contact with both. So a vampire,  
  most likely.
  Chris: Vampire. Got it. In that case, next question is “what can it do?”
  Alan: How are you going to find that out from bloodstains?
  Chris: Remember how I spent all that time researching vampires for the  
  case last month? I know that turned out to be a chupacabra, but I 
  still read all those books.
  Alan: Okay, so we flash back to you going over all those old books, and  
  you're making a list of vampire powers on a pad: super strength, 
  fast, mesmerism, rapid healing are the things you wrote on the 
  list. Hannah says “So, you finished your tests and everything? I 
  have a job to do here.”
  Chris (speaking as Cray): “Yes, that's everything for now. Thanks for  
  your help.”
  Alan: Cool, she gets back to her own work. What do you do now?
  Kick Some Ass
  Here's the move:
  When you get into a fight and kick some ass, roll +Tough.
  On any success (i.e., total 7 or more) you inflict harm on (and suffer  
  harm from) whatever you're fighting. The amount of harm is based on  
  the established dangers in the game. That usually means you inflict the  
  harm rating of your weapon and your enemies inflict their attack's  
  harm rating on you.
  If you roll a 10+, choose one extra effect:
  •
  You gain the advantage: take +1 forward, or give +1 forward to 
  another hunter.
  118
  
  •
  You inflict terrible harm (+1 harm).
  •
  You suffer less harm (-1 harm).
  •
  You force them where you want them.
  On a miss, you get your ass kicked instead.
  This is the basic fighting move, covering the back and forth of a short 
  burst of fighting, rather than a single attack.
  By default both sides inflict harm as established – the hunter with their 
  weapon and the enemy theirs.
  For example, Hoss the hunter is going to shoot a zombie with his  
  shotgun (harm-3 close load messy reload), while the zombie is trying to 
  bite Hoss (the zombie's bite attack is rated “2-harm hand”). If the  
  zombie is still out of reach (i.e. out of hand range), Hoss will inflict 3-
  harm on it but be safe from the zombie's bite. Once the zombie is right  
  up in Hoss's face, then Hoss can still blast it for 3-harm and this time  
  the zombie can bite him back for 2-harm.
  Don't  automatically  call  for  this  move  any time  a  hunter  attacks 
  someone. If a hunter attacks a foe that cannot (or will not) fight back, 
  then it is appropriate to just use the Keeper move  inflict harm as 
  established instead. 
  On a success of 10+, the hunter gets to pick an extra effect. Always ask 
  them what happened.
  If the hunter takes +1 forward, or gives another hunter +1 forward, 
  then make sure to ask them what they did to set up an advantage. This 
  might include things like tactical maneuvering, grappling with the 
  enemy, pushing the enemy back, or knocking the enemy off balance. 
  If the hunter inflicts terrible harm, then they inflict one more point of 
  harm. That means they did something extra-nasty with their attack, so 
  be sure to ask them what that was.
  If the hunter suffers less harm, then reduce the harm the enemy 
  inflicts by one. Ask them what they did to reduce the harm.
  If the hunter forces the enemy where they want them, this will allow 
  them to push the bad guys wherever they want. Be generous with this, 
  as long as it's consistent with what is happening in the game: you can't 
  drive the monsters out if they're in a dead end, for instance. 
  When a hunter misses on kick some ass, they're usually going to be in 
  a lot of trouble. Your move doesn't always have to be inflict harm as 
  established. Sometimes your other moves can apply too: maybe the 
  hunter gets captured, or the monster gets a chance to flee the fight.
  119
  
  Manipulate Someone
  Here's the move:
  Once you have given the target a reason, tell them what you want 
  them to do and roll +Charm. 
  For a normal person:
  •
  If you get 10+, then they'll do it as long as you do what you offered  
  (which might be nothing, if your reason is intangible, like the  
  authority of an official badge).
  •
  On a 7-9, they'll do it, but only if you do something for them right 
  now to show you mean it.
  •
  On a miss, your approach is completely wrong: you offend or 
  anger the target. 
  For another hunter:
  •
  On a 10+ they mark experience and get +1 forward if they do what 
  you ask. 
  •
  On a 7-9, they mark experience if they do what you ask. 
  •
  On a miss, it's up to that hunter to decide how badly you offend or  
  annoy them. They mark experience if they do not do what you 
  asked. 
  Here’s the most important thing to remember about the manipulate 
  someone move: the hunter needs to offer something that makes the 
  target willing to do what the hunter asks.
  Don't make this too hard. It can be enough for the hunter to pretend to 
  be an authority figure, or just say “I'll look after you,” or promise to 
  help out later.
  But don't let it be too easy either. If a hunter is asking a bystander to 
  be bait in a monster trap, there may be nothing the hunter can offer 
  that will convince them to do it. Use the target's motivation to help 
  make this decision.
  When  a  hunter  tries  to  manipulate  another  hunter,  things  go 
  differently. In this case, the incentive is the experience check and 
  bonus that will be available to the target if the move succeeds. The 
  target  hunter  gets  to  choose  whether  that  incentive,  along  with 
  whatever they were offered in the game, is enough to convince them 
  do what is asked.
  120
  
  Misses on this move naturally lead to offending the target, or the 
  hunter coming across as obtuse or annoying. When the move is used 
  on  the  other  hunters,  one  of  these  results  will  probably  happen 
  naturally. For misses with bystanders, the target could see through a 
  disguise, or refuse to believe a critical lie (or truth!). Look at the threat 
  type for the character (or pick one for them right now) and their 
  motivation will give you an idea how they are going to react.
  Manipulating Monsters
  By default the hunters can't manipulate monsters. Even if a monster 
  can talk and reason, it cannot be trusted to keep its word. You should 
  certainly allow the hunters to make a deal with a monster, if they try 
  to, but they do not get to roll manipulate someone and they certainly 
  will not get a guarantee that the monster will hold up its end of the 
  bargain. From the monster's point of view, hunters wanting to make a 
  deal  are  probably  in  a  really  weak  position  and  this  is  a  great 
  opportunity to use that against them.
  The only exception is when a hunter move explicitly allows it (such as 
  the Monstrous move dark negotiator). If a hunter has a move allowing 
  this, then  manipulate works as normal (although what a monster 
  wants in return could be quite unpleasant).
  Minions may or may not be vulnerable to manipulation. If the minion 
  is  a  normal  human  working  for  a  monster,  then  hunters  can 
  manipulate  them  fine.  The  other  extreme  are  minions  who  can't 
  understand speech and may not be capable of making deals, such as 
  brain-eating zombie or malevolent fungus. Make decisions for the in-
  between cases as they come up, and remember that the minion might 
  want something nasty in return for doing what the hunter asks.
  Protect Someone
  Here's the move:
  When you prevent harm to another character, roll +Tough. 
  On any success (i.e., 7 or more), you protect them okay, but you'll suffer 
  some or all of the harm they were going to get. 
  If you got a 10+ choose an extra: 
  •
  You suffer little harm (-1 harm).
  •
  All impending danger is now focused on you.
  •
  You inflict harm on the enemy.
  •
  You hold the enemy back.
  121
  
  On a miss, then you end up making things worse.
  This can be used any time someone is about to suffer harm, including 
  as the result of another move (i.e. a kick some ass move that means a 
  hunter is going to suffer harm). 
  As  with  help  out,  always  ask  the  hunter  how  they  are  going  to 
  protecting this person in this situation. 
  By  default,  any  success  means  that  the  hunter  has  successfully 
  protected the target (so the target is not harmed at all) but the hunter 
  will suffer harm instead (usually, but not always, the same harm). 
  On a 10+ the hunter gets to pick an extra effect. Ask the hunter what 
  happened.
  They can choose to suffer little harm, taking one less harm. Ask what 
  they do to reduce the harm.
  If they choose “all impending danger is now focused on the hunter,” 
  they've put themselves right in harm's way. Ask them what they do to 
  get all the danger. Don't be shy when this is picked – the hunter has 
  chosen to have the entire enemy force have a go at them.
  If they choose to “inflict harm on the enemy,” they get to harm an 
  enemy as well as protecting the target. Ask how they did that. As usual, 
  the amount of harm done depends on the hunter's weapon.
  If they choose “hold the enemy back” then the bad guys can't get past 
  the hunter. Other hunters, or even bystanders, may help fight from 
  this position if it makes sense. This works best when defending a small 
  space like a doorway. If the hunters are in the open, the bad guys will 
  be able to work their way around them eventually.
  Missing a protect someone roll is very bad. In general, harm to both 
  the original victim and the hunter is a good choice. Things could be 
  even worse, e.g. the target might be captured as well. As with  kick 
  some ass, when things go bad here, they go really bad.
  Read A Bad Situation
  Here's the move:
  When you look around and read a bad situation, roll +Sharp. 
  On a 10+ hold 3, and on a 7-9 hold 1.
  One hold can be spent to ask the Keeper one of the following questions:
  •
  What's my best way in?
  •
  What's my best way out?
  122
  
  •
  Are there any dangers we haven't noticed?
  •
  What's the biggest threat?
  •
  What's most vulnerable to me?
  •
  What's the best way to protect the victims?
  If you act on the answers, you get +1 ongoing while the information is  
  relevant. For example, if you ask for the best way in to the monster's 
  lair then you'll get +1 while you are infiltrating it. But once you're in,  
  the information doesn't help you any more.
  On a miss, you might mis-read the situation (e.g. “Everything is fine 
  here! It will be totally safe to go investigate alone!”), or you might  
  reveal tactical details to your enemies (which means the Keeper can  
  ask the questions above of you).
  This move is for when a hunter goes into a situation they know is 
  hostile – e.g. when they know the monster's in this house somewhere. 
  It can also be used in the middle of a dangerous situation, if the hunter 
  needs some more tactical information.
  Misses on reading a bad situation lend themselves to you turning the 
  move back on the hunter – ask them some of the questions on behalf of 
  whatever enemies are present, and then have the enemies act on those 
  answers. 
  Misses can also give you a chance to put the hunters into danger – for 
  example, they just failed to notice the ambush that they're walking 
  into.
  Use Magic
  Here's the move:
  When you use magic, say what you're trying to achieve and how you  
  do the spell, then roll +Weird. 
  If you get a 10+, the magic works without issues: choose your effect.
  On a 7-9, it works imperfectly: choose your effect and a glitch. The  
  Keeper will decide what effect the glitch has. 
  On a miss, you lose control of the magic. This never ends well.
  By default the magic has one of the effects listed below, lasts for around 
  thirty minutes, and does not expose you to danger, unwanted attention,  
  or side-effects. If there's a glitch this might change.
  Effects:
  123
  
  •
  Inflict harm (1-harm ignore-armour magic obvious).
  •
  Enchant a weapon. It gets +1 harm and +magic.
  •
  Do one thing that is beyond human limitations.
  •
  Bar a place or portal to a specific person or a type of creature.
  •
  Trap a specific person, minion, or monster.
  •
  Evict a spirit or curse from the person, object, or place it inhabits.
  •
  Summon a monster into the world.
  •
  Communicate with something that you do not share a language with.
  •
  Observe another place or time.
  •
  Heal 1-harm from an injury, or cure a disease, or neutralize a poison.
  Glitches:
  •
  The effect is weakened.
  •
  The effect is of short duration.
  •
  You take 1-harm ignore-armour.
  •
  The magic draws immediate, unwelcome attention.
  •
  It has a problematic side effect.
  The Keeper may require one or more of the following: 
  •
  The spell requires weird materials.
  •
  The spell will take 10 seconds, 30 seconds, or 1 minute to cast.
  •
  The spell requires ritual chanting and gestures.
  •
  The spell requires you to draw arcane symbols.
  •
  You need one or two people to help cast the spell.
  •
  You need to refer to a tome of magic for the details.
  Magic, by its nature, breaks the rules. The use magic move lists the 
  possible effects for magic spells. Magic that goes beyond these effects 
  counts as big magic (see p. 64 and below).
  When a hunter uses magic, it's important to ask them what they're 
  trying to do (and work out which of the effects they are trying for). Ask 
  the hunter how they cast the spell, and what it looks like too.
  Then consider the scope of what they're doing, how they said the spell 
  is cast, and decide if you will require anything extra from the list.
  124
  
  Pick extra requirements based on the size of magical effect. Magic that 
  has a big effect should need a bigger effort. Usually pick one or two 
  things including anything the hunter included in their description of 
  casting the spell. You can offer alternatives, too, so that the hunter 
  either takes one minute or needs arcane symbols, say.
  Partial successes when using magic mean that the hunter has to pick a 
  glitch. Glitches are bad news, but it's up to the hunter to decide which 
  one happens. Magic should always be dangerous and unpredictable, so 
  hammer that home when you decide how the glitches take effect.
  On a miss using magic, make as hard a move as you like; anything can 
  happen when magic goes wrong. Reversing the intended effect of the 
  spell is an option, so that the exact opposite of what the hunter wanted 
  happens. You can also go for off-the-wall weirdness: portals to other 
  dimensions; angry spirits converging on the hunter; or changes to the 
  laws of physics around the hunter; that sort of thing.
  Big Magic
  The rules for the use magic move are constrained, but big magic is 
  not.  Big  magic  is  for  everything  else,  from  curing  someone  of 
  vampirism to opening a gate to another dimension.
  The only limits on big magic are those that have been established in 
  your game. For example, it may be that you decided magic never allows 
  anyone to travel into the past.
  Even these established rules might be broken if there is a strong 
  enough reason in the story. For example, if the hunters realise that the 
  only way to defeat a monster is to go back in time to when it was 
  weaker.  If  you  reveal  that  a  limit  can  be  broken  in  certain 
  circumstances, think about what this reveals about the world. This sort 
  of event should always be a big deal, with big repercussions in your 
  story. In our time travel example, maybe travel into the past changes 
  the timeline irrevocably; or maybe the rule being broken unleashes an 
  angry time god on the hunters.
  When the hunters want to do big magic, you decide what it requires, 
  the same as when someone uses magic normally. Here are the options 
  for when the hunters need to perform big magic:
  •
  Spend a lot of time (days or weeks) researching the magic 
  ritual.
  •
  Experiment with the spell – there will be lots of failures before 
  you get it right.
  125
  
  •
  The  hunter  needs  some  rare  and  weird  ingredients  and 
  supplies.
  •
  It will take a long time (hours or days) to cast.
  •
  The hunter needs a lot of people (2, 3, 7, 13, or more) to help.
  •
  It needs to be done at a particular place and/or time.
  You can pick multiple requirements, that all need to be satisfied:
  For example, you can tell the hunters “You need to spend a few days 
  doing research and then get a lava snake fang to cast this spell. And  
  then you'll need three people to help you cast it.”
  You can also give the hunters alternatives:
  For example, you can tell the hunters “You need to spend a few days  
  doing research for a simple version, or if you get a lava snake fang then 
  you can cast it right now. Either way you need three people to help 
  out.”
  Make the requirements consistent with how big a deal this spell is 
  going to be. 
  Playbook Moves
  I've gone into detail about how to handle the basic moves, but there 
  isn't room to cover all the playbook moves in the same depth. 
  The overarching rule is to interpret results using all your normal rules: 
  the Keeper's agenda, principles, things to always say, and all your 
  moves. If you stick to those, you won't go wrong.
  Actions Not Covered By A Move
  Sometimes the hunters will come up with something they want to try 
  that isn't covered by existing moves. Depending on exactly what it is, 
  there are several ways to deal with this.
  If the action is something a normal person could do, then you can just 
  accept it. Look at your list of Keeper moves and see if any of them 
  apply to the action: if they do, then use that move. Quite often, I find 
  that the Keeper move that applies is “ask them what they do next.” Let 
  them do what they want and see what comes of it.
  If it's something that a normal person could do, but it's really hard 
  and/or dangerous, ask them to act under pressure.
  If it's something that a normal person couldn't do at all, then you can 
  ask them to use magic, or big magic. 
  126
  
  In fact, act under pressure and use magic are intended to be catch-
  alls. If you can't work out which move to use, one of these two will 
  usually work.
  Another alternative is to quickly make up a custom move for this 
  particular situation. Only do this if you think it will come up again, and 
  only once you are comfortable enough with the moves that you can do 
  this quickly. 
  On With The Mystery!
  That covers the basic rules that you need to keep in mind, it's time to 
  get on with the mystery. The previous section was a long digression: 
  but if you cast your mind back, the group had just finished creating 
  hunters and were ready to start playing out the mystery. You should 
  have your mystery preparation in front of you.
  Start-Of-Mystery Moves
  First, check if anyone has a move to roll at the beginning of the 
  mystery. The Chosen always does, and an Expert, Flake, Initiate, or 
  Spooky might have one. Ask them how they do the move. Then have 
  them roll and see what the effect is. Make sure that anyone who rolled 
  a move that used one of their highlighted ratings marks experience.
  The Teaser
  Begin playing with a scene to introduce the hook. Ask the hunters 
  where they start their investigation. At the scene of an attack or 
  mysterious event? Interviewing a witness or survivor? Talking to the 
  authorities?  Checking  historical  documents  in  the  local  library? 
  Making plans over breakfast at a diner? Give them a good description 
  of the place (or ask them for the description, if it's one of their haunts). 
  Then tell them whatever strange clue drew them here (that's the hook, 
  which you created with your mystery). 
  Let them talk about how they'll approach it, and maybe do some 
  preliminary investigation: things that they could research here (on the 
  Internet?) or they could describe – in flashback – checking things up 
  before  they  came  here.  If  anyone  has  ideas,  let  them  make  an 
  investigate move now. 
  Once they have a plan (and before the discussion gets boring), cut to 
  the hunters beginning their investigation and go on from there.
  127
  
  Beginning the Investigation
  Tell them about the location and sketch a quick map of the area (or 
  show them one you already prepared). Include important features, 
  especially anything that was mentioned in the hook – where bodies 
  were found, which house appears to be haunted, the location of the 
  police station that filed the report, and so on. Then ask them “So, 
  where are you going first? Are you all going or are you going to split up 
  and  cover  more  ground?”  After  this,  let  the  hunters  drive  the 
  investigation. 
  Play  out  the  hunters'  interviews  with  normal  folks,  and  their 
  examination of places. If they meet bystanders you prepared with the 
  mystery, use the details you wrote down. If they talk to someone new, 
  give that bystander a name, and a bystander type (p. 91). 
  Draw a map of everywhere they search, and everywhere there's some 
  action. Give each place a location threat type (p. 93).
  Ask Questions
  All the way through this first mystery, you need to ask questions all 
  the  time.  That's  how  to  get  a  handle  on  the  hunters:  how  each 
  approaches  things,  how  the  team  works  together,  and  how  each 
  hunter's backstory is going to factor into the game. When they do 
  something, ask them how they do it. If they want to know if they have a 
  torch (or whatever), ask them “Do you normally carry one?” When 
  they find out about an important location, ask them if they've been 
  there before. If they have, ask them what it was like. Let everyone 
  contribute to the world you are creating in your game, with their 
  answers to your questions (and you, as Keeper, building on those 
  answers).
  Make notes of all the answers you get, in case you need them later.
  Call For Moves
  Call for investigate and manipulate moves when the hunters look for 
  clues. And if they go somewhere dangerous, suggest that they might 
  want to read a bad situation.
  If a hunter wants to do some crazy, impossible stuff then remind them 
  they can use magic for that sort of thing.
  Use Your Keeper Moves
  Keep in mind your agenda and principles (p. 101), and moves (p. 106). 
  128
  
  Respond to the hunters' actions with your Keeper and threat moves. 
  Make soft moves that the hunters must deal with, and then make a 
  hard move if they don't deal with it (see p. 108).
  Recall that when a hunter misses a move roll (that is, their total is six 
  or less), you get to respond with a move of your own (and it can be a 
  hard move):
  •
  For act under pressure, things go to hell for the hunter.
  •
  For  help out, the hunter exposes themselves to trouble or 
  danger.
  •
  For kick some ass, the hunter gets their ass kicked.
  •
  For protect someone, the hunter makes things worse.
  •
  For  manipulate someone, the hunter angers or offends the 
  target.
  •
  For  investigate a mystery, the hunter reveals something to 
  the monster or whoever they are talking to.
  •
  For read a bad situation, the hunter reads the situation all 
  wrong or reveals tactical details to their enemies.
  •
  For  use magic, the hunter loses control of the magic and 
  anything can happen.
  Use The Countdown
  Mark  off  the steps on the countdown  if  the  corresponding  event 
  happens in play, or when you decide it has now happened off-screen. 
  Advancing the countdown isn't one of your moves by itself, but it 
  represents a move that was just made or is about to be made. Good 
  times to advance the countdown are:
  •
  you announce off-screen badness that warns about the event 
  about to happen, or shows that it is happening now.
  •
  a hunter blows an  investigate move that could have led to 
  finding out about the next event.
  •
  you make a move for a threat that completes the next event.
  •
  a hunter misses a move roll attempting to stop the next event.
  As the countdown is what would happen if the hunters didn't interfere, 
  you will usually need to revise the plan based on what happens in play. 
  The hunters might prevent something directly, or the monster might 
  change its plans in response to what the hunters do. Maybe some of 
  the events will be changed, or maybe some will be skipped, or they 
  129
  
  could all become irrelevant. That's fine. The important thing is that 
  the countdown provides you with a guide to what the bad guys are 
  trying to do.
  I'm Not Prepared For This
  The hunters will do things you didn't expect. They might check out 
  somewhere you didn't define, or talk to someone you hadn't thought 
  about. 
  If this happens, just make a note of the person or place, give them a 
  name, and quickly pick a threat type for them. That's all you need to 
  do, after which you can treat that person or place the same as any of 
  your prepared threats.
  You can even do this with monster and minion threats, if it makes 
  sense,  although  then  you  also  need  to  pick  powers,  weaknesses, 
  attacks,  armour,  and  harm  capacity.  It's  less  common  for  an 
  unexpected monster to be called for, but you can never be sure. The 
  hunters might summon a spirit to help them, or something like that.
  In general, just note down the minimum that you need to get on with 
  the game, and then get on with it. Fill in more details if and when you 
  need them.
  Closing In On The Monster
  The hunters will steadily catch up to the monster as they investigate. 
  If they find the monster or its minions then there can be a fight scene – 
  have someone read the situation, then get into the action with  act 
  under pressure, kick ass, and protect someone moves. 
  Remind the hunters that they can help each other, too, especially if 
  someone just missed a roll by one (help can be given after a roll has 
  been made).
  It Always Comes To A Fight
  Once the hunters get a handle on what they're hunting, they'll want to 
  take it out. The following sections have a lot of advice for running 
  fights, but this is the overview.
  Start fights somewhere interesting, with lots of stuff that can be used 
  in move descriptions, by you and the hunters. Every fight scene should 
  have a location threat type, too, so remember to use those location 
  threat moves when appropriate.
  130
  
  Aim to have a couple of set-piece fight scenes: it's really the hunters 
  who determine how fast they catch the monster, but you still have a bit 
  of control over the pacing via your moves. For example, if the hunters 
  track down the monster early on and it feels anticlimactic, have the 
  monster disengage or run away (perhaps using the monster threat 
  move escape, no matter how well contained it is). Conversely, if the 
  hunters are moving slowly, the monster might decide to attack them 
  first (the monster threat move could be show its full power, attack 
  with great force and fury, or attack with stealth and cunning), or it 
  could send minions after them  (monster:  order underlings to do 
  terrible acts, minions: a burst of sudden uncontrolled violence, a 
  coordinated attack, give chase). 
  Try to hurt the hunters: they have plenty of Luck at the beginning so 
  they are not any real danger. A hard fight in the first mystery sets an 
  expectation of danger and risk for the game, which helps create a 
  sense of horror.
  Keeping Fights Interesting
  There are going to be a lot of fights, and you need to keep them novel. 
  It's easy to fall into giving everyone a turn, the hunters each rolling 
  kick some ass one at a time, but that's dull.
  I'm going to present a variety of techniques to keep fight scenes 
  exciting. Use them in your game (with your Keeper moves) whenever 
  you can. The techniques are:
  •
  Think about what's at stake.
  •
  Start the fight.
  •
  Use the environment.
  •
  Make maps.
  •
  Use weapon tags.
  •
  Be creative with moves.
  •
  Sometimes do the obvious thing.
  •
  Balance spotlight time.
  •
  Sometimes don't go into detail.
  •
  Use soft moves to set up hard moves.
  Think About What's At Stake
  There are a lot of reasons for the hunters to get into a fight. Think 
  about what their enemies want. If a monster is fighting to destroy the 
  131
  
  hunters before they kill it, then it has more at stake than if they caught 
  it sneaking around. In the first case, it might fight to the death. In the 
  second, maybe it just wants to run away. 
  Take a moment to work out what the combatants want to achieve, and 
  that will help you pick their tactics.
  Start The Fight
  When a fight starts, pick who gets the first move based on what's 
  happening in the game. 
  If a hunter just missed a read a bad situation roll, maybe the first she 
  knows about the troll is when it attacks. Conversely, if the hunters 
  have made a concerted effort to infiltrate the lair undetected, they'll 
  be the ones attacking without warning. 
  Other times, both sides are aware of each other. Use your common 
  sense here, and base the decision on what's happening, as always in 
  accordance with your agenda and principles.
  The Environment
  To keep fights fresh, ground the action in what's happening. Think 
  about the place the fight is occurring (e.g. house, sewer, street, cave, 
  etc.). Think about what makes this particular location unusual for this 
  sort of place (and always include something unusual, something that 
  sets it apart from average).  
  For example:
  This house looks rundown but normal, except there's a dusty smell 
  from the piles and piles of magazines everywhere. Looks like the owner  
  really loves National Geographic.
  The leshy disappears into the forest and as you reach the edges you see  
  the whole place is damp and marshy, with mud and moss that your feet 
  start sinking into.
  The extra details in both those examples might not directly affect what 
  happens in the game (although they might). The important thing is 
  that the extra detail creates a much more evocative picture in the 
  imagination than “it's a rundown house” or “the leshy disappears into 
  the forest” would have done.
  Decide on a location threat type every time a fight takes place. This 
  provides you with hints about how to describe the place (based on its 
  motivation), and gives you access to the location threat moves.
  132
  
  Make Maps
  Drawing a map is a good idea, and will give everyone an agreed picture 
  of the space and who is where. Make sure you include details that the 
  hunters (and their enemies) can use to their advantage. Use details like 
  what  furniture  is  present,  where  the  slimy  puddles  are,  the  iron 
  candlesticks around the temple altar, where the traffic is rushing past. 
  Even if the hunters don't use these things, you can. When someone is 
  hurt don't just say that they take harm. Say that they get thrown at the 
  altar, knocking candlesticks everywhere. 
  Weapons
  Pay attention to the tags of the weapons used in the fight, so you can 
  work them into your descriptions of what's going on. As well as the 
  hunters' weapon tags, use the monster's and minions' attack tags.
  Make sure that you take weapon range tags into account, too. If a 
  weapon  is  being  used  out  of  its  normal  range,  that  will  be  a 
  disadvantage to the wielder. That might prevent it from being used at 
  all, or it might be less effective (e.g. causing less harm than usual, or 
  requiring an act under pressure to use it properly).
  Be Creative With Moves
  Vary the Keeper moves you use. If you find yourself repeating the same 
  sort of thing, take a moment to check the Keeper moves list and think 
  about what else could happen right now. 
  Call for the hunters to use  act under pressure, help out,  protect 
  someone, and read a bad situation whenever an opportunity comes 
  up, so the hunters do not just use kick some ass all the time. 
  Remember  that  you  can  also  use  the  move  inflict  harm  as 
  established. If an attack would strike home easily, you can use this 
  instead of asking a hunter to kick some ass.
  Make sure the hunters always describe what they are doing in detail. If 
  they've used enough detail, you'll find it easy to work out how to react.
  When a hunter misses a move roll, think a little about what could go 
  wrong, given what they tried and what else is happening. 
  For example, Terry (playing the hunter Isis) says “I shoot the cyclops 
  slug.” You can ask “Okay, where do you shoot it?” or “Are you leaning  
  around the doorframe or coming into the passage to get a clear shot?”  
  or “Is it a carefully aimed shot or quick shot?”
  If Isis misses her kick some ass roll, then you can react based on the 
  answer: 
  133
  
  •
  If she shot it in the face, it could blind the single eye.
  •
  If she shot it in the body, it can't come at her so fast.
  •
  If she went into the passage, it can slime her. 
  •
  If she stayed in the doorway, it can smash through the wall.
  •
  If she tried to get a careful shot, maybe the cyclops slug rushed  
  her before she could fire.
  •
  If she tried a quick shot, maybe it hits something else important  
  (a victim, or a gas pipe maybe?)
  Sometimes Do The Obvious Thing
  Don't get hung up on trying to always think up the most innovative, 
  creative  thing  to  do.  Usually,  if  you  think  about  what  exactly  is 
  happening, it will be obvious what should happen next (whether you 
  are deciding how a monster reacts, or what move you should make in 
  response to what a hunter just did). In those cases when there is a 
  single, obvious thing to do next, trust your instincts and do it.
  Balance Spotlight Time
  You need to strike a balance between spotlight time (giving each 
  hunter a turn) and doing what is obviously next. E.g. if one hunter 
  keeps attacking the monsters, take a break from them to check what 
  everyone else is up to (even if the fight is the main thing that is going 
  on).
  If some of the hunters don't join the fighting, ask them what they're 
  doing while it goes on. Give these activities just as much emphasis as 
  the combat: those hunters might be able to help save the day with 
  magic, or a non-combat use of a monster weakness, or some other 
  cunning plan.
  Sometimes Don't Go Into Detail
  Don't be afraid to resolve fights quickly, especially if the hunters are 
  fighting outclassed minions, or a difficult bystander. One successful 
  kick some ass can be enough to win an easy fight. Remember that 
  many minions and most bystanders won't just fight to the death: they 
  might surrender or flee after a single hit.
  Use Soft Moves
  Don't just use hard moves on the hunters (or anyone else). Use soft 
  moves that prepare for a follow-up hard move, giving the hunters a 
  chance to do something about whatever is coming.
  134
  
  Summary: Running Fights
  •
  Think about what's at stake.
  •
  Work out how it starts based on what's happening in the game.
  •
  Describe the location and pick a type for it, then use those 
  details and threat moves.
  •
  Make maps.
  •
  Use the combatants' weapon and attack tags.
  •
  Use moves creatively.
  •
  Sometimes do the obvious thing.
  •
  Balance spotlight time between the hunters.
  •
  Sometimes you don't need to go into detail.
  •
  Use soft moves and give the hunters a chance to react.
  •
  Try to hurt the hunters: they can handle it.
  Harm
  Whenever a character (hunter, monster, minion, or bystander) gets 
  harmed, note down the wound and how much harm was caused. For 
  example, “clawed left arm, 3-harm” or “shot in the head, 2-harm.” 
  Remember that if the victim has armour, that reduces the amount of 
  harm suffered by its rating.
  If it's a hunter, tell them how many harm boxes to check off. Make sure 
  you  know  if  they're  up  to  four  (after  which  the  injuries  become 
  unstable, and will get worse until treated).
  Describe the pain, how bad the wound  looks, how much blood  is 
  coming out, if a bone is sticking out, if they're feeling faint, and so on. 
  All the gory detail you can think of.
  The Harm Moves
  Injuries  allow  you  to  make  harm  moves  against  that  hunter  (or 
  monster, minion, or bystander), based on how bad it is. Every time 
  someone gets hurt, use a harm move on them.
  The harm moves are listed below, along with the minimum harm level 
  for each.
  0-harm or more:
  •
  Momentarily inhibited.
  135
  
  •
  Drop something.
  •
  Take -1 forward.
  1-harm or more:
  •
  Fall down.
  •
  Take -1 ongoing.
  •
  Pass out.
  •
  Intense pain.
  Unstable wounds:
  •
  +1 harm.
  8-harm or more:
  •
  Dead.
  How To Use The Harm Moves
  Injuries must be as serious as they have been described in order to 
  make the world seem real. Use the harm moves to help with that 
  impression. Use a harm move whenever someone is hurt, to represent 
  the immediate effects of the attack.  
  Think about each of the harm moves you could use, and whether any of 
  the following might apply: 
  •
  Is the wound bad enough that the victim might be knocked 
  down? Examples of wounds that might cause knockdown: a 
  really strong hit; a hit with lots of inertia; an intensely painful 
  wound; being hit in the legs.
  •
  Is the wound going to cause ongoing difficulty? Examples of 
  ongoing difficulty: intense pain; something got stuck in the 
  wound; an irritant (dust, sand, gravel) gets in the wound; it's 
  somewhere distracting (like your hand).
  •
  Could the wound render the victim unconscious? Examples: a 
  blow to the head; shock from blood loss.
  •
  Is  the wound  going to  be  especially  painful?  For example 
  burns; injuries to the hands or face; an existing injury is struck 
  again.
  •
  Could the injury kill the victim? Examples: blood loss; head 
  trauma; chest or abdomen hits (which could rupture a major 
  organ).
  When an injury occurs, it's up to you to think about the implications 
  and make a harm move.
  136
  
  Unstable Wounds
  Once a hunter has suffered 4-harm, their injuries become unstable. 
  That means that it will get worse, until it's treated. 
  While the injuries are unstable, you may tell the hunter they take 
  another point of harm at any time. Use the same process as deciding 
  which harm move to use: given the type and severity of the injuries, 
  would it be likely to have gotten worse yet? 
  If an unstable wound has been left for a day and you haven't added any 
  more harm yet, do it then.
  Minions, Bystanders and Harm
  For minions and bystanders, you don't have to track wounds in detail. 
  You can just make a call based on each injury: is this enough to take 
  them out of the fight? Is this enough to kill them? Make the decision 
  about the injury's severity based on your usual Keeper's agenda and 
  principles, and (for minions) based on the harm capacity you picked 
  for them. 
  Bystanders, and some minions, will be inclined to flee or surrender 
  when injured rather than fight to the death.
  Killing Monsters
  When you defined the monster, you picked the harm capacity it has. 
  That's  how  many  points  of  harm  it  can  take  before  it's  dying. 
  Otherwise, the harm rules apply as normal. You should inflict harm 
  moves on monsters as normal whenever they are injured.
  Monster injuries do not become unstable when they have taken four 
  harm or more.
  Additionally, the monster is only  really dead if the hunters used a 
  weakness against it.
  When A Monster Isn't Really Dead
  If the hunters deal enough damage to a monster to kill it (or enough to 
  kill it several times over), but haven't used a  weakness, then that 
  monster is not dead. One way or another, it will come back. 
  Here's some ideas for ways a seemingly-dead monster can come back:
  •
  The  monster  just  keeps  going,  regardless  of  the  terrible 
  injuries it has sustained.
  •
  The monster's apparently dying body turns to dust, or mist, or 
  shadow, and escapes.
  137
  
  •
  The monster returns in a new form (maybe as an even more 
  dangerous spirit?).
  •
  Fire (or acid, or whatever) simply has no effect on the injured 
  monster.
  •
  The monster reveals a new power, healing itself suddenly or 
  overwhelming the hunters.
  •
  Minions hold the hunters back, while others grab and run off 
  with the crippled monster.
  •
  No matter what the hunters did to it, slowly the pieces of the 
  monster make their way back together and rebuild themselves.
  •
  Far away, minions begin a magical ritual to return the monster 
  to life.
  •
  The monster has tricked them: the thing that died was a fake 
  (A magical illusion? A transformed minion?).
  •
  The monster was just pretending to be almost defeated: as 
  soon as the hunters drop their guard, it goes back on the 
  offensive.
  Knowing The Monster is Dead
  When the hunters finally take down a monster, it needs to be really 
  obvious. 
  Lots of monsters can disappear, turn invisible, and so on. That means 
  that you should ensure a dying monster gets a good description of how 
  it dies. 
  If a monster just falls over when the hunters inflict the final blow, 
  that's an anticlimax. But if it bursts in a huge spray of blood and gore, 
  or explodes and takes down the building, or gets pulled screaming into 
  another dimension? 
  Then everyone knows they properly killed it.
  Healing
  The rules for healing (from the hunters' perspective) are on p. 66. 
  In brief, they are:
  •
  0-harm wounds only apply at the moment they happen: no 
  healing time is required to get over them.
  •
  Stable wounds get better by 1 point for each day of rest, or 
  when medical attention is given.
  138
  
  •
  4+ harm wounds need stabilization and long term treatment. 
  It's  your call  how long that takes. As a  general rule, any 
  treatment (a visit to a doctor or emergency room, or time in a 
  haven infirmary) will stabilise the injury and heal 1 harm. 
  •
  8-harm or more means the victim is dead.
  •
  Healing moves will say how much they heal.
  Additionally, at the end of a mystery all the hunters get healed to 
  account for the time passed. 
  If there's downtime before the next mystery, have everyone erase all 
  harm: there's time for them to have had all the treatment they need.
  If the next mystery follows right on the last, everyone gets 1-harm 
  healed. That represents that they've had time for some recovery, but 
  not much.
  For monsters and minions, it's up to you to decide if (and how much) 
  they might have healed between encounters. Some creatures might 
  have the power to heal easily and be completely fine the next time the 
  hunters meet them, others might heal the same as a normal human 
  does, or not at all. 
  An Example Fight
  This  illustrates  some  of  the  techniques  I've  outlined  above, 
  demonstrating how it works in play.
  Our cast is:
  •
  Alan,  the  Keeper,  playing  (variously):  Jerry  Parsons,  a 
  bystander, and Lucius, a vampire (already on 3-harm from an 
  earlier encounter).
  •
  Mary, playing Mark (a Wronged hunter)
  •
  Chris, playing Cray (a Spooky hunter)
  •
  The  house  is  a  location:  deathtrap  (motivation:  to  harm 
  intruders).
  Mark and Cray are pursuing a vampire. They've tracked it to a 
  disused house, and found the caretaker, Jerry, to let them in.
  Alan: Jerry leads you into the house, shining a flashlight around. The  
  place is full of furniture covered in sheets to keep the dust off. 
  Alan (speaking as Jerry): “The place seems like I left it – um, I don't 
  think anyone's been in here.” 
  139
  
  Mary (speaking as Mark): “We're sure it... ah, he came this way.  
  Probably best you leave us to it now.”
  Alan: The door swings shut with a slam. 
  Alan used the location move close a path.
  Alan: At the same moment you notice a trail in the dust – someone has  
  been coming and going here recently. Cray, there are three ways  
  out of the hallway – into the house, left into a family room or  
  lounge, and right into what was maybe a study. There's a flicker 
  of movement in the study. Jerry is walking down the hall shining 
  his flashlight around. 
  Alan used the Keeper move announce future badness. He then 
  sketches a map of the hallway and adjoining rooms.
  Alan (speaking as Jerry): “Did you hear that?”
  Chris: Cray's going to check out the study. 
  Chris (speaking as Cray): “Hey Mark, watch my back!”
  Alan: Are you reading a bad situation?
  Chris: I sure am. 
  Chris rolls the dice and adds Cray's Sharp.
  Chris: I got... eight. Let me see... any dangers we haven't noticed?
  Alan: The only things moving in here are you guys and whatever's in  
  the study.
  Chris: Okay, it clearly knows we're here. 
  Chris (speaking as Cray): “Show yourself you unholy bastard!”
  Alan: Are you stepping into the room?
  Chris: Yes, but slowly.
  Mary: Mark's covering him with the rifle. 
  Alan: There's a swirl of shadow and the vampire takes form directly in  
  front of you.
  Alan used the monster move appear suddenly.
  Chris: I already have my magnum out, okay?
  Alan: Sure.
  Although Chris didn't say Cray got his gun ready, there's no 
  reason to think that he wouldn't have done so in this situation.
  Chris: I shoot it in the face!
  Alan: The vampire's trying to grab you by both shoulders, and opening 
  it's mouth ready to sink fangs in your neck. But you can shoot it 
  in the face as it comes for you. Mark, you don't have a clear shot  
  here. Jerry jumps and screams when the shots are fired. Roll me  
  kick ass.
  Alan used the monster move attack with great force and fury.
  140
  
  Chris rolls the dice and adds Cray's Tough.
  Chris: Right, that's a... five. Crap.
  Alan: Did you remember +1 for reading the situation just then? You're 
  acting on what you saw.
  Chris: Yeah, five is with the bonus.
  Alan: Yeah, so you shoot it in the face a couple of times and it doesn't  
  even slow down. It grabs your shoulders and comes in to bite.
  Because Cray's kick some ass move failed, Alan is responding 
  with inflict harm, as established.
  Mary: Can Mark get a shot now? 
  Alan: Um... I guess, it's close but Cray's still in the way. You could  
  maybe club it.
  Mary: Can I knock its face away?
  Alan: With the rifle butt? Yes, that might work. Roll... this seems like  
  protect someone.
  Mary: Sweet, I use Never again to make it like I rolled a 10. As usual,  
  all impending danger on me. 
  The vampire's bite was interrupted by Mark's protect someone 
  move, so Cray doesn't suffer harm.
  Mary (speaking as Mark): “Bring it!”
  Alan: Okay, so you smash its face, and it spins Cray out the way and  
  comes for you. It smashes you up against the wall on the far side 
  of the hallway, and you notice you go a ways into the plaster. Now  
  what?
  This is the Keeper move inflict harm, as established and the 
  effects of the successful protect someone move.
  Mary notes down that Mark took 2-harm.
  Mary (screaming as Mark): “ARRRRGH!” 
  Alan: Okay, you drop your rifle too.
  Alan uses the harm move drop something.
  Mary: Sure, I drop the rifle as I fly back and scramble for my sawn-off. 
  BLAM! Both barrels, sucker!
  Alan: Okay, roll kick some ass. It's trying to get with the biting on you, 
  but it's  going  for  inside your  elbow  rather  than  your  neck,  
  grabbing for your arm as you shoot.
  Mary rolls and adds Mark's Tough.
  Mary: Ha ha! Eleven! I shoot it in the gut, so it goes flying back! Four  
  harm!
  141
  
  Alan notes down 3-harm from shotgun blast for the vampire: it's 
  so tough it counts as having 1-armour. Again, this is inflict 
  harm, as established.
  Alan: Yep, the vampire is blasted back, catches itself on a covered table,  
  then gets back up.
  Mary: I'm reloading!
  Alan: Cray? What are you doing?
  Chris: I'm going back into the hallway to check  Jerry isn't doing 
  anything stupid. 
  Alan: Okay. He's not – just standing there, mouth open, watching what  
  you're all doing. The vamp grabs the dust sheet and swirls it up in  
  the way. When it comes down you can't see where its gone,  
  although the only options are out the front door or into the other  
  room. Unless it can turn invisible or something. 
  Alan used the bystander move display inability or 
  incompetence for Jerry, and the monster move escape no 
  matter how well contained it is for Lucius.
  Chris: Okay, I want to make sure it can't escape. I'm casting a spell to  
  keep it in here. 
  Alan: Sure, you can use magic to bar a place or portal to a monster. I 
  think keeping it from leaving counts. How do you cast this spell? I  
  think you're going to need at least some weird ingredients.
  Chris: It's undead, so I'll use some goofer dust. I sprinkle it on the door  
  and write mystic symbols in it with my finger.
  Alan: Okay, roll it. Mark, what are you doing while this hoodoo's 
  happening?
  Mary: Just keeping an eye on things. I get the mallet and stakes we 
  brought out of my pack, too.
  Alan: Keeping an eye where exactly? 
  Mary: On the lounge room or whatever, and on Cray. 
  Mary  (speaking  as  Mark)  “Hurry  that  creepy  shit  up!  There's  a  
  disappearing vampire in here!”
  Alan: Okay. Jerry screams. You both look back and the vampire has 
  him, neck chomped and blood all over the place. 
  Alan used the monster move attack with stealth and 
  calculation.
  Alan notes down that Jerry took 5-harm from a vampire bite.
  Alan:  Jerry's gone all limp in the vampire's grasp. 
  Alan used the harm move pass out.
  Mary (as Mark): “Dammit!” Can I get there in time to save him?
  142
  
  Alan: Ah... maybe, if you act under pressure?
  Mary: Is there like a light hanging above him I can shoot down?
  Alan: Sure! So, you want it to fall on the vampire? Protecting Jerry?
  Mary: Yes! And I'll use never again for a ten. I guess all its attention is  
  focused on me now?
  Alan: Yeah, when the light fitting comes down, it smashes on top of it,  
  and the vampire drops Jerry and just looks at you, then starts  
  walking towards you like a gunfighter heading for a showdown. 
  This is the result of the protect someone move.
  Alan (speaking as Lucius): “Very well! I will take you first.”
  Mary (speaking as Mark): “Cray! Forget your stupid spell! Grab the 
  vamp so I can stake it!”
  Chris (speaking as Cray): “What? Grab it? No way!”
  Chris: I'll cast a spell to make the cable from the light shade snake  
  down and tie it up!
  Alan: That's the 'trap a monster' effect. How do you cast the spell?
  Chris: I just look hard at it and focus my mind, and then pull it down  
  like I'm using the Force. 
  Alan: Cool.
  Chris rolls and adds Cray's Weird.
  Chris: Yeah, it's a nine. Glitch is short duration “Make it fast, Mark!”
  Alan: Okay, so the vampire's all tangled but the cable's already starting 
  to come loose.
  Alan (speaking as Lucius): “What? What's happening? Gah, stupid 
  plastic rope!”
  Mary: I stake it! 
  Alan: Sure, roll kick ass – it might be able to scratch you a bit even 
  tangled up.
  Mary rolls the dice and adds Mark's Tough.
  Mary: Nine! I guess it gets me then. I do 3-harm with the stake.
  Alan notes down harm to Lucius, and that Lucius has been hit 
  with a weakness: a wooden stake to the heart.
  Mary notes down the harm to Mark.
  Alan: You hammer the stake in but it doesn't look like it went in far  
  enough to get the heart yet. It gets one nasty scratch across your 
  face that momentarily blinds you: take -1 forward. 
  Alan has given Cray -1 forward as a harm move.
  Mary: I stake it again!
  Mary rolls the dice and adds Mark's Tough.
  143
  
  Mary: Thirteen, even with that -1! I inflict terrible harm!
   Alan notes down that harm, sees that this puts Lucius at 12-
  harm total: he has harm capacity of 10, so this is enough to kill 
  him (and permanently, as a weakness has been used).
  Alan: Okay, that sure got the heart. There's a burst of dust as the  
  vampire's flesh disintegrates, leaving just the bones and shriveled 
  heart, complete with stake. 
  The details of what happens when a vampire gets staked are part 
  of the game's mythology.
  144
  
  After The Mystery
  Once the mystery has been solved, take some time to go around the 
  table and check that everyone's happy with how it played out. 
  It's a good idea to let everyone revise aspects of their hunter now that 
  they've played: they might want to change something now they've 
  seen how the game works. Ask them if they have any more ideas about 
  their hunter's backstory, what their hunter's planning to do next, what 
  they thought of the mystery, and anything else they liked or didn't 
  like. Make a note of all the answers, for ideas you can use later.
  Then you can let everyone go home, or go home yourself.
  Getting Ready For Next Time
  Make notes of all the stuff you might need to remember later: 
  •
  Elements from a hunter's past.
  •
  Friction in the hunter team.
  •
  Themes with emotional resonance for the hunters or players. 
  •
  Ideas for monsters that might be particularly unsettling.
  •
  Bystanders they might meet again.
  •
  Any monsters that got away.
  •
  Facts about how the world works in your game.
  Looking Ahead
  Now think about events from the story that suggest there's something 
  bigger going on in the shadows.
  The sort of things that might come up include:
  •
  Hunters' history choices that might indicate something else 
  going on.
  •
  Events  during  the  mystery  that  hint  at  bigger  troubles 
  happening somewhere else.
  •
  Unfinished business from the mystery.
  •
  Hunter choices that have a wide reach, such as the Chosen's 
  fate, the Professional's Agency, and the Initiate's Sect.
  •
  Things that came up in play that suggest something more. 
  Examples include the results of the Expert's dark past move, or 
  just someone saying something interesting about their past 
  145
  
  (e.g.  Keeper:  “Have  you  ever  dealt  with  a  snake  demon 
  before?” Hunter:  “Oh, sure,  we get  a lot  of them  back in 
  Arkansas.”)
  If something like that came up, make a note. 
  You'll use these notes to build subsequent mysteries, and your arcs 
  (those are long term problems for the hunters). If you are thinking 
  about  long  term  problems  and  plots  already,  go  and  read  about 
  building arcs (p.  147) and start your first one. It may not be totally 
  defined yet: it could just be one or two threats and a couple of notes. 
  That's fine. You can develop and polish it as you go on.
  If nothing springs to mind yet, wait until events in later mysteries give 
  you some ideas. 
  Summary: Keeper's First Session
  •
  Discuss team concepts, and maybe pick one for the game.
  •
  Guide the others through picking playbooks and creating their 
  hunters.
  •
  Do introductions and history for the hunters.
  •
  Highlight ratings: first each hunter picks who they are closest 
  to and the chosen hunter picks one rating, you as Keeper pick 
  a second rating.
  •
  Have any hunters with start-of-mystery moves do them now.
  •
  Start the mystery with a teaser scene.
  •
  Let them begin investigating. Ask lots of questions to work out 
  how each hunter does things, and to find out about their pasts.
  •
  Put lots of horror into the stuff they find. Give them problems 
  so they can show how cool they are as they solve them.
  •
  Make a note of everything you can.
  •
  Have some fights and action scenes as they get close to the 
  monster.
  •
  They confront the monster. Hopefully, the hunters win.
  •
  Discuss how it went. Let them change their hunters around a 
  bit if required.
  •
  Look at your notes, and think ahead. Think about possible 
  future mysteries and monsters.
  146
  
  Between Game Sessions
  There's a few things you need to do after each game session, and 
  before the next. I'll take you through those here. 
  In fact, you already started when you thought about what came up in 
  the previous session that you could use later on. Going over the events 
  of the last mystery provides you with ideas to use for the next mystery, 
  or for new or existing arcs.
  Most importantly, before the next game you will need to create a new 
  mystery for the hunters to deal with. That works pretty much the same 
  as the first one did.
  I'll discuss arcs first, and then how to create your later mysteries. 
  Arcs
  Arcs are like mysteries that play out slowly in the background. They 
  describe things that are causing trouble for the hunters over the long 
  term. Think of them like the season-long plots used in  Buffy and 
  Supernatural: a big bad monster and its ongoing plan is a perfect basis 
  for an arc.
  Building Arcs
  An arc is made up of four basic elements, similar to a mystery. You can 
  create them in any order you want, but I'll go through them in the 
  order I usually use:
  1.
  Basic concept.
  2.
  The threats.
  3.
  One or more countdowns.
  4.
  Optionally, some custom moves.
  Arcs work fine without being fully detailed at first. Sometimes you'll 
  have only a few ideas about what's going on. That's fine: just note the 
  details you have now, and fill in others as you think of them. Events in 
  play will suggest further elements to be added in later.
  The Basic Concept
  Decide on a starting concept for your arc. Mysteries usually start with 
  a monster, but arcs can come from a wide variety of places: a hunter's 
  history, unfinished business from a mystery, or a neat idea you have 
  for an evil plan.
  147
  
  You may get some ideas for arcs right at the beginning of a new game 
  when the hunters are created. Perhaps the team concept and backstory 
  of the team suggests something. Some playbooks also have built-in arc 
  seeds, specifically:
  •
  The Chosen's fate. Use the details that you work out with the 
  player about what is in store for the Chosen. 
  •
  The Initiate's Sect and Professional's Agency both deserve an 
  arc.  Use the  choices  the  player  made  to  decide  what  the 
  organisation's motivations are, and how these will affect the 
  hunters.  The  organisation  may  mean  well,  but  still  cause 
  trouble by accident. On the other hand, some organisations 
  might have a sinister purpose for hunting monsters.
  •
  The  Wronged's  loss:  every  Wronged  should  have  an  arc 
  involving the creature(s) that caused their loss.
  •
  Any hunter could have a decision that suggests something.
  In all these cases, ask the player questions about their hunter and their 
  history, in order to tease out ideas you can use for an arc.
  Another way to get arc ideas is to take unfinished business from the 
  mysteries you play. For example:
  •
  If the hunters failed to defeat a monster, it might decide to 
  track them and get revenge. Alternatively, it might restart its 
  evil plan somewhere else.
  •
  If the hunters failed to notice and stop an evil plot, the plotters 
  can move on to the next step in their terrible plan.
  •
  If the hunters miss an important detail, it might start a new 
  problem (for instance, a roach-person's eggs are left in place to 
  hatch a new generation).
  Lastly,  as  the  game  goes  on  you  might  notice  that  previously 
  unconnected facts or events make more sense if they were really 
  connected all along. That is the seed of an arc. Maybe you've had two 
  mysteries that both had a naga as the monster. Could there be a naga 
  conspiracy that led to both situations? Think about what the nagas 
  might be trying to achieve, and use that as your arc concept.
  An example arc:
  Let's say that there was a particularly annoying werewolf pack leader 
  who eluded the hunters. She seems like a good choice to start an arc 
  around  (especially  as  the  team  has  a  Wronged  who  is  hunting 
  werewolves).
  148
  
  The  hunters  killed most of the werewolf pack, so the leader  will  
  definitely hold a grudge, and she was pretty smart in her tactics, so the  
  idea of her starting a crusade against the hunters makes perfect sense.
  Arc Threats
  Arc threats are created (and work) in exactly the same way as mystery 
  threats, except there doesn't need to be a monster. Arcs dealing with 
  human organisations (an Agency or Sect, for example) might be made 
  up of only bystanders and locations. 
  For example:
  Our werewolf leader was already written up as a threat in that original 
  mystery, so we'll add her first.
  Nina  Keenan.  Monster:  Queen  (motivation:  to  possess  and 
  control). I'll omit her werewolf powers and weaknesses here, but they 
  will be the same as when she appeared previously (and in keeping with  
  the established rules for werewolves).
  The Wronged is hunting a werewolf too. His name is George Tovey, but 
  the Wronged just calls him “the black werewolf.” Let's put that one 
  here too. This threat was established by the player when she made the 
  Wronged, but it is currently unallocated to any mystery or arc. I'll add  
  him to this arc now.
  Name  “The  Black  Werewolf”  aka  George  Tovey.  Monster: 
  Torturer (motivation: to hurt and terrify). 
  My idea is that Nina is in charge of this new pack, and she's brought in  
  George to be her top enforcer.
  That's enough key werewolves for this pack, but we'll add two minion 
  threats for the rest of the pack. The first I'm calling “werewolf brutes.” 
  They're my generic werewolves to throw in at will. I'll also have a few  
  who are going to be tougher, and sent after the hunters. They'll be 
  “werewolf assassins.” Both groups are named after their minion type.
  Werewolf  brutes  (there  are  a  dozen  or  so).  Minion:  Brute 
  (motivation: to intimidate and attack).
  Three werewolf assassins. Minion: Assassin (motivation: to kill 
  the hunters). 
  Nina's new werewolf pack will have taken a town (let's call it “New  
  Hampstead”) as their new territory, and will be beginning to take over 
  the whole area. I'll define that as a location, because sooner or later the  
  hunters will go there. 
  149
  
  New Hampstead and surrounds. Location: Den (motivation: to 
  harbour monsters). 
  Given that the most likely thing that will happen to the hunters when 
  they visit is a succession of werewolf attacks, that type seems very  
  appropriate.
  I don't think the arc needs any more threats at this stage. Maybe some 
  of the people in New Hampstead will be bystanders in this arc later on, 
  but this is enough to start with. The initial ideas have given me plenty  
  to use when writing up mysteries: werewolf attacks, people asking 
  around about the hunters, rumours of werewolf activity, and so on.
  Arc Countdowns
  Arc countdowns are like mystery countdowns, except they are on a 
  bigger scale. 
  Aim for each step of the countdown to have the potential to be a whole 
  mystery (either with the hunters attempting to stop it, or dealing with 
  the aftermath).
  For example:
  The arc countdown for our werewolf revenge arc is going to center on 
  Nina and George getting ready to take out the hunters.
  Day: Nina consolidates her hold over New Hampstead and creates a 
  bunch of new werewolves.
  Shadows: The pack begins sending out spies to find the hunters and  
  assassins to kill the hunters' loved ones and support network.
  Dusk: George decides to target the Wronged, by hunting down her  
  family (aiming to turn them into werewolves, rather than “just” kill  
  them).
  Sunset: The pack makes a concerted assault on the hunters and takes 
  them out.
  Nightfall: The pack kills any other monster hunters who are active in  
  the region, and begins turning people in positions of authority.
  Midnight: Nina rules the whole region through the pack.
  Note that this countdown needs to be created a little differently than 
  usual. Because the arc was triggered by the hunters' actions, it's not 
  what  would  happen  if  they  never  got  involved.  They're  already 
  involved! So this one is what will happen if the hunters don't find out 
  150
  
  about Nina and the werewolves, or if the hunters do not stop Nina's 
  plan in time. 
  Arc Templates
  Here are some simple skeletons for arcs that allow you to slot in some 
  threats and build up the rest of the arc quickly. 
  Use them as-is, or as inspiration for your own arcs.
  I've included a starting point in each. These are events that might 
  happen in your game that provide a perfect opportunity to put that arc 
  into play.
  Ancient Evil Rising
  This centers on a dormant, dead, or imprisoned monster and the allies 
  or servants working to bring it back.
  Starting point: the hunters stumble upon early preparations for the 
  awakening.
  Threats: 
  •
  The monster that's awakening.
  •
  Minions and allied monsters.
  •
  The location where the monster is waiting.
  Countdown:
  •
  Day: Minions are collecting potential sacrifices to prepare for 
  the awakening.
  •
  Shadows: Minions conduct a dark ritual to prepare the way, 
  killing the sacrifices.
  •
  Dusk:  Minions  conduct  the  dark  ritual  that  awakens  the 
  monster.
  •
  Sunset: The monster awakens and wreaks havoc.
  •
  Nightfall: The monster builds up its armies of minions.
  •
  Midnight:  The  monster  converts  the  area  into  a  hellish 
  kingdom where all humans are enslaved or killed.
  The Nemesis
  This works for any hunter(s) with a nemesis – possibly a monster that 
  escaped, or the one the Wronged is hunting down, or something from a 
  destiny or dark past. The nemesis might be after an individual hunter, 
  or the whole team.
  151
  
  Note  that  my  werewolf  example  arc,  above,  is  a  version  of  this 
  template (although with a few changes, to reflect the details of that 
  particular game).
  Starting point: A monster gets away, or there is a Wronged in the team.
  Threats:
  •
  A monster (the nemesis).
  •
  Minions and allied monsters.
  •
  Bystanders (people the hunter cares about).
  Countdown:
  •
  Day: The nemesis recruits allies and minions.
  •
  Shadows: The nemesis starts investigating the hunters, to find 
  out where they are vulnerable.
  •
  Dusk: The minions attempt to abduct, torture and kill people 
  the hunters care about.
  •
  Sunset: The nemesis sends minions out to interfere with the 
  hunters during other mysteries.
  •
  Nightfall: The nemesis and minions set a trap for the hunters.
  •
  Midnight: The nemesis kills the hunters.
  The End of Days
  This is about the Apocalypse. The world is going to end.
  Starting point: The End of the World is prophesied, or the hunters are 
  told of what is being planned by a monster or conspirator, or there is a 
  Chosen in the team.
  Threats: 
  •
  Several monsters, including at least one destroyer.
  •
  Hordes of minions.
  •
  A location (the place it begins).
  Countdown:
  •
  Day: A monster starts looking for a special artifact that is 
  needed to bring about the end.
  •
  Shadows: There are prophecies, clues in mysteries, and other 
  signs that bad things are coming.
  •
  Dusk: The monster finds the artifact.
  152
  
  •
  Sunset: The monster and minions go to the place it will begin, 
  and conduct an evil magic ritual.
  •
  Nightfall: The Apocalypse begins.
  •
  Midnight: The world is destroyed (or irrevocably changed for 
  the worse).
  Corruption
  This is for games with a critical organisation that the hunters have to 
  trust. Unfortunately it has been infiltrated by evil, or perhaps always 
  has been evil. A Professional's Agency or Initiate's Sect might qualify, 
  or it could be an organisation that the hunters come across, or ally 
  with, in play. 
  Starting point: The hunters come across something that shows that they 
  are being lied to, or that people they trust are up to something sinister.
  Threats:
  •
  Minions (the traitors).
  •
  Bystanders (the people who bought the cover story).
  •
  Monsters behind the scenes.
  •
  Locations for organisation sites.
  Countdown:
  •
  Day: The organisation sends the hunters on a mystery with 
  incomplete intelligence.
  •
  Shadows:  The  organisation  sends  a  second  team  to  do 
  something at odds with the hunters' goal on a mystery.
  •
  Dusk:  The  organization  recruits  monsters  and  minions 
  directly.
  •
  Sunset: The traitors start liquidating good agents.
  •
  Nightfall:  The  traitors  start  openly  doing  out-and-out  evil 
  deeds.
  •
  Midnight: The evil plan is complete (e.g. immortality for the 
  traitors, “we'll be eaten last,” etc.).
  Arc Custom Moves
  Arcs and arc threats may have custom moves, the same as mysteries 
  and mystery threats (the rules for custom moves are on page  180). 
  Think about creating custom moves for threats that the hunters will 
  deal with directly, or to highlight special features of the arc.
  153
  
  For example:
  This arc relies on the werewolves “recruiting,” so let's think about how  
  that happens. I don't want it to be every time you get hurt by a 
  werewolf, maybe it has to be a serious injury?
  When a werewolf attack causes 4-harm, you start becoming a 
  werewolf. You'll be feverish all the time, and suffer random pains. As 
  the full moon approaches, you'll have sharper senses (especially smell,  
  hearing,  and  night  vision)  and  crave  raw,  bloody  meat.  The 
  transformation may be stopped by a big magic ritual, or treatment  
  with silver (anything that will affect the whole body, such as colloidal 
  silver capsules, will do). If not cured by the next full moon, you'll  
  transform and it will be too late to save you: change your playbook to 
  Monstrous. Note that almost no bystanders who suffer such a werewolf 
  attack will be able to cure it, so they will almost all be turned.
  Summary: Arc Creation
  •
  Come  up with  a  basic concept: a long-term  evil  plot  that 
  threatens the hunters or the world.
  •
  Create the threats for the arc, using the rules for mystery 
  threats.
  •
  Create a countdown for the arc.
  •
  Add to the arc as playing out individual mysteries reveals more 
  details.
  154
  
  Subsequent Mysteries
  The process for creating subsequent mysteries is much the same as 
  when you create the first one. I'll summarize the process again here, 
  and then explain what you need to do differently.
  Summary: Mystery Creation
  •
  Come up with a basic concept: a cool monster, mystery idea, or 
  something inspired by a previous mystery or by your arcs.
  •
  Create a hook: the clue that caught the hunters' attention.
  •
  Create the monster(s): name, description, type and motivation, 
  define powers, weaknesses, attacks, armour, harm capacity.
  •
  Create  the  minions  (if  any):  name,  description,  type  and 
  motivation, define powers, weaknesses, attacks, armour, harm 
  capacity.
  •
  Create the bystanders: name, description, type and motivation.
  •
  Create the locations: name, description, type and motivation.
  •
  Define the mystery countdown: six terrible events that would 
  occur if the hunters never came.
  •
  Create any custom moves required for these threats, or the 
  mystery as a whole.
  Basic Concept
  Start by coming up with a concept. Think about:
  •
  Favourite  monsters  from  myth,  folklore,  urban  legend  or 
  popular culture.
  •
  Loose ends from previous mysteries.
  •
  The next problem from one of your arcs (see p. 156).
  •
  Steal  a  plot  from  somewhere  else  and  file  off  the  serial 
  numbers (by changing the location and/or type of monster).
  •
  A place you've been, or know about, that has potential as 
  somewhere a monster could be lurking.
  •
  Any secrets the hunters found out and want to explore.
  •
  Bystanders from old mysteries call the hunters for help.
  155
  
  •
  A monster the hunters failed to kill returns.
  •
  Ambush the hunters with monsters of a type they've fought 
  before.
  •
  Return to the place a previous mystery happened.
  •
  Create a different variety of monsters they have previously 
  encountered.
  Pick something that inspires you, then work out what's going to be 
  happening. 
  If your concept has a monster, what does it want to achieve? 
  If  the  concept  has  come  from  somewhere  else,  work  out  which 
  monster(s) fit into it.
  Using Your Arcs
  You can use arcs in a few different ways to inspire your mysteries:
  •
  Use aspects of the arc. Most obviously, the next event in the 
  arc countdown could be the basis of a mystery. A mystery 
  might also be connected tangentially to the arc, for instance if 
  the arc threats have indirectly caused it.
  •
  The hunters might investigate elements of an arc on their own 
  initiative, so they might pre-empt the next countdown event.
  •
  The threats from an arc might turn up as minor (or major) 
  elements in a mystery. For instance, maybe a minion from the 
  arc is an ally of the monster in your mystery?
  •
  Clues referring to an arc can be found while investigating 
  something else.
  •
  While investigating a mystery, the hunters could be targeted 
  by monsters or minions from an arc. Possibly this is a pre-
  emptive attack, or possibly the hunters are just in the way of 
  something the creatures need to do.
  The Hook
  The hook is the clue that brought the hunters to this situation, such as 
  something  weird  in  the  news  or  consider  these  other  hooks  for 
  subsequent mysteries:
  •
  If any of the hunters have a particular interest in a specific 
  sort of monster or phenomenon, their research could find 
  signs of suspicious activity.
  156
  
  •
  A bystander that the hunters have helped before might contact 
  them if they encounter another monster.
  •
  A monster that has reason  to hate the hunters can come 
  looking for them. The hook here might be the first attack on 
  the hunters.
  •
  A clue that is similar to something the hunters have seen 
  before, but with an important difference.
  •
  Something  the  hunters  have  done  might  have  drawn 
  supernatural attention, so that the next mystery comes to 
  them. The hook will be when things start getting weird.
  •
  One of the hunters is told a prophecy or has a vision of what is 
  going to happen (or is already happening).
  •
  If  the  hunters  are associated  with  an  organisation  (e.g.,  a 
  Professional's  Agency  or Initiate's  Sect)  then  they  may  be 
  given the mission by their superiors.
  Plus, of course, you can still use hooks that are like the first mystery: 
  something that says “monster” to a hunter but is easily overlooked by 
  normal people. 
  The Threats
  Just  like  the  first  mystery,  your  threats  are  monsters,  minions, 
  bystanders, and locations.
  Monsters
  For your monster, it's best to start with something from folklore or 
  urban legend (there's plenty of online sources for this: I use Wikipedia 
  to start with). Starting from established folklore means everyone will 
  have a general idea about what the monster is capable of (once they 
  work out what it is).
  If you don't want to take a creature from folklore or urban legend as 
  the basis of your mystery, here are some other good sources:
  •
  Use a monster from another source (perhaps a film, novel, TV 
  show, or comic). I recommend changing things around a little, 
  so that any of your players familiar with the source won't 
  recognise it immediately.
  •
  Use a basic idea from folklore or urban legend, but change it in 
  major ways.
  157
  
  •
  Create  your  own  creature,  perhaps  based  on  your  game's 
  existing mythology.
  •
  Use a monster breed the hunters have encountered before, but 
  vary its abilities or motivation. 
  •
  Use a monster breed the hunters have encountered before, but 
  showing a different aspect of it (e.g. maybe the sewer troll they 
  met before was a hermit, and most sewer trolls live in family 
  groups).
  Pick a type based on the creature's motivation rather than its abilities. 
  Not every blood-drinking vampire is a devourer, for example; it might 
  be a breeder, because its real goal is to create an army of vampire 
  minions.
  Here are the twelve monster types again:
  •
  Beast (motivation: to run wild, destroying and killing)
  •
  Breeder (motivation: to give birth to, bring forth, or create 
  evil)
  •
  Collector (motivation: to steal specific sorts of things)
  •
  Destroyer (motivation: to bring about the end of the world)
  •
  Devourer (motivation: to consume people)
  •
  Executioner (motivation: to punish the guilty)
  •
  Parasite (motivation: to infest, control and devour)
  •
  Queen (motivation: to possess and control)
  •
  Sorcerer (motivation: to usurp unnatural power)
  •
  Tempter (motivation: to tempt people into evil deeds)
  •
  Torturer (motivation: to hurt and terrify)
  •
  Trickster (motivation: to create chaos)
  Decide on all the remaining elements that you'll need: its powers, 
  attacks, armour, harm capacity, and weakness(es):
  •
  Pick the type for the motivation this monster needs.
  •
  Note down all the supernatural powers that it has.
  •
  Define weaknesses.
  •
  Define its attacks: how much harm does it do (usually 3-5)? 
  What range? Are any other tags required? 
  •
  How much armour does it have?
  •
  How much harm can it suffer before it dies (usually 8-12)?
  158
  
  •
  Optionally, custom moves for the monster's powers.
  When your hunters are experienced and capable, you can make the 
  monsters tougher than those guidelines. For attacks, the normal range 
  is 3- to 5-harm, but go higher if a monster especially dangerous. An 
  attack doing 8-harm or more is instant death (hunters have ways to 
  survive such nasty attacks, of course: spending Luck, or another hunter 
  protecting them).
  If you haven't already worked out what it's trying to achieve, give that 
  some thought now. You need to know what its plan is, even if that plan 
  is just “eat a lot of people.” If your initial idea doesn't suggest a plan, 
  look at the type you have given it. The motivation should suggest a 
  certain sort of goal. Think about that, and then work out (given what 
  you've already thought of) what is the worst thing that monster could 
  be planning here? The plan could also fulfill the next stage in one of 
  your arcs, or be a new twist on something that happened in a previous 
  mystery.
  Example Monsters
  Here are three examples to illustrate a variety of different monsters.
  A Classic Vampire
  Here's how I'd write up a vampire like Dracula:
  Monster: Queen (motivation: to possess and control).
  Powers: Immortal. Mesmerism. Transform into 
  wolf, bat, or shadow.  Extremely strong. Can 
  climb any wall. Incredibly stealthy. Vampiric 
  bite (victims bitten three times become 
  vampires themselves). Master vampire (he 
  controls all the vampires he has created). 
  Plague bringer.
  Attacks: Punch/throw: 4-harm hand. Bite: 
  3-harm intimate vampiric.
  Armour: His physical toughness counts as 
  1-armour.
  Weaknesses: Must subsist on human blood. Must 
  sleep in the soil of his homeland. A wooden 
  stake through the heart. Decapitation. 
  Harm capacity: 9-harm will kill him.
  159
  
  Custom move:  Mesmerism: when he commands you, roll +Cool. On a 
  10+, you can choose whether to do it or not. If you do, mark experience 
  and take +1 forward. On a 7-9, you can choose whether you do it or not. 
  If you do, mark experience. If you don't, take +1 the next time he tries 
  to mesmerise you. On a miss, you do what he asks. 
  A Monstrosity From Beyond
  This is a strange, Lovecraftian alien being. It does not have a name.
  Monster: Collector (motivation: to steal specific sorts of things).
  It looks like a collection of moving shapes, or roiling bubbles and is an 
  oily black shimmery colour.
  Powers: Physically remove a memory. Phasing. (See the custom moves, 
  below, for details).
  Attacks: Devour memory: see powers below. Tendril lash: 4-harm close 
  ignore-armour phasing. 
  Armour: Its semi-physical body counts as 2-armour.
  Weaknesses: Its form can be disrupted by high energy (e.g. intense heat, 
  industrial-voltage electricity, high powered laser, etc.). 
  Harm capacity: 12-harm will kill it.
  Custom moves: 
  Devour Memory: If the creature succeeds with a “devour memory” 
  attack it extrudes a tentacle into the victim's head. The victim takes 3-
  harm ignore-armour and loses one memory of the Keeper's choice. It 
  doesn't much care if the victim is human or not, so it will be happy 
  eating memories from anything that has memories.
  Phasing:  The  creature is  not  exactly in  our  dimension,  so it  can 
  squeeze itself through solid objects. Note that when it lashes people 
  with its tendrils in defense, they will in fact lash  through the target 
  (that's why it has ignore-armour).
  Uhul, Demon Prince
  Uhul is immensely powerful, and hard to call to Earth. He's even 
  harder to banish. He may appear in many forms, but prefers to pass as 
  human (with a few clues, e.g. he might have small horns at his temples) 
  or  as  a  towering  archetypal  demon  (reptilian,  red,  fangs,  cloven 
  hooves, wings, and tail).
  Monster: Tempter (motivation: to tempt people into evil deeds).
  Powers:  Grant  magical  power  (he  only  does  this  in  exchange  for 
  something of great value, such as a soul: hunters making this deal can 
  160
  
  take a magical move from any playbook). Change form (may take any 
  humanoid form he wants, but retains at least one “demonic” feature). 
  Summon Uhul's spear (it appears in his hand at will).
  Attacks:  Fisticuffs  (2-harm  hand),  Demonic  talons  (4-harm  hand), 
  Barbed iron spear (5-harm hand/close heavy).
  Armour: 1-armour (he's just generally hard to hurt).
  Weaknesses: A specific big magic banishing ritual (requires 7 people, 
  some rare ingredients, and takes 2 hours to cast). 
  Harm capacity: 12-harm will kill him.
  Minions
  Minions can be supernatural creatures (maybe weaker versions of a 
  monster  breed),  or  normal  people  (who  could  be  voluntarily  or 
  involuntarily helping the monster). They can also be a group that work 
  together.
  The main thing is that minions help the monster and work against the 
  hunters.
  There are ten minion types:
  •
  Assassin (motivation: to kill the hunters)
  •
  Brute (motivation: to intimidate and attack)
  •
  Cultist (motivation: to save their own skin at any cost)
  •
  Guardian (motivation: to bar a way or protect something)
  •
  Right hand (motivation: to back up the monster)
  •
  Plague (motivation: to swarm and destroy)
  •
  Renfield (motivation: to push victims towards the monster)
  •
  Scout (motivation: to stalk, watch, and report)
  •
  Thief (motivation: to steal and deliver to the monster)
  •
  Traitor (motivation: to betray people)
  Decide on all the elements that you'll need: 
  •
  Description.
  •
  Pick the type (and associated motivation) for the minion.
  •
  Note down all the supernatural powers it has, if any.
  •
  Weaknesses, if any.
  •
  Define its attacks: how much harm does the minion do (usually 
  2-4)? What range? Are any other tags required?
  161
  
  •
  How much armour does it have, if any?
  •
  How much harm can it suffer before it dies (usually 5-10)?
  •
  Optionally, custom moves for the minion's powers.
  As with monsters, when your hunters are experienced and capable, 
  you can make the minions tougher than these guidelines.
  Remember minions may be a group of undistinguished foes as well as 
  individuals. If you create a group minion, the harm capacity is how 
  much is required to kill or disperse the whole group.
  Example Minions
  Here are two example minions, illustrating a couple of ways to create a 
  minion that isn't just a weaker version of a monster.
  Homunculus Swarm
  The homunculus swarm is a number of small critters. A golemancer 
  has been building them from parts of dead people. They act as scouts 
  and guards for the golemancer while she builds bigger and better 
  versions.
  They look nasty: strips of muscle, bits of bone, pieces of organs, an eye 
  or three; all just kinda put together into a vaguely sensible shape, with 
  varying  numbers  of  legs,  claws, and  teeth. They're  not  smart  or, 
  individually, very tough.
  Minion: Brute (motivation: to intimidate and attack).
  Attacks: Individuals have an attack of 1-harm (if rat-sized) or 2-harm, 
  (if cat-sized). There aren't any bigger ones (yet). If they attack as a 
  group, then they have a 3-harm area attack. Range is hand/intimate.
  Harm capacity: 7-harm will disperse the swarm. Each point of harm will 
  kill one or two individuals.
  Chuck The Bartender
  Chuck is the hunters' good friend at their favorite bar, always happy to 
  give them a couple of free drinks and to listen to them unload about 
  their problems. Unfortunately, Chuck also makes a bit of extra money 
  passing information back to the hunters' biggest enemies.
  Minion: Traitor (motivation: to betray people)
  Chuck is friendly and a little too generous. He won't do anything 
  obvious against the hunters, but make him just a little nicer than he 
  needs to be. And make sure that the monster hears about everything 
  162
  
  that they tell Chuck (assume the monster knows how to fill in any gaps 
  the hunters have left out because they are talking to a civilian).
  Chuck's just a normal person. He doesn't have any special powers, 
  attacks, or armour.
  Bystanders
  These are people who, often inadvertently, make it harder for the 
  hunters to solve the mystery. 
  Think  about  your  agenda  and  principles  when  you're  creating 
  bystanders. Make sure each has something that they will want from 
  the hunters. It works best if it's something simple, like “go away and 
  leave me alone,” or “save me.”
  It's useful to put some partially-defined bystanders into each mystery, 
  with just a name and threat type. That way, when the hunters want to 
  talk to someone you didn't think of in advance, you can just use the 
  next partial description (and fill in any extra details then and there).
  There are nine bystander types:
  •
  Busybody (motivation: to interfere in other people's plans)
  •
  Detective (motivation: to rule out explanations)
  •
  Gossip (motivation: to pass on rumours)
  •
  Helper (motivation: to join the hunt)
  •
  Innocent (motivation: to do the right thing)
  •
  Official (motivation: to be suspicious)
  •
  Skeptic (motivation: to deny supernatural explanations)
  •
  Victim (motivation: to put themselves in danger)
  •
  Witness (motivation: to reveal information)
  Decide on the details the bystanders need:
  •
  A name.
  •
  A description.
  •
  Bystander type and motivation. This may suggest what they 
  will want from the hunters.
  •
  Optionally, a custom move.
  163
  
  Example Bystanders
  Here are a couple of example bystanders. They're a bit more detailed 
  than you need for a single mystery: this level of description is for 
  someone who is going to be a recurring character.
  Harvey Jones, Monster Investigator
  Harvey  is  a  conspiracy  theorist  and  cryptozoologist,  just  short  of 
  donning a tinfoil hat. If there's a Flake on the team with the  net 
  friends move, maybe they even know Harvey (probably one of his 
  pseudonyms). 
  Bystander: Detective (motivation: to rule out explanations).
  If  there's  monster  activity  in  Harvey's  town,  he's  going  to  be 
  investigating it. He's likely to get in the way of the hunters, both 
  directly and by annoying other people before the hunters get to them. 
  He'll be suspicious of the hunters (maybe even deciding they are Men 
  in Black). 
  He can also be encountered investigating a mystery away from home: 
  he could pick up on the same things that the hunters did and have 
  worked out that a monster is active there.
  Christine Fleming: She Would Like To Help
  Christine is an empathetic type, who will notice any of the hunters 
  who have emotional baggage, and try to draw that out of them. It's 
  always better to talk things out, right?
  Bystander: Innocent (motivation: to do the right thing).
  Use Christine to give the hunters a whole different thing to worry 
  about: someone trying to give them amateur psychological aid for their 
  perceived emotional damage (chances are that she can find at least two 
  members of the team who seem damaged).
  Locations
  Locations are significant places in the mystery. Define a location threat 
  for any places that are likely to be important during the mystery. You 
  can also add a location threat type when, during play, a place becomes 
  the scene of action or significant events.
  It's important to note that the types describe the location in terms of 
  what sort of things happen there, not the actual form of it. A diner 
  could be a crossroads, because people meet there. Another diner could 
  be a hellgate, because creatures from beyond are summoned in the 
  164
  
  back room. When picking a location threat type, think of what the 
  place is emotionally, symbolically, and functionally, not literally.
  There are ten location types:
  •
  Crossroads (motivation: to bring people, and things, together)
  •
  Deathtrap (motivation: to harm intruders)
  •
  Den (motivation: to harbour monsters)
  •
  Fortress (motivation: to deny entry)
  •
  Hellgate (motivation: to create evil)
  •
  Hub (motivation: to reveal information)
  •
  Lab (motivation: to create weirdness)
  •
  Maze (motivation: to confuse and separate)
  •
  Prison (motivation: to constrain and prevent exit)
  •
  Wilds (motivation: to contain hidden things)
  Decide on all the details your locations need:
  •
  A name.
  •
  A description.
  •
  Location type and motivation.
  •
  Optionally, a map.
  •
  Optionally, one or more custom moves.
  Example Locations
  Here's two example locations to illustrate some different ways you can 
  use location threats. As with the example bystanders, this might be a 
  little more detail than required for an average location in a mystery: 
  this is the amount you'd need if it is a central part of a mystery or will 
  be a recurring place.
  The Portal of Darkness
  Here's a location that could be the center of a mystery (or an arc).
  A huge, ancient gateway made of a circular grassy area surrounded by 
  three enormous stones which are covered in eldritch runes.
  Location: Hub (motivation: to reveal information).
  Although the portal looks scary, it's not dangerous in itself. Instead, 
  the records of the site and deciphering the runes carved here can give 
  the hunters a lot of clues about what's going on. If the portal is 
  eventually activated, it might change to be a hellgate or lab instead.
  165
  
  Home
  This location is someone's home: maybe a Chosen, Mundane, or Spooky 
  who is still living with their family. It's safe, but also has their family to 
  cause trouble.
  Location: Prison (motivation: to constrain and prevent exit).
  Custom move: When you make excuses to the family for something to 
  do with monster hunting, roll +Charm. 
  •
  On a 10+, you smooth over things but you might need to help 
  out with some chores in the near future.
  •
  On a 7-9, they know you aren't telling the whole truth. You 
  smooth over things for now, but you'll need to make an effort 
  to be seen as the good kid. Also, take -1 the next time you roll 
  this move.
  •
  On a miss, they catch you out. You're in big trouble!
  Note that this move doesn't need to just apply to a hunter who lives 
  here. Sometimes the other hunters might need to make excuses to the 
  family, too!
  The Countdown
  To create the mystery countdown, work out what will happen if the 
  hunters never come to help. Remember, this is just your plan for what 
  will  happen  until  the  hunters  interfere,  and  the  step  names  are 
  metaphorical.
  Then allocate them to the steps in the countdown. Countdowns have 
  the following six steps:
  1.
  Day.
  2.
  Shadows.
  3.
  Dusk.
  4.
  Sunset.
  5.
  Nightfall.
  6.
  Midnight.
  Mystery Scope
  The countdown gives you a way to define the scope of a mystery. 
  A confined, personal mystery has each event about the same person, or 
  their immediate family and surroundings. 
  166
  
  An epic mystery has the effects of each step affecting a wider area, 
  maybe up to the whole world (or the whole universe).
  To make the mystery more intense, a good trick is to take your finished 
  countdown, move the “midnight” event to “dusk” or “sunset.” Work 
  out what happens next to fill up the remaining steps again.
  Mystery Templates
  Here are some simple skeletons for mysteries that allow you to slot in a 
  monster and build up the rest of the mystery quickly. Use them as-is if 
  you're in a hurry, or as examples for your own mysteries.
  A Bug Hunt
  A straightforward monster hunt. Bug hunts suit monsters that have 
  simple motivations, such as a devourer, torturer, beast, or executioner.
  Hook: There have been one or more killings which, to those in the 
  know, are obviously the work of an unnatural creature. 
  Threats: 
  •
  The monster.
  •
  A location: the general vicinity.
  •
  A location: the monster's lair.
  •
  At least two bystanders to be potential witnesses and victims 
  (some sympathetic, others annoying).
  Countdown:
  •
  Day: The monster kills again.
  •
  Shadows: The monster kills again (a helpful bystander).
  •
  Dusk: The monster kills again (an annoying bystander).
  •
  Sunset: The monster abducts some innocent victims.
  •
  Nightfall: The monster devours all the captives.
  •
  Midnight: The monster grows in strength and power.
  An Evil Ritual
  A monster (or an evil human sorcerer) is planning a terrible ritual to 
  unleash horrors upon the world.
  Hook:  An  ancient  prophecy,  a  vision  of  the  future,  or  everyday 
  investigation and research tells the hunters that the ritual is going to 
  occur.
  Threats: 
  167
  
  •
  A monster.
  •
  Some minions (including your sorcerer, if you have one).
  •
  A location (the ritual ground – most likely a hellgate).
  •
  At least one bystander (a potential sacrifice).
  Countdown:
  •
  Day: The monster/sorcerer prepares the ritual ground.
  •
  Shadows: The monster/sorcerer kills in the process of getting 
  something required in the ritual.
  •
  Dusk:  The  monster/sorcerer  abducts  a  sacrificial  victim 
  (preferably the bystander or a hunter).
  •
  Sunset: The ritual begins.
  •
  Nightfall: The victim is sacrificed.
  •
  Midnight: The ritual is completed and horrors are unleashed.
  Not What It Seems
  This template is used for mysteries that start out looking like one sort 
  of monster but which turn out to be something else (maybe just a 
  different variety of that type, maybe something totally different).
  You'll need to come up with the monster, and work out why it initially 
  seems to be something else. Is it intentionally trying to throw off the 
  scent? Is it a different variety with different motives and habits? 
  Hook: A death that appears, to those in the know, to be a certain sort of 
  monster.
  Threats: 
  •
  A monster.
  •
  The area where the attacks are happening.
  •
  Lots of bystanders.
  Countdown:
  •
  Day:  The  monster  attacks  someone  else  in  a  misleading 
  manner. 
  •
  Shadows: The monster does something that hints that it is not 
  what the initial clues implied. 
  •
  Dusk: The monster attacks someone in a manner totally out of 
  keeping with what the initial clues implied.
  •
  Sunset: Someone sees the monster's true nature and escapes.
  168
  
  •
  Nightfall: The monster puts its true plan into action.
  •
  Midnight: The true plan is enacted.
  Messing With The Formula
  The instructions above are the formula for a normal Monster of the Week 
  mystery. But if every mystery ends up being built the same way it will 
  get boring. Change things up now and again to prevent that.
  Here are some ideas of how to do this:
  •
  Give  the  mystery  two  monsters,  at  odds  with  each  other. 
  Maybe the hunters will have a chance to team up with one, in a 
  “my enemy's enemy...” sort of story? Maybe  both monsters 
  need to be stopped?
  •
  Revisit  a  person,  place,  or  monster  that  was  especially 
  memorable.  This is  a  good  way  to  build  up  your  game's 
  mythology and to advance an arc. Returning to elements that 
  you've  used  before  means  there  will  be  associations  and 
  prejudices built  in. Make sure to get your notes from the 
  previous time(s) and update each threat: think about what's 
  the same and what has changed.
  •
  There's no monster at all. This could be due to the situation 
  having a weird but natural explanation. Or it could be that 
  there is supernatural weirdness about the place (a location 
  threat) that needs to be dealt with. You could even have a 
  monster with a pseudo-scientific explanation (like a mind-
  controlling fungus, or a deadly disease). These options work 
  great for a game inspired by  The X-Files or Fringe, where the 
  team  is  not  necessarily  hunting  monsters,  but  instead 
  investigating weird events.
  •
  There's no monster, but instead low-powered minions are the 
  problem. A plague of giant spiders, for example, could work 
  this way.
  •
  A session where the hunters are off-duty gives an opportunity 
  to explore the relationships in the team, and with their friends 
  and family outside the team as well.
  •
  The discussion of one-shot games (p. 184) includes some ideas 
  for more intense, self-contained mysteries that you can use in 
  an ongoing game as well.
  169
  
  •
  A  flashback  mystery  could  explore  aspects  of  the  team's 
  history (such as when they met, or events that intrigued you 
  from the characters' backstories).
  •
  There are no bystanders. In this sort of mystery, maybe the 
  hunters are thrown into a remote location with only unnatural 
  horrors for company. There won't be any time for chatting to 
  normal folks, you'll be too busy staying alive.
  •
  A comedy episode. Set things up to be silly, maybe in a way 
  that pokes fun at the hunters and yourself. You can steal one 
  of the comedy episode ideas from Buffy, Angel or Supernatural, 
  and then adjust it to make your own version.
  •
  A mystery based directly on what's happening in one of your 
  arcs. This will contribute to the ongoing plot, and can help 
  alert the hunters about the bigger problem.
  •
  A deadly mystery, where the players all create new hunters 
  with just 1 or 2 Luck. Use the tweaks for a one-shot game (p. 
  184), and aim to  kill them  all.  Then  these events become 
  background for a mystery with the normal hunter team, or 
  maybe illustrate something about an arc that they might not 
  have noticed.
  In the end though, take any cool idea you have, write it up as a list of 
  threats and you're good to go.
  Sessions and Mysteries
  Most mysteries will fill one session of play, so that you can sit down for 
  an afternoon or evening and play through a self-contained mystery. Of 
  course, there's plenty of ways to vary that if it doesn't work for your 
  group.
  Some groups have short time slots by necessity, so you might need to 
  break each mystery up over two or three sessions. 
  Alternately, if you have a longer block of time to play, you might be 
  able to get through two mysteries at a time.
  Multi-Part Mysteries
  You can build two-part mysteries, or even longer connected sequences.
  For a two-part mystery, build it just like two normal ones, except that 
  the end point of the first mystery (monster defeated and/or secret 
  revealed) leads into the next one. That way you can end on a shock-
  reveal and tell everyone “to be continued...” If events in the game fall 
  170
  
  into place just right you might be able to end on a cliffhanger, but you 
  can't count on this.
  The second mystery is probably best just sketched out, for you to 
  complete once the first one is done. That way you will know which 
  threats from part one are still around, and tailor the conclusion of the 
  mystery based on what the hunters did in the first part.
  Sometimes a mystery might just take longer to finish than expected. In 
  these cases, you can stop in the midst of the action and say, “To be 
  continued...”  Before  the  next  session,  have  another  look  at  the 
  remaining sections of the mystery and update them based on what has 
  already happened, then continue the mystery from where you left off.
  Longer Mystery Sequences
  If you want to build a longer set of connected mysteries, the same 
  process applies. A series of connected mysteries works well for an arc – 
  you can just drop in the next adventure in the series now and again, 
  the way that The X-Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Fringe intersperse 
  one or two episodes about the overarching plot amongst the usual 
  monster-of-the-week episodes. 
  The more connected mysteries, of course, the less you can assume in 
  advance. Not knowing what the hunters will achieve in the coming 
  mysteries, you'll have to make the ones further in the future more 
  vague. You might have a monster that is supposed to be a key player 
  later on killed early, so bear in mind the need to be flexible and ready 
  to change your plans depending on what happens in play.
  Absences
  I expect play to mainly be the same group of people meeting together 
  to play out a series of mysteries. Real life doesn't always allow that. 
  One of the advantages of the mystery-centered structure is that it 
  allows some of the players to miss a game with minimal disruption. 
  You can just say, “Oh, Owen is off hunting down something on his own 
  this week, and can't help you with this case.” Next time when the 
  player is back you can ask what they were doing on their own (or write 
  a mystery letter for them to cover it.)
  Mystery Letters
  Mystery letters are a technique to give the hunters information to set 
  up a new mystery and start the game with a roar. They're especially 
  useful when:
  171
  
  •
  You are running a convention game.
  •
  Someone missed a game, to bring them (and yourself) back up 
  to speed.
  •
  There's been a hiatus in your game.
  •
  There's some unfinished business from the last game session.
  •
  You want to give the hunters some clues about the mystery.
  •
  You want to start with the hunters already in the midst of the 
  action.
  The letter should briefly remind the hunter what happened last time, 
  and where you left off. Include any new information that you want to 
  give the hunter. For example, you can put the hook for this mystery 
  and some background information they have already discovered. 
  Then put in a custom move for the hunter to roll, or pick from a list of 
  options. The moves should either provide some useful information, or 
  put the hunter right into the action, or both.
  Here's some fragments from letters I used for a convention scenario. 
  The team are in a haunted house, attempting to exorcise a poltergeist.
  An information-finding move:
  Obviously you checked out the haunting's background before the job.  
  Roll me +Weird, to see what you've found out, or worked out. On a 10+  
  ask me two of these, on a 7-9 ask me one. On a miss, you can ask me one  
  anyhow but you had to do something dangerous to find out. I'll let you  
  know what that was. The questions you can ask:
  •
  What's the buzz on the cryptozoology and ghost hunter message  
  boards and mailing lists?
  •
  I found some writing in blood on a mirror. What did it say?
  •
  What did I notice when I looked at the map?
  A move to get into the action:
  The initial check of the house went okay, but then things turned bad. 
  Roll me +Sharp and see what happened: On a 10+ pick two, on a 7-9 pick  
  one:
  •
  You have the poltergeist in a ghost trap. 
  •
  You do not have a huge shard of mirror embedded in your leg (that  
  means you do otherwise).
  •
  You have one of the other ghosts in a ghost trap.
  On a miss, well. I'll let you know what's going wrong (everything). 
  172
  
  In both moves I have options that will suggest what's going on beyond 
  the immediate situation. In the first, the fact that the map is important 
  is raised even if they don't ask me about it. In the second, the “other 
  ghosts” had not been mentioned earlier, so this is the first hint that 
  there's something extra going on. 
  There's also that negatively phrased option about the mirror shard. 
  The hunter has to pick it to avoid trouble, because otherwise (by 
  implication), they'll have that injury.
  Example Mystery Letter
  Here's an entire mystery letter to use as a model. This one is for a 
  hunter who was away because the player missed the previous session.
  Dear Carter,
  Remember how you'd taken that sample from the lake creature for  
  tests? You've got your results back from your friend in the police  
  forensic lab. Ask me one of these questions to find out what you  
  learned:
  •
  Is it related to anything we have met before?
  •
  Did we really kill it?
  •
  How does it tie in with that old guy... what was his name, James? 
  and what he told you?
  You've been away from the team for a week now, and I'd like to know 
  what you've been up to, and what you achieved. Here are some things I 
  know you wanted to do:
  •
  Check up on where the Unseeing Ones might have holed up.
  •
  Research a spell that will cure Theresa.
  •
  Get hold of some of those “can kill anything” bullets from that  
  creepy dude.
  If there's anything you want to add to that list, go ahead and ask. I'll let  
  you know if it's okay (anything you could do in a week should be fine).
  Roll +Sharp to see how much you got done. 
  On a 10+ you can pick two of them to be done, on a 7-9 only one. 
  On a miss you can pick one if you want, but you got into trouble doing  
  it. Getting you out of that trouble is where we'll kick off today.
  Love and kisses, your Keeper
  173
  
  Here you can see: a reminder and a chance to learn a little about the 
  bigger picture, a custom move that can tell the hunter some useful 
  facts and add information for the story, and another move to help the 
  hunter work towards one of their goals.
  Running Subsequent Mysteries
  Mostly, this works just like the first one. There's just a few differences.
  At the Beginning of Each Session
  At the beginning of each session, re-select highlighted ratings for the 
  hunters.
  When you re-select highlighted ratings, do it the same way as you did 
  during the first game. Go around the group, and each hunter should 
  pick who they feel they know best right now. That person picks a 
  rating to highlight and then you, as Keeper, choose another. 
  Pick a highlight based on your agenda and principles: be a fan of the 
  hunters, but keep their lives exciting. Sometimes highlight the rating 
  that hunter relies on, sometimes the one you know they'll need today, 
  sometimes the one they don't use much (to see what they do with it).
  If it's a new mystery, have everyone who has a start-of-the-mystery 
  move do it now.
  Update the hunters' harm to account for healing time:
  •
  If there's been some time to get treatment and recover, have 
  everyone erase all harm.
  •
  If you are following right on the last mystery, everyone gets 1-
  harm healed.
  Playing the Mystery
  This goes just like the first time, except you don't need to ask so many 
  questions.
  As you go on, there's room for more interaction with normal folks, for 
  fighting tougher monsters or large groups of minions, and stuff like 
  that. 
  It's  also  good  to  put  pressure  on  the  things  that  hold  the  team 
  together. Say your hunters have a disagreement about how to handle a 
  bystander who's in the way. That's interesting: it's an opportunity to 
  push and see what happens in a more intense situation. Take these 
  174
  
  tensions and put the hunters into positions where they have to make 
  similar decisions. This is not something you do to mess with them: it's 
  being a fan. Being a fan means being interested in what happens when 
  the hunters have to make hard decisions. 
  And you should play hardball with the hunters. They are awesome, and 
  they have a load of different ways to avoid harm and stay alive. So have 
  your monsters and minions hit the hunters as hard as they can. Do not 
  shy away from making the monsters tough, and giving them attacks 
  that could easily kill a hunter. Hunting monsters is not supposed to be 
  easy or safe.
  We're not interested in the hunters having everything go their way. 
  It's much cooler to see them in bad spots, so we can be amazed by the 
  ways they get out.
  175
  
  Summary: Keeper's Session
  •
  Re-select highlighted ratings: first each hunter picks who they 
  are closest to, and that hunter picks one rating, then you pick 
  another.
  •
  Update injured hunters for healing since the last mystery. All 
  harm is healed if there's been time, or just 1-harm each if 
  you're following right on from the last mystery.
  •
  Do start-of-mystery moves for hunters that have them. 
  •
  Tell the hunters the hook.
  •
  Let them investigate the mystery. 
  •
  Ask questions.
  •
  Take note of everything you can.
  •
  Put lots of horror into the stuff they find. Give them problems 
  so they can show how cool they are as they solve them.
  •
  Put pressure on the relationships in the hunter team, or on 
  their relationships with bystanders.
  •
  When they meet someone you didn't prepare, give them a 
  name and bystander type (usually a witness or victim).
  •
  When they visit somewhere you didn't prepare, describe it and 
  give it a location type.
  •
  Make the action and fight scenes exciting.
  •
  Confront the monster! Hopefully the hunters win.
  •
  Think about how events in the mystery will affect your arcs or 
  later mysteries. Tidy up your notes.
  176
  
  As The Game Goes On
  As you play through mysteries and elaborate the team's history, and 
  the world, here are the things you need to keep in mind.
  At the End Of Each Mystery
  This works the same as before.
  •
  Tidy up your notes from the mystery.
  •
  Talk to everyone about how it went and see if they have plans 
  for what to do next, or ideas for later.
  •
  Think about whether the mystery gave you more ideas for 
  your existing arcs, or suggested a new one.
  Checking On Your Arcs
  After each mystery, look at each of your arcs and think about what got 
  revealed in play. If something relevant happened, update the arc with 
  the new, altered, or defeated threats.
  Advance any countdowns that have now moved on, based on events in 
  play or off-screen. You should do this if events during the last mystery 
  pointed to it (for example, if the hunters failed to foil the evil plot), or 
  if it has been so long that the next event in the arc countdown would 
  have happened (for example, isolated reports of zombies over the past 
  couple of months now moves on to widespread reports of zombie 
  attacks).
  If you advance an arc due to off-screen events, you should make the 
  next mystery about that arc so that the hunters have a chance to stop 
  it progressing further. 
  Also, an arc countdown might suggest an idea for the next mystery, 
  even if it's not directly tied to the countdown advancing.
  Building Mythology
  As the game goes on, over many mysteries, keep building up the 
  mythology of your world: the history, logic, and rules behind why 
  things are the way they are. What are the rules of magic? Why are 
  these monsters out there? Who are the big powers that are conspiring 
  against humanity? 
  This should develop on its own, but keep track of all the pieces you 
  created with a mystery or added as you played. Keep the mystery 
  177
  
  sheets too. Track any loose ends, enjoyable threats, significant deaths, 
  and other details that might be worth revisiting. 
  Look at the implications of each mystery: do they suggest something 
  that should be part of your mythology? Maybe you've discovered a rule 
  for  magic  or how  monsters  come  to  be? Or how  these  creatures 
  operate, or what their ultimate goal is?
  Arcs and mythology work hand in hand. How your mythology accretes 
  will suggest the ways your arcs should play out. And the arcs will point 
  at elements that ought to be part of the mythology.
  Endgame
  The game has some built-in measures of progress: things that might 
  tell you that one of the hunter's stories is coming to a close, or even 
  that the whole team's story is. I'll talk here about what to look for and 
  how to deal with these signs when you see them.
  Leveling Up And Improvements
  Most sessions, expect each hunter to level up once or twice, getting 
  one or two improvements. At first, this does not contribute one way or 
  another to how the story is playing out.
  However, when the hunters get to the advanced improvements after 
  five level-ups, they will be getting to peak effectiveness. A hunter who 
  has taken most of their starting improvements and a few  advanced 
  improvements  will  have  a  wide  array  of  moves  to  deal  with  the 
  problems they encounter, and things usually go the way they want.
  Once some hunters are at this point, try to push arcs relating to that 
  hunter towards closure. Depending on exactly how fast the hunters 
  earn advances in your game, expect them to reach this point after ten 
  to twenty sessions.
  There's  also  that  advanced  improvement  “retire  your  hunter  to 
  safety.” If anyone picks that, or is seriously considering it, that's a clue 
  that that hunter's story is approaching an end (although it might not 
  be the end of the story for the rest of the team).
  Running Out Of Luck
  Luck scores are another measure of story progress. Luck will gradually 
  get used up as you play. 
  178
  
  If a hunter is getting to the end of their Luck, that's another sign their 
  story needs to end. If not, they'll be killed by a monster sooner or later 
  (either because they can no longer mitigate harm suffered, or because 
  of a hard move you make against them).
  Some hunter types have special effects as they spend Luck, as well. 
  When the Chosen spends Luck, you need to include something from 
  their fate in the game. As the Spooky spends Luck, the demands of 
  their dark side will grow.
  Dealing With Arcs
  The other game element that feeds in to the endgame are your arcs: if 
  the arcs that the hunters are most concerned with are concluded 
  (either via the hunters stopping whatever is happening, or failing to 
  stop it), that suggests it's nearing time to wind up.
  Other Things To Consider
  The rhythms of hunter development and arcs are not the only things 
  that you should use to make decisions about when a game is ending. If 
  a hunter dies and the player creates a fresh replacement, or someone 
  decides to play a second character, then that new hunter starts at the 
  beginning. This will mix up the capabilities between the different 
  characters. And if hunters are retiring and being replaced on the team, 
  that might mean you're in for a long saga.
  How To End A Game
  If you feel that things are moving towards a climax and resolution, it's 
  a good idea to talk to the rest of the group and mention that you feel 
  that way. They'll let you know if they agree, or if they think there's 
  still unfinished business to deal with.
  If there is general agreement that it's time to finish the game, make 
  sure you plan the next few mysteries to suit. Have them be bigger in 
  scope, more epic, and ensure the important arcs get resolved.
  If  there's  no  agreement  that  it's  time  to  finish  up  and  there's 
  enthusiasm to continue, that's your cue to start thinking up some new 
  arcs to replace the ones that have been dealt with, and maybe for some 
  new hunters to join the team.
  179
  
  Customising Your Game
  There are are variety of ways you can customise your  Monster of the 
  Week game. Here's my advice, working from modest changes (custom 
  moves) to the most ambitious (hacking it into a whole new game)
  Custom Moves
  Custom moves are moves that you create to give your own game a 
  unique feel and identity. If you want to define a monster's unique 
  powers, special things that another threat can do, or even new moves 
  that the hunters can use, create a custom move using the process 
  below. 
  Custom moves for threats start with a basic idea. What does the threat 
  need to be capable of? If the threat's abilities are not covered by the 
  existing Keeper and threat moves, then you need to define a custom 
  move.
  Custom moves for the hunters could be available as an improvement, 
  or something they can all do when certain conditions are met.
  Triggering The Custom Move
  Carefully define when the custom move applies. Having a specific 
  trigger condition ensures that you know when the move applies. The 
  trigger is there to enforce describing the move properly, so there's no 
  doubt about when it happens. Something like “when you go down into 
  the sewers,” “when you call on the demon Uhul,” or “when you're 
  splashed with lamia-bile.”
  Move Types
  Moves come in three main types:
  •
  A roll, usually adding a rating. Define what happens on a good 
  success (10+), partial success (7-9) and a miss (6-). Note that 
  you could use a different number instead of a rating: harm 
  suffered, number of people sacrificed to cast a spell, etc.
  •
  A bonus or penalty for some circumstance.
  •
  A special effect that applies in certain circumstances.
  Use the moves I've provided throughout this book as examples and 
  guidelines. All the character moves, the basic moves, and the example 
  180
  
  moves in the Mysteries and Arcs section have been created to fit this 
  pattern.
  Custom moves might be much more limited than other moves, or they 
  might be vastly more powerful. That's fine, as long as they are just 
  what is needed for that part of your game.
  Example Custom Moves
  Here are a bunch more examples to show you the sorts of moves you 
  might create. I've put the trigger of the move in bold, so you can see 
  when it applies. Then I've explained more reasons for creating the 
  move that way, and the effect I intend.
  An Aura Of Terror
  An ancient wraith has an aura of terror. Anyone within 5 metres of 
  the wraith takes -1 ongoing, unless they act under pressure to resist 
  the fear. 
  This is a penalty move, triggered by being close to the monster. It's 
  designed to make attacking the ghost up close harder, which may get 
  the hunters thinking of alternative ways to defeat it.
  The Infernal Hunting Pack
  This hunting pack of thirteen infernal hounds (minions: brutes) serve a  
  demon lord. The hounds may mark someone for death with a bite. 
  The marked person is then allowed to escape, but the pack will know  
  the location of a marked person forever. 
  This is a special-effect move, triggered by the hounds biting a person. 
  This move adds a long-term problem that could remain in play even 
  after the current mystery is solved.
  Knows It Like The Back Of His Hand
  Ed O'Grady (bystander: witness) is a keen walker, and knows the woods 
  and hills nearby like the back of his hand. If you ask his advice on the 
  terrain or how to find somewhere, hold 1 that you can spend to get +1  
  on any roll you make following his directions. 
  This is a bonus move, something to mark out this particular bystander 
  as someone worth paying extra attention to.
  181
  
  Searching The Marshes
  When you search in the marshes (location: maze) roll +Sharp. On a 
  10+ things seem to point somewhere in particular: take +1 forward for 
  investigating. On a 7-9, you can investigate, but then you must pick one 
  of the bad things below. On a miss, all three bad things are true. 
  Bad things that can happen in the marshes:
  •
  Something is following you.
  •
  You are lost, and your phone and GPS are not working properly.
  •
  You stumble upon something abominable.
  Searching the marshes is a roll move. It is designed to make the 
  marshes a bit more exciting than a usual location threat. By making it 
  a roll, you make the player pick what happens. This gives them a bit 
  more of a stake in the situation (plus it can be exciting just knowing 
  there's a special move to roll).
  Nightmares
  When you go to sleep in this town, count how many times you have 
  slept here and roll +sleeps. On a 10+, you have nightmare visions of  
  what is to come and you know it can't be stopped: you must act under 
  pressure to break out of your despair and actually do something about 
  the visions. On a 7-9 you have nightmare visions of what's coming, but 
  that's all. On a miss, you sleep like a baby. 
  This move belongs to the location threat that describes the town. It is 
  another roll type move, that tells the hunters that this town is in big 
  trouble, and they need to sort it out before too many nights pass.
  Calling The Flame Spirits
  Here's a move for a hunter who made the use magic move a lot for a 
  particular effect, so we decided to make a custom move for that spell.
  When you call the flame spirits you need to spill some very strong 
  liquor into a fire and call the spirits by name (as many or as few names  
  as you want). Roll +Weird. On a 10+ all the spirits you named come, and  
  they'll tell you some specific things and burn anything you want. On a  
  7-9 one of them comes and it will tell you some obscure things, then it 
  will burn some stuff, mostly what you wanted burnt. On a miss, the fire  
  spirits are angered. They might refuse your summons for a long time,  
  or some of them might appear and demand a significant sacrifice from  
  you right now, or else. 
  182
  
  This is another roll move, designed to be a slightly different version of 
  use magic that deals with this particular spell. Note that it is safer, but 
  a lot more specific, than the use magic move.
  Inaccurate Memories
  Here's a move for a mystery that  deals  with a monster that can 
  dominate people's minds. 
  When a hunter questions someone who has seen the monster, they 
  get told one of these in addition to any normal questions and answers:
  •
  They say something that directly contradicts a fact the hunters  
  already know (e.g. “I was at work” when they know she wasn't).
  •
  They can't remember that time at all.
  •
  They can remember that, but their memory is an obvious fabrication  
  (e.g. “After I got home I had dinner, watched some TV, then I had  
  dinner”).
  This is a special-effect move. The obvious contradictions here are a 
  way to let the hunters know that the monster they are after can get 
  into people's minds and change their memories, or make them lie, or 
  something like that.
  Checking Out An Agency Facility
  Here's a move for an arc. It goes with an arc about a Professional's 
  Agency. 
  When you  explore an Agency facility it counts as  investigating a 
  mystery, but you can also ask these questions:
  •
  What do I find out about the Agency's real goals?
  •
  Who do I find out something suspicious about?
  This  is  a  special-effect  move,  adding  some  extra  options  for 
  investigation that bear on specific issues that have come up in the 
  hunters' previous investigation of the Agency (and a similar move in 
  your game would have questions tailored to what's already happened 
  to your hunters). You add more questions later, if the hunters come up 
  with other things they want to look for.
  183
  
  One-Shot Games
  If you want to run a single mystery (maybe as a convention game or for 
  a change from a regular game), here's what to do.
  One-Shot Hunters
  Use mystery  letters  to  share background  information  the  hunters 
  should know. They can also be used to let them know any custom rules 
  for creating their hunters (see below). If you're not providing specific 
  hunter playbooks, you can write letters that are aimed at different 
  specialities: for example one for a brawler, one for a magician, one for 
  an investigator.
  The hunters should start with fewer Luck points: give them one to 
  three (depending on how tough you want the mystery to be). You may 
  allow them to have a free level-up after creating their hunter, to make 
  up for having fewer Luck points to save them.
  It's useful to pick a team concept for the game, and just tell everyone 
  who the team are and how they operate. You may need to make certain 
  playbooks mandatory, suggest others that fit in, and leave out others 
  completely. For example, if your team concept is centered on the 
  Professional, having an Initiate might not work so well. Don't offer the 
  Initiate playbook as an option.
  I strongly advise that you let everyone make up their own hunter (even 
  if  you  restrict  the types available.)  Making  all the choices  during 
  hunter creation – about their abilities, history and so on – give the 
  players a stake in the way the game is going to play.
  You may reduce the options available in hunter creation to suit your 
  mystery. You can do this with a mystery letter: include an instruction 
  like “By the way, when you are picking your moves, this move will be 
  especially useful for this mystery, that move is not allowed, and other 
  move will probably not be very relevant.”
  One-Shot Mystery Creation
  A twist or two works very well in a one-shot game. For example, give 
  the  hunters  a  hook  that  appears  to  be  a  classic  monster  (ghost, 
  vampire, werewolf, etc), but which turns out to be something quite 
  different.
  184
  
  You can make things easy on yourself if you bring a map of possible 
  locations, a list of names, and some pre-written bystanders (e.g. you 
  can always find room for a suspicious cop and some naïve victims).
  Without the expectation that the game will continue, you should also 
  feel free to ramp up the danger level of the threats. You can have:
  •
  more unnatural powers.
  •
  more minions, or multiple monsters.
  •
  higher damage attacks for monsters and minions.
  •
  higher harm capacity for monsters or minions before they are 
  killed.
  •
  threats target the hunters, or their loved ones, directly.
  Also, think about the scale of events. In a one-shot, the stakes of the 
  mystery can be huge: zombie epidemics, the legions of Hell being 
  unleashed on earth, hideous gods from beyond the stars – any huge 
  threat is fair game. 
  If your team includes hunters with central story elements (the Chosen 
  and her fate, the Wronged's nemesis, the Professional and her Agency, 
  the Initiate and his Sect, etc) then tie those into the mystery as well. 
  Think about these central elements when you decide which hunter 
  books to bring to the table, and then you can leave the right-shaped 
  holes in your mystery (e.g. you could leave yourself space to adjust the 
  threats to match the Chosen's fate). You should have time to do this as 
  the other players make up their hunters: as they go, find out what they 
  picked for their hunters, and you can quickly adjust your notes to fit, 
  or suggest to the player things that work with what you have planned.
  One-Shot Mystery Play
  In general, follow the instructions for a first session. You should have a 
  team concept for them already, or at least a selected subset of the 
  hunter playbooks that will give everyone an idea what is in store in 
  your mystery.
  Give everyone a quick introduction to the rules before they make their 
  hunters. The idea of moves and what the ratings mean (p. 8) is enough. 
  Explain other rules when you need them in the game.
  Go a little easier on the questions, as you don't need to build so much 
  mythology from the answers.
  You can also go much harder on the hunters in play. Push for more 
  horror, and don't hold back with the danger. 
  185
  
  Custom Threats
  If there's a need for a threat type that doesn't quite fit into the ones 
  that are already defined, just add it. All that's needed are a name, a 
  motivation, and any custom moves it can make.
  Think about whether it is a monster, minion, bystander, or location. If 
  it doesn't fit into any of those, you can create a new threat type with 
  its own list of special moves.
  Example Custom Threat: An Evil Cult
  This custom threat represents an evil cult infesting a small town. It's a 
  minion threat.
  They're Everywhere! (motivation: make people scared to speak out). 
  This threat has this custom move. 
  When a hunter asks locals about something weird, roll +Sharp. On a 
  10+, the hunter works out:
  •
  if they are talking to a member of the cult, this person is 
  concealing something important.
  •
  if they are talking to a normal person, this person is too scared 
  to reveal anything.
  On a 7-9, the hunter knows something isn't right, but not exactly what.
  On a miss, the cult gets told that this hunter is asking questions about 
  them (regardless of whether that was the subject or not).
  Sharing The Keeper Duties
  If your group wants to swap around the duties (who is the Keeper, and 
  who plays  the  hunters),  the  game  can  handle that  without  much 
  trouble. 
  You'll need to decide if you have all the game's arcs open, for people to 
  use how they want when it's their turn to be Keeper, or secret. If the 
  arcs are secret, then each of you will have to look after your own, and 
  tie them into your own mysteries.
  Then you can take turns as Keeper, each preparing a mystery and 
  running it. I'd suggest that each current Keeper's hunter take a break 
  from the team (because tracking everything that your hunter and all 
  the mystery threats are doing is too much to handle). You may want to 
  consider a team concept that allows some of the hunters to be absent, 
  186
  
  whenever convenient, in a believable way. For example, you might all 
  work for an organisation that investigates monsters, with each team 
  built as needed at the time: that way any hunter can be said to be on 
  another case (or on leave) to explain their absence.
  It's also a good idea to keep a shared journal (or set up a wiki) with all 
  the mysteries, monsters, and other things you have encountered, so 
  that everyone will be on the same page when re-using elements from 
  earlier mysteries.
  Custom Playbooks
  I encourage the creation of custom hunter types for your game, and to 
  share the results with other players and groups over the Internet. 
  Here's how to go about putting a new playbook together. 
  Concept
  To start with, make sure your concept is good enough. If you can only 
  think of a single example of your possible hunter type in fiction, the 
  concept is probably too specific. But if you can think of a type, then it's 
  a good candidate. Aside from that, just go for something really cool.
  Ratings
  Rating lines should add up to three, and normally each hunter type has 
  one rating that is always +2. If you give a line a second rating at +2, 
  count that second +2 as a +3 instead. 
  A normal rating line: 
  Charm +2, Cool +1, Sharp -1, Tough +1, Weird -1 (Total 3)
  A rating line with two +2 ratings: 
  Charm -1, Cool +2, Sharp -1, Tough +2, Weird=0 (Total 2, but counted as  
  3 due to the second +2)
  The Monstrous always gets +3 Weird, as a special case: there's an 
  unstated move that gives the Monstrous +1 Weird. 
  The Chosen varies the rule as well: she gets two +2 ratings (each line 
  has a different pair), plus each line adds up to four: the Chosen also has 
  an unstated extra move to give her this advantage.
  Moves
  Each hunter type gets three moves as well. For many, one or two of 
  these moves are mandatory. 
  187
  
  Some of the moves don't count as one against their count: that's for 
  moves that aren't purely an advantage, but something that has both a 
  good and bad side. The Initiate's move when in good standing with 
  the Sect is one of those: the move's good and bad sides balance out, so 
  the Initiate gets another three choices of purely useful moves. 
  Some playbooks have moves that are purely bad (the Monstrous's 
  curse and the Spooky's dark side, for example). When a playbook has a 
  purely bad move, give them an extra useful move to make up for it.
  Not all the moves in the playbooks are explicitly called that, either. For 
  example, the Expert's haven is a move, but not referred to as one. Do 
  this if your move is something special that doesn't fit into the usual list 
  of things the hunter can do.
  Gear
  Gear and weapon lists are primarily driven by what makes sense for 
  the playbook. Try to include items that push towards your vision of 
  what is cool and exciting about the concept.
  History
  The  history  choices  are  another  place  that  gives  you  a  great 
  opportunity to drive towards your concept. Each potential relationship 
  with another hunter should reflect an aspect of what makes your new 
  hunter type exciting.
  Improvements
  Improvements usually include:
  •
  One rating that may be improved to +3.
  •
  Three ratings that may be improved to +2.
  •
  Two choices of extra moves from this playbook.
  •
  Two choices of moves from another playbook.
  •
  Two special choices. These should be specific to the hunter 
  type and reflect how they will develop and grow. 
  •
  Optionally, add an advanced improvement (or two) specific to 
  this hunter type. Only do so if there is something that really 
  needs to be here, like the final resolution of thematic issues 
  unique to the playbook.
  188
  
  Balance?
  Don't worry about balancing your hunter type against the others. If 
  you follow the guidelines above (more or less), the playbook will work 
  fine with the other hunter types. 
  The Template
  If you would like to put your hunter playbook into the official format, 
  let  me know  (email to  michael.sands@genericgames.co.nz)  and  I'll 
  send you the template. 
  Sharing
  To share your custom hunter playbook with other Monster of the Week 
  players, or for advice or help working through your ideas, or to see 
  what other people have come up with, go to my Monster of the Week 
  forum: http://apocalypse-world.com/forums/index.php?board=33.0.
  A Whole New Game
  Apocalypse World was built with hacking in mind. I don't have a lot to 
  add to those guidelines about how to hack it, but as you may not own 
  Apocalypse World, I'll say a little about what to do if you want to take 
  these rules and use them for something else.
  The key things are the Keeper's agenda and principles, and the basic 
  moves. They are the most important dials that control how the game 
  plays out. 
  The setting can be left mainly implicit. Use the playbooks, basic moves, 
  threats, and Keeper moves to provide the game's setting. That allows 
  each group to fill in the other details to suit themselves and their 
  game.
  If you want to compare and contrast, here are some other hacks of 
  Apocalypse World that might be of interest:
  •
  Monsterhearts by Joe Mcdaldno draws from a similar place to 
  Monster  of  the  Week,  but  its  about  the  messy  supernatural 
  romance side of Buffy and True Blood (and Twilight).
  •
  Dungeon World by Sage LaTorra and Adam Koebel is a modern 
  take on classic dungeon crawl roleplaying. 
  189
  
  Inspiration
  Here's a big list of things that inspired me, to a greater or lesser extent. 
  The game inspirations are games that gave me ideas for the rules, how 
  to arrange the text, or how to use horror in roleplaying. 
  The  various  fiction  inspirations  fed  into  my  conception  of  what 
  monster hunters in the modern world might be like. They cover a 
  range of styles, from straight up horror through to comedy. Monster of 
  the Week can fit anywhere along that continuum, but by default it's like 
  the television show Supernatural. That's my number one inspiration.
  Games
  This is a hack of Vincent Baker's  Apocalypse World, which is a great 
  game, and I highly recommend it if you feel like spending some time in 
  a post-apocalyptic wasteland. 
  Other  games  that  provided  inspiration  (in  no  particular  order): 
  Unknown Armies,  Fiasco, Geiger Counter, Mouse Guard, InSpectres, GURPS:  
  Black  Ops, GURPS:  Horror,  Cold  City,  Call  of  Cthulhu,  Trail of  Cthulhu, 
  Dungeon World, and Monsterhearts.
  Graham Walmsley's Play Unsafe has great advice for improvisation in 
  games (and Monster of the Week is largely improvised, so that advice is 
  all directly applicable). His book  Stealing Cthulhu has advice about 
  writing Lovecraftian adventures: these ideas can be used to good effect 
  for Monster of the Week mysteries, too.
  Television
  Primarily Supernatural and Buffy the Vampire Slayer; 
  Also Fringe; The X-Files; True Blood; Being Human; Doctor Who; Grimm; The  
  Fades; Werewolf; Brimstone; Reaper; Sanctuary.
  Film
  Big Trouble in Little China; Near Dark; Dracula (any version: my favorites 
  are Murnau's  Nosferatu, Herzog's remake of  Nosferatu, and Coppola's 
  Bram Stoker's Dracula); The Hunger; Bubba Ho-Tep; An American Werewolf in 
  London; Dog Soldiers; The Lost Boys; Fright Night (old or new); Hellboy & 
  Hellboy 2: The Golden Army; Army of Darkness; My Name Is Bruce; Troll  
  Hunter; Attack the Block; Alien; Aliens; Carpenter's The Thing.
  190
  
  Novels
  The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher; the  Twenty Palaces books by Harry 
  Connolly; the  Felix Castor books by Mike Carey; the  Monster Hunter 
  International books by Larry Correia; Dracula by Bram Stoker; anything 
  by H. P. Lovecraft; the Strain trilogy by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck 
  Hogan;  Declare, Last Call, Expiration Date, Earthquake Weather,  and The 
  Anubis Gates by Tim Powers; Charles Stross' Laundry series; Garth Nix's 
  Old Kingdom trilogy; The Rook by Daniel O'Malley.
  Comics
  Hellboy, BPRD, and  BPRD: Hell On  Earth by Mike Mignola; Hellblazer; 
  Atomic Robo by Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegener.
  191
  
  Index
  Act Under Pressure............9, 59, 114, 129
  Actions Not Covered By A Move.........126
  Advanced Improvements..............75, 178
  Advanced Moves....................................76
  After The Mystery................................145
  Allies........................................................73
  Always Say............................................ 104
  Arc Templates......................................151
  Arcs........................................ 147, 156, 177
  area..........................................................69
  Armour....................................................71
  At the End Of Each Mystery................177
  automatic................................................69
  Basic Hunter Moves...................9, 59, 114
  Basic Keeper Moves.............................106
  Beginning Each Session....................... 174
  Between Sessions................................. 147
  Big Magic.........................................64, 125
  Bystander Moves..................................112
  Bystanders................................87, 91, 163
  Countdowns..........................129, 150, 166
  Creating The First Mystery.............83, 86
  Custom Moves...................................... 180
  Custom Threats.................................... 186
  Endgame............................................... 178
  Fights...............................................64, 130
  First Session............................................98
  Forward...................................................58
  Gear......................................................... 69
  Getting Ready For Next Time..............145
  Hard Moves...........................................108
  Harm................................................65, 135
  Harm for Minions & Bystanders.........137
  Harm Moves..........................................135
  Healing............................................ 66, 138
  Healing Between Mysteries...................67
  Help Out...............................9, 59, 115, 129
  Highlight Ratings.............................54, 99
  History...............................................54, 99
  Holds....................................................... 58
  Hunter Agenda....................................... 55
  ignore-armour..................................70, 71
  Improvements........................................ 73
  Improvised Weapons.............................65
  Introductions....................................54, 99
  Investigate A Mystery........9, 60, 115, 129
  Keeper Agenda...............................82, 101
  Keeper Principles...........................82, 101
  Kick Some Ass.....................9, 60, 118, 129
  Leveling Up..................................... 73, 178
  Location Moves....................................113
  Locations................................... 87, 93, 164
  Luck................................................. 68, 178
  Manipulate Someone.........9, 61, 120, 129
  Manipulating Monsters.................61, 121
  Messing With The Formula.................169
  Minion Moves....................................... 111
  Minions.....................................87, 90, 161
  Monster Moves.....................................110
  Monsters...................................87, 88, 157
  Monsters and Harm.......................66, 137
  Moves.......................................... 8, 56, 105
  Mystery Countdowns.............................95
  Mystery Letters............................171, 173
  Mystery Templates..............................167
  Mythology..80, 82, 102, 103, 158, 169, 177
  One-Shot Games................................... 184
  Ongoing................................................... 58
  Playing The Mystery............................ 127
  Protect Someone................9, 62, 121, 129
  192
  
  Ratings.................................................... 10
  Read A Bad Situation..........9, 62, 122, 129
  Resurrection........................................... 67
  Rolling the Dice...................................... 57
  Running Subsequent Mysteries..........174
  Running The First Mystery.................100
  Soft Moves.....................................108, 134
  Start-Of-Mystery Moves................55, 127
  Summary: Arc Creation.......................154
  Summary: Fights.................................. 135
  Summary: First Mystery Creation........97
  Summary: Hunter's Session..................79
  Summary: Keeper's First Session.......146
  Summary: Keeper's Session................176
  Summary: Mystery Creation...............155
  Team Concepts......................................... 5
  Teams...................................................... 73
  The Chosen......................................... 4, 11
  The Expert.......................................... 4, 16
  The Flake.............................................4, 21
  The Hunters..............................................4
  The Initiate......................................... 4, 25
  The Keeper..............................................80
  The Monstrous...................................5, 30
  The Mundane......................................5, 35
  The Professional.................................5, 39
  The Spooky......................................... 5, 44
  The Wronged...................................... 5, 49
  Threat Moves........................................110
  Threats............................................ 87, 157
  Unarmed Attacks...................................65
  Use Magic............................ 9, 63, 123, 129
  Weaknesses..................................... 66, 137
  Weapons..................................................69
  What You Need.........................................2
  193
  
  Colophon
  The game was written in OpenOffice and LibreOffice.
  The headings use the 3rd Man typeface by Bumbayo Font Fabrik.
  The text body is set in Gentium Book Basic by SIL.
  I raised the funds to get this project finished and into print with 
  IndieGoGo: http://indiegogo.com.
  194
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Monster of the Week (PbtA) [multi]/Monster of the Week (Older Version)/Monster of the Week - Corebook.pdf