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

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

A handheld device that fires a retractable bolt at high speed. Can punch through most locks, hinges, and light materials with ease. Breaching using the pistol makes much less noise than expected. (Low cooldown)

Burner Phone

Base

Handheld communication device. Can be used to call and talk to anyone (even contacts you don’t have) for Low duration. Will be traced and draw an aggressive response unless destroyed.

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 containing Pitched narcotics/poisons. Useful for restraint, capture, or non-lethal takedowns.

Suppressed Sawed-off Shotgun

Elective

A modified pump-action shotgun with short barrel, pistol grip, and suppressor. Low ammo capacity and significant recoil. Can be racked to reload and intimidate non-combatants and provoke enemies in Low range; ammo gained scales with how many targets are affected.

Abilities

In The Crosshairs

(Low essence, up to Mid duration, Low cooldown) Mark a target as your quarry.

  • 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 with a brief monologue delivered coldly and calmly (“I don't have any money, but what I do have are a very particular set of skills...”).

Zero In

(Mid-High essence, Mid duration, Mid cooldown) Implacably advance toward your target, undeterred by nearly anything.

  • While active you enter 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) interception of your target.
  • The ability ends early if you are incapacitated, distracted, or your target escapes.

Paired Action: A brief preparatory ritual or tic (check gear, crack knuckles) then start walking directly 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 (for example, popping out of a vent).

Paired Action: Carefully examine the obstacle, feeling for weak points before suddenly appearing in your desired location.