I came into Hunter without any familiarity with the other versions of Hunter but a lot of time running V5. I was greatly surprised by the system. At first blush it seems as if it will run a lot like V5, but it actually doesn't (the same is true for Werewolf btw). Its mechanics I think are interesting. I love the idea of desperation dice and danger. And I also really liked the way that they chose to approach the Edges and Perks. Giving the players the encouragement to customize their own abilities I think is fantastic especially for a game like this. I think its also very good that the game is a setting of ordinary people with SOME extraordinary abilities. I think the system suffers a bit from being a little TOO vague with the Edges. My players had some difficulty with that. And I think the system is run best with a looser time frame. I tried running it day by day like I like to run Vampire, and it tended to drag. A tip I might offer for it as well, is to set your game in a smaller setting like a town or neighborhood like you might with Monster of the Week, or Call of Cthulu. I dropped mine in a large city, and it got kind of difficult to stay focused and keep the plot in front of the players. Not as big of an issue in Vampire but it does cause some problems here. Overall, I liked it. I've heard some things about Hunter the Vigil, and I think that book may be more my preference but I've yet to dig my teeth into it yet. I'd recommend H5 for smaller campaigns, set in smaller settings where the fog of war can be a much bigger player in the game.
One for the things I love about 5th edition WoD is the Hunger, Despair and Rage systems. They all work differently from each other but bounce off each other so well. I'm excited to see if the future splats work as well.
Thanks for the comprehensive guide! I'm about to run a short game for some friends and this really helped me understand the character creation process better.
Personally I like to do skills the other way of think if the concept of the character and if their somebody who sounds like a specialist, skilled individual, or generalist. Still hate the HtR Edges though, as most of them are just things you could get with contacts, skills, and resources, rather than something that makes the hunter have an actual edge over a supernatural. It was just such a massive waste that 5th edition decoupled true faith from set religion, only to squander letting Hunters have True Faith edge powers, which could have still kept the toned down nature of V5. All in all it makes hunter feel too much like a mortals game than hunter game. Making organized hunters antagonists rather than groups you can join, also just seems so stupid to me, and seems to knee cap how far your could take a chronicle before it becomes unrealistic for your group to be independents and not dead.
There is no reason you can't let your hunters join the orgs. I know that they are set in the books as antagonists but just like all other details in WoD games you can make it your own. Personally I like that Hunter has become a Mortals vs the supernatural game. It makes it scarier and making the hunters out smart the things they fight the better.
I finally read the edges, and I have to say I'm impressed. Hunter sounds like a heck of a ride.
I've unfortunately only run one hunter game so far. I love it so much. I wish more people were interested.
I came into Hunter without any familiarity with the other versions of Hunter but a lot of time running V5. I was greatly surprised by the system. At first blush it seems as if it will run a lot like V5, but it actually doesn't (the same is true for Werewolf btw). Its mechanics I think are interesting. I love the idea of desperation dice and danger. And I also really liked the way that they chose to approach the Edges and Perks. Giving the players the encouragement to customize their own abilities I think is fantastic especially for a game like this. I think its also very good that the game is a setting of ordinary people with SOME extraordinary abilities.
I think the system suffers a bit from being a little TOO vague with the Edges. My players had some difficulty with that. And I think the system is run best with a looser time frame. I tried running it day by day like I like to run Vampire, and it tended to drag. A tip I might offer for it as well, is to set your game in a smaller setting like a town or neighborhood like you might with Monster of the Week, or Call of Cthulu. I dropped mine in a large city, and it got kind of difficult to stay focused and keep the plot in front of the players. Not as big of an issue in Vampire but it does cause some problems here.
Overall, I liked it. I've heard some things about Hunter the Vigil, and I think that book may be more my preference but I've yet to dig my teeth into it yet. I'd recommend H5 for smaller campaigns, set in smaller settings where the fog of war can be a much bigger player in the game.
One for the things I love about 5th edition WoD is the Hunger, Despair and Rage systems. They all work differently from each other but bounce off each other so well. I'm excited to see if the future splats work as well.
I have yet to sink my teeth into Hunter, but I definitely plan to. Great video!
You should! Let me know if my services are needed, lol.
Thanks for the comprehensive guide! I'm about to run a short game for some friends and this really helped me understand the character creation process better.
I'm so glad this is helpful to you.
Thank you for this in depth video. I'm going to try and set up a Hunter: The Reckoning game for myself and this helps explains a lot.
Im gonna have to create a hunter cell called the E.Fudds. we only use shotguns and consistently get outsmarted by our prey, lol jk
That seems like something that would fit in What We Do In The Shadows.
Can you do one where you build a new monster for your Hunters to slay ?
that sounds like a lot of fun.
Where did the free specialization come from?
In the skills part?
Personally I like to do skills the other way of think if the concept of the character and if their somebody who sounds like a specialist, skilled individual, or generalist.
Still hate the HtR Edges though, as most of them are just things you could get with contacts, skills, and resources, rather than something that makes the hunter have an actual edge over a supernatural. It was just such a massive waste that 5th edition decoupled true faith from set religion, only to squander letting Hunters have True Faith edge powers, which could have still kept the toned down nature of V5. All in all it makes hunter feel too much like a mortals game than hunter game.
Making organized hunters antagonists rather than groups you can join, also just seems so stupid to me, and seems to knee cap how far your could take a chronicle before it becomes unrealistic for your group to be independents and not dead.
There is no reason you can't let your hunters join the orgs. I know that they are set in the books as antagonists but just like all other details in WoD games you can make it your own. Personally I like that Hunter has become a Mortals vs the supernatural game. It makes it scarier and making the hunters out smart the things they fight the better.