I know there's already a thread thats sort of devoted to Hunter the Reckoning but it seems to have gone off in a "Blade/Demon Hunter X" manner and I'm not really interested in the general questions at this point.  I more want to gauge interest in a game before I put forth the effort to actually make it.

Now in the past I've tried to run Hunter the Reckoning twice and the games folded because I wound up with players that just wanted to run around killing things and the prologues took way too long because I tried to start pre-imbued.  Now, admittedly, there were a few exceptions but by and large I and the players lost interest so this time around I wanted to lay out what I was thinking about running before the players get a chance to interject what they want.  This isn't to say that I don't care about what the players want because I do but I want to enjoy the game as well and in the past that just didn't happen.  So once I lay everything out I'll solicit opinions and desires and try to put together a really long lasting HtR game.

Now that I've got all that out of the way let me get into what I was thinking without giving away too much of the plot-line:

The game would start off with a prologue/flashback for each character at the time of their imbuing and first hunt.  Think of it as a not so fond memory.  This gives the players a chance to kind of flesh out their character before we move to an actual group.  Once we get through the initial hunt we'll fast forward a couple of months to the group and modern day (don't worry I have a backstory to throw everyone together).  Then we can move onto the story at hand which will have a wide ranging arc to it that can and will be driven by the players.  Each potential hunt will have sub-plots that can be investigated as well as other options.  In other words you won't be confined to tracking down the monster and killing it over and over again.  In fact the group may even decide to go after a different monster first in order to gain some experience and cohesion or investigate odd occurences that may or may not be supernatural monsters at work.  Hopefully this will lead to a break in the monotony.

I know that's kind of vague but hopefully it gives you a basic idea of what I want to do with the start of the game.  Now onto what I want from the game:

I want the psychological aspect to come into play.  In other words I don't want a bunch of happy go lucky Rambo types running around killing things.  That's not fun for me.  I want to see the gambit of emotions and emotional toil the characters have to deal with (i.e. Are we doing the right thing?  Am I crazy? etc.)  Its fine and dandy to eventually get a cold edge to hunting and killing but your character shouldn't start out that way.

I also would expect each character to keep a journal that has to be updated at least once every hunt or else they lose experience.  This isn't to say that it has to be a recounting of everything their character does but rather their personal notes.  Think about the entries scattered throughout the book.  Hunters don't know when or where they'll meet their end but they're fairly certain that eventually they are going to die.  So they leave journals for those that come after them.  Some have smatterings of knowledge on supernatural creatures, some have myths and legends that have been debunked, some leave their personal thoughts on paper if for nothing else than to dispel them from their heads, others keep a tab of sins vs. redemption, and still others keep diaries of their daily activities.  What you write is up to you but I definitely want to see this aspect.

Okay, thats still pretty general but I think it starts to lay out what I'm looking for.  Now the question is "Who would be interested in this type of HtR game and what would you want to see in it?"

Please don't ask about characters or starting freebies right now.  That's not what I want to know no am I prepared to delve into all the in game specifics right now.  I just want to know if anyone would want to roll with this and what would they want to get out of the game.

Thanks!

What you've laid out is pretty much what I'd hope for in a H:tR game. The psychological aspect and emotional turmoil is at the core of Hunter and is one of it's major draws. For me anyway. I'll say it right off: I love subplots. Especially when they add to the player group's options or give more diversity of story paths. It's good to be able to approach a subject on more than one direction. I'd hope for a small group though. Things tend to move at a more reasonable pace with a tight group.

The journal aspect isn't something I'm all too keen on. Never liked journals. They let people get a glimpse of what is going on in your head; which is probably what you're after. Every time I read a book or seen a movie with someone in it that kept a journal, that journal was used against them or the knowledge is abused. My personal experiances with journals aren't much better. Its something I'm willing to try, just so long as it isn't required.
This message was last edited by the user at 17:53, Sun 06 May 2007.

The journals don't have to be personal thoughts.  I'm not looking for you to keep a 12 year old's diary.  You can if you want but the journal could also be just a record of potential hunts, past hunts, etc.

As far as other players using it against you, well that's where I come in.  If that type of abuse takes place they won't be in the game long.  I'm not going to use it against you because I'm thinking it would be encrypted files or coded journals so a passerby would not know what it all meant.  Now if you get on the FBI's radar then there is a chance that if they track you and ransack your room they might eventually decode it but that would be way down the road and would have to be a subplot that I had in mind.

As far as required, well I'm leaning that way right now or else you get less experience than those that do.  Still if everyone is opposed to them I might relax that and award extra experience to those that keep it.
This message was last edited by the user at 17:57, Tue 08 May 2007.

To me, part of the point of a horror game is to have your personal foibles used against you (in an IC way, of course). A good GM uses the info in a way that enhances the psychological impact and emotional turmoil, in a way that's "fun" for everyone involved. If that isn't the kind of fun you're looking for in a horror game, what kind of emotional turmoil did you mean?

I like seeing glimpses into characters' heads in general. It makes the game richer, both to play in and to read. It makes the characters more realistic and sympathetic. It also provides feedback to the GM so they have some clue how well they are conveying what they're trying to convey, and helps them decide what to do next that would be the most interesting to the player. It helps keep everyone on the same page.

On a different note, I've been playing for Dante in particular for a while now, and he's always been good about not abusing glimpses into characters' heads (except in the good way described above). I've often included PLs that describe exactly what my character is thinking, and why he's thinking it, and what he wants to do about it, as notes to myself so I can keep track of things for later. The most he's ever done with them to me directly is speed up or slow down the scene, for example if he knows I'm about to barrage an NPC with a ton of questions one at a time.

So getting back to Hunter games in general. I'm all for emphasizing the personal horror, and the journal idea sounds like a good one to me to help set the tone and keep things on track.

I love it, sounds just like what a Hunter game should be. I don't mind the journal idea, it's something that isn't normally done in RPGs so I'd give it a try.


Character-wise:
I think I've got and idea for a character but I'm willing to discuss it or change it depending on how the game takes shape. Minimal freebies (standard number, can't remember what it is) would be best.

A thing to remember is that Hunter's are generally pretty paranoid individuals to start with.  As such the concern that Sakuro raises is a valid one in the context of the game but we can assume that each journal is in some sort of code.  I'm willing to seven say that the code might be unique and require a key that is hidden somewhere in the Hunter's home, background, bank records, or somewhere else.  Heck the code might even be revealed in the Hunter's previous arrest record.  Its not something that would be easy to figure out.

If we get an abusive PC who utilizes player knowledge over character knowledge, then that character won't be with us very long as this is something that I do not tolerate in any way shape of form.

As for the characters, although I'm not really to that point I assure you that this would be a fresh batch of Hunters which means standard character generation.  The only difference is that everyone will have already been on a hunt or two and you will all know each other.  We can work out the back story of how you all met in the OOC of the game (once it starts) or even here but I do not think I want to RP that part of the game.

Lets knock out a few of the specifics since we're already on that subject.  I was thinking of the following limitations:

Group Size:  max of 6
Books allowed for character generation:  Core Book, and Players Guide

I have access to additional books but want to keep things fairly simple to start off with.  If you had your heart set on something else, sorry, not going to happen.  Its not fair to restrict some people and then let others by the restrictions.

I also want to say, don't try to get me to consider a Wayward.  Its not going to happen and arguing for it isn't going to sway me.  I don't think they're conducive to a group atmosphere long term.  You may disagree and that's fine but I'm dead set in my opposition to them.

It looks like we have three potential candidates for a game.  I know at least one other person has rmailed me about it so hopefully they'll jump in as well.  If something seems out of whack with what you're looking for lets discuss it.  The main thing I'm trying to do is make sure we all have a good time.  If I enjoy the game and you all enjoy it then it will definitely last for an extended period of time.

If you have any questions or thoughts please feel free to voice them and I'll try to answer them as best as possible.

I would love to join a HtR game, only I have the Corebook and that is it(which I'm using info out of in my own HtR game) though my game starts out after the pre-imbueing stage so the Hunters have already made a few kills(and the game is freeform but I'm willing to learn)

I like the idea of the key to a code being in the character's arrest record, gives the Hunter a bit of a flare you know, but then actually understanding the journal would be neat, but then how would we write the thing? do we keep out missing letters or...what?