05-05-2018, 11:31 PM
After M-Day it seemed each new nexus spewed forth wonders and terrors never before seen by mankind, but some seemed to have been part of humanity's fever dreams or nightmares. The Old One was from old ghost stories and urban legends, the dead feeding upon the blood of the living to maintain his immortality, making others, stalking through the darkness of night. Almost immediately, a group of men and women banded together to fight what they saw as an unholy terror.
The organization that became simply known as The Hunters operated much like those they hunted. They worked in secrecy, under cover of night or within the confines of the often overlooked areas.
After the gathering of Catholic clergy that became Vatican 3, there were many things decided. Catholicism as a whole had splintered, leading to various factions and offshoots with varied degrees of what is today considered 'legitimacy'. For example, the Order of the Paladins is technically heresy, and the Church's official stance is that they are no longer part of Christianity, but there is not a clergy member worth their collar that would ever condemn them. Similarly, while the Vatican has declared vampires and werecreatures to be abominare, and are an affront to both nature and God, technically they are tolerated, just not welcome by the Church. In reality, Vatican 3 brought the Hunters into the fold, funding them, equipping them, turning them into more efficient predators, all completely off official record.
The Hunters are not religious zealots, however. For every one that hunts because of Church doctrine there are a dozen that do so for other reasons. Some may very well dislike the Vatican, but see them as the lesser of two evils or simply the means to an end.
The Early Days
Sometimes called 'The Shadow Hunt' or 'The Dark Days', the Hunters were woefully underfunded, unorganized and out of their depth. Even after being brought into the Catholic Church, the Hunters were unprepared to fight such a foe. Old superstitions like silver, crucifixes, and garlic cost the lives of hundreds of Hunters. Vampires could enter without being invited, could walk in the daylight with adequate protection, and were terrifyingly faster and stronger than those hunting them. What's more, because of official Church doctrine, the fight was strictly clandestine. Hunters were just as secretive as the vampires they were fighting.
The Second Strain
After the Xero Corporation's failed Batwing experiment and the sudden - and deadly - influx of second strain vampires, the Hunters came out of the dark. Their methods had refined, their knowledge had grown, and had made significant progress in their war with the undead. But with their new enemies, just as fast, just as deadly, but without the codes used by the clans and much more numerous, the Hunters could no longer remain a quasi-secret society. They came into the world's eye quickly and brutally, employing many of their unrefined and borderline barbaric measures to deal with the second strain vampires.
Present Day
Today, the Hunters exist as an entity officially separate of the Vatican, but it is commonly held knowledge that the Church funds and supports the organization. The Vatican will deny this, but not with much enthusiasm. There has yet to be any proof brought forward of any official connection, but even if there was, it would surprise few and certainly shock no one. They operate much like a paramilitary group, with (often hidden) bases, a formal rank structure, training and tactics. There are Hunter teams all across the world, with the exception of Danube and the Slav Republic, where vampiric influences keep the Hunters working in the shadows, much the way they did in the early days.
Organization
The Hunters have formal ranks and leadership positions, though a portion of the top "brass" are members of the clergy.
Tactics and Equipment
Hunters have a wide range of equipment and methods available to them, changing depending on the situation. A den of second strain vampires, for example, may simply be set on fire in the middle of the day. They either die from the fire, die from the sun, or die by the guns the Hunters are carrying. A den of prime strain vampires, however, would require more precision - an entry team to sweep and clear the den, in case there are innocents inside being fed on ("blood bags" in hunter parlance). And while regular lead bullets kill a vampire just as well as a silver one, silver bullets are still issued to deal with werecreatures, who are considered secondary targets.
Equipment varies depending on the strengths of the hunter, but almost all are given some basic items - throat protectors, wrist guards and bracers, silver bullets and the like. Depending on the mission, they may also be issued protective "hazmat" suits to keep the chance of contamination down, or have their gear coated in a clear hydrophobic-like protectant. Each Captain, upon attaining the rank, is also given an ornate silver stake. Rarely, the stake will be used in a symbolic kill - often if the Hunters find the location of a Sentinel - or one of their prime targets, a Clan Chief. No hunter has ever killed a Clan Chief, but occasionally a Sentinel will fall, causing a ripple throughout the vampire clan.
The organization that became simply known as The Hunters operated much like those they hunted. They worked in secrecy, under cover of night or within the confines of the often overlooked areas.
After the gathering of Catholic clergy that became Vatican 3, there were many things decided. Catholicism as a whole had splintered, leading to various factions and offshoots with varied degrees of what is today considered 'legitimacy'. For example, the Order of the Paladins is technically heresy, and the Church's official stance is that they are no longer part of Christianity, but there is not a clergy member worth their collar that would ever condemn them. Similarly, while the Vatican has declared vampires and werecreatures to be abominare, and are an affront to both nature and God, technically they are tolerated, just not welcome by the Church. In reality, Vatican 3 brought the Hunters into the fold, funding them, equipping them, turning them into more efficient predators, all completely off official record.
The Hunters are not religious zealots, however. For every one that hunts because of Church doctrine there are a dozen that do so for other reasons. Some may very well dislike the Vatican, but see them as the lesser of two evils or simply the means to an end.
The Early Days
Sometimes called 'The Shadow Hunt' or 'The Dark Days', the Hunters were woefully underfunded, unorganized and out of their depth. Even after being brought into the Catholic Church, the Hunters were unprepared to fight such a foe. Old superstitions like silver, crucifixes, and garlic cost the lives of hundreds of Hunters. Vampires could enter without being invited, could walk in the daylight with adequate protection, and were terrifyingly faster and stronger than those hunting them. What's more, because of official Church doctrine, the fight was strictly clandestine. Hunters were just as secretive as the vampires they were fighting.
The Second Strain
After the Xero Corporation's failed Batwing experiment and the sudden - and deadly - influx of second strain vampires, the Hunters came out of the dark. Their methods had refined, their knowledge had grown, and had made significant progress in their war with the undead. But with their new enemies, just as fast, just as deadly, but without the codes used by the clans and much more numerous, the Hunters could no longer remain a quasi-secret society. They came into the world's eye quickly and brutally, employing many of their unrefined and borderline barbaric measures to deal with the second strain vampires.
Present Day
Today, the Hunters exist as an entity officially separate of the Vatican, but it is commonly held knowledge that the Church funds and supports the organization. The Vatican will deny this, but not with much enthusiasm. There has yet to be any proof brought forward of any official connection, but even if there was, it would surprise few and certainly shock no one. They operate much like a paramilitary group, with (often hidden) bases, a formal rank structure, training and tactics. There are Hunter teams all across the world, with the exception of Danube and the Slav Republic, where vampiric influences keep the Hunters working in the shadows, much the way they did in the early days.
Organization
The Hunters have formal ranks and leadership positions, though a portion of the top "brass" are members of the clergy.
- Praefector is the continental Hunter commander, with one on each continent save Antarctica. The Praefector rank is not common knowledge, even to some of the Hunters. Two out of the six Praefectors are members of the Clergy.
- Commanders oversee large areas of the Hunter's territory. There's about two dozen Commanders, and by most accounts, they are the leaders of the Hunters. Each commander oversees between fifteen to twenty teams.
- Captains are the team leaders, leading groups of twenty to thirty hunters. Often times teams don't all go out at once, splitting apart into smaller groups to accomplish tasks.
- Wardens are the "sergeants" of the Hunters, experienced members who lead smaller groups of five to ten hunters.
- The rank and file below Wardens are simply called Hunters. There is no rank below Hunter - initiates are not considered part of the Hunters and therefore do not warrant a rank.
Tactics and Equipment
Hunters have a wide range of equipment and methods available to them, changing depending on the situation. A den of second strain vampires, for example, may simply be set on fire in the middle of the day. They either die from the fire, die from the sun, or die by the guns the Hunters are carrying. A den of prime strain vampires, however, would require more precision - an entry team to sweep and clear the den, in case there are innocents inside being fed on ("blood bags" in hunter parlance). And while regular lead bullets kill a vampire just as well as a silver one, silver bullets are still issued to deal with werecreatures, who are considered secondary targets.
Equipment varies depending on the strengths of the hunter, but almost all are given some basic items - throat protectors, wrist guards and bracers, silver bullets and the like. Depending on the mission, they may also be issued protective "hazmat" suits to keep the chance of contamination down, or have their gear coated in a clear hydrophobic-like protectant. Each Captain, upon attaining the rank, is also given an ornate silver stake. Rarely, the stake will be used in a symbolic kill - often if the Hunters find the location of a Sentinel - or one of their prime targets, a Clan Chief. No hunter has ever killed a Clan Chief, but occasionally a Sentinel will fall, causing a ripple throughout the vampire clan.