Pursuer alpha

Description

Stats: + Will, + Sensory, + Resilience

Cold, calculating hunters, a Pursuer turns a fleeing problem into an inevitability. Their targets can scurry down holes, into crowds, and behind locked doors but the Pursuer will not stop, they will not falter, they will continue to advance until they achieve their goal.

When designing for a Pursuer be sure to keep the mission mobile and dynamic. Doors, gates, crowds, and other logistical obstacles reward persistence. Offer tough trade-offs: save the hostage or keep up the chase?

Grounded in relentless manhunters, implacable killers, and unstoppable rescuers. Inspirations include:

  • Anton Chigurh (No Country For Old Men)
  • Bryan Mills (Taken)
  • The Bride / Beatrix Kiddo (Kill Bill)
  • T-800 (Terminator)
  • Agent Smith (The Matrix)
  • Inspector Javert (Les Misérables)
  • Alfred Bester (Babylon 5)
  • Orion (myth)

Edition: Advent v1

Public: Yes

Owner: detour

Signature Gear

Base Gear

Dossier

Base

A pocketfolio of collected documents and items about specific persons (photos, true name, blood smear, etc). Reviewing your collection for a given person grants an Insight about where that person might be or what they might do next, scaling with how much information you’ve collected. (Mid cooldown)

Captive-bolt Pistol

Base

When fired, propels a retractable bolt at high-speed (Mid cooldown). Deals High damage but can only be used at point-blank range. Can punch through most locks, hinges, and sturdy materials with ease and relatively silently. May be fired before Cooldown elapses, causing a disproportionately loud noise which draws attention.

Burner Phone

Base

Handheld communication device. Can be used to call and talk to anyone (a device they are compelled to answer materializes somewhere on their person) for Low duration. Must be destroyed after use or will be traced and draw an aggressive response. May acquire a replacement in a Pitched manner after Mid cooldown.

Elective Gear

Stash Vehicle

Elective

A setting-appropriate form of transportation stored in a Pitched location. Particularly fast and durable; useful for long pursuits or quick escapes. (High cooldown)

Hardcase Kit

Elective

A sturdy hardcase filled with Pitched restraints and 3 hypodermic syringes filled with Pitched narcotics/poisons. Equipment inside the case is well-concealed from all but the most thorough inspections.

Suppressed Sawed-off Shotgun

Elective

A modified pump-action shotgun with short barrel, pistol-grip, and suppressor. Low ammo capacity, significant recoil. Rack the shotgun to intimidate non-combatants and to provoke enemies in Low range, reloading ammo scaling with how many targets are affected.

Abilities

In The Crosshairs

Mark a target as your quarry.

(Low essence, up to Mid duration, Low cooldown, Mid range)

  • Effectiveness scales with how much information you have on the target
  • While active you can easily identify your quarry when nearby (pick them out of a crowd, see through a disguise, etc).
  • Your target will leave behind a faintly visible trail where they’ve passed that only you can see.
  • Ends early if you catch your target.
  • You may only have one target active at a time.

Paired Action: Confirm your intent to hunt down the target with a cold calmness, “I don’t have any money, but what I do have is a very particular set of skills, I will find you.”

Zero In

(Mid essence, Mid duration, Mid cooldown)

Implacably advance toward your target, undeterred by nearly anything.

  • While active you are in an Altered State of intense focus and emotional detachment. You can communicate but only in terse statements.
  • Greatly enhances perception of the target while tuning out unrelated sensations (including pain & exhaustion)
  • Once per activation, you may request a cut-away. Upon returning, Pitch a plausible (if improbable) way that you intercept your target (Mid range).
  • Ends early if you are incapacitated, distracted, or your target moves a High distance away from you.

Paired Action: A brief preparatory ritual or tic (check your gear, crack your knuckles, dust off your clothes, etc) then start walking in the most direct line possible toward your target.

Forced Entry

(Mid essence, Low cooldown)

There’s a way in — you find it.

  • Suddenly appear inside a location via Pitched means (e.g. you pop out of a vent).

Paired Action: Carefully examine the obstacle and the surrounding area, take a moment to consider various options before selecting an overlooked entry point, entering it then suddenly appearing in the target location.