Have no fear, because i am here!

[Neos01]

Or, my personal take on the interesting idea of heroes as fear on self.

Premise: this is not a critic to the actual system, only an interesting homebrew i would like to share.
Now, i m not very good on writing lore background, so i ve focused on rules and mechanics.

Some of the rules listed offer the option of a non violent hero approach.
A GM who prefer a more darker tone could rule that since most Heroes doesn t receive tutelage they must take inspiration on the classical hero legends.
This means that non violent option could be secret techniques discovered by chance, or simply unavailable since the ancient Primordial dream unbalancing events.

[Neos01]

How it works:
Heroes starts as proto-beast.
During their Devouring, when they meet their horror, they reject it but also muster the strenght to fight it and strike a "killing" blow with their first Anathema.
In truth the blow only puts the Horror in a comatose state, but the Hero doesn t realize it initially.
The Primordial dream then shows to the hero a pathway leading to a special place, his Hall.
Once arrived the pathway crumbles behind him and he finds the instruments to prepare his first Throphy.
The Hero puts the "embalmed" horror in the Main Stand, and obtains his Armor and his first Gift from the monster body parts.
Then the true hunt begins...

The Hero meta-trait works exactly as the Beast meta-trait, with some differences:

Heroes recognizes Heritages instead of Families, and most believe to be descendants of famous legendary heroes of the myth.
This trait works like an anti-family, emboding the kind of fear that the heroes had conquered.
They also influence the kind of Birthright that the Hero gains (similar to Beasts birthright, but with different flavour).

They have Rewards instead of Hungers.
Rewards are in fact the same hungers of the beasts but with a different justification.
A Collector hero hunts beasts for the treasures hidden in their lairs, while one who hungers for Sins wish to demonstrate the moral failings of the Begotten.
Heroes can feed only from Beasts AND Heroes, and replace the "feeding in your Lair" modifier with "feeding in the presence of a Victim".
Killing the Beast isn t required, but most Heroes never discovers it.

The Lair power trait becomes the Hall.
Every time the hero prevails over a Beast he can take a Throphy (a body part, or a possession) with an instant action.
Heroes doesn t need to kill Beasts to obtain Throphies and the defeated enemies can also "gift" the items to them.
Bringing a Throphy physically to his Hall (by holding it while entering) gives a Hero the Lair rating of the Beast in Triumph points.
The Hall trait can only be increased spending those points (5 per dot).

Instead of Lair traits the Hall has Traps.
The Hall starts with zero Traps, but each time the Hero is in a collapsing Lair Chamber he can spend one Satisfaction point as an instant action to grab some key Component of one of the Chamber Trait.
The Component must be bringed physically into the Hall (by holding it while entering) where the hero can safely work it to craft a Trap.
The Crafting lasts one chapter and the Hall can contain only one Component at a time.
Traps works similary to Traits in the Hall and the Hero can also bring them in other realms within some limits.
The number of Traits that a Beast can impose in a scene becomes the number of Traps that he can carry out.
He can deploy a Trap with an instant action, imposing it for a scene, but after using it he can t deploy it again until he returns to the Hall (but he can carry multiple instances of the same Trap).
Traps can also be deployed into an item or symbol and setted to trigger manually by the Hero (with an instant action) or automatically when a Beast gets near but in those cases the Hero cannot decide to exclude targets from the Trap effects and he cannot recharge the occupied "slots" when visiting the Hall until the deployed Traps triggers.
Beasts can spot deployed untriggered traps with Family Resemblance if they win a Clash of will with the Hero.
Part of the Components are also fully integrated in the Armor, giving the Hero full immunity to the corresponding Traits and Traps.

Heroes learns Atavism, called Gifts, in a different way.
Every time they take a Throphy to the Hall, they can also spend 3xp to learn one of the Atavism possessed by the slain Beast.
The Gift usually takes the form of a body part of a slayed Beast (that stops decaying once inside the Hall)
or that of an item, even mundane ones.
Those "fetishes" are stored in the hero s Hall, and are summoned briefly when the Gift are used.
Other times the Hero consumes or assimilate some Beast s part, like eating the heart or bathing in the blood.
In each case when the Gift is used supernatural creatures and Followers can briefly see the Hero Armor and the item/power summoned.
Gift works as Atavisms, but the Heroes can use the low Satiety option only when they have at least high Satisfaction.

They don t learn Nightmares but Anathemas.
Heroes can learn two types of Anathemas: conditions and alternative ways for inflicting them (all costs 4xp).
The first form the list of Anathema condition that the Hero can choose to inflict (he can buy the condition listed as Anathemas in the Beast books, or create new ones with the GM).
The second gives additional options to inflict the conditions (such as modified versions of Loremaster and Saint s whisper).
The standard way of placing the conditions is the same on the core book, the Beast target must be Sated and don t suffer already of an Anathema.
If the Hero is at Low Satisfaction he can place Anathema also on Gorged and Starving Beasts.
The Hero can also choose to spend Satisfaction before the attack (or other actions if the method of placement is altered), and must decide if the effect has the potential of reducing or increasing the target Satiety.
If the method of placement is succesful, the Beast Satiety score is modified up or down by the number of Satisfaction point spent by the Hero and, if this variation puts her in a new Hunger condition in which she is vulnerable, the Anathema is placed.
Anathemas can be placed only on Beasts AND Heroes.

Heroes doesn t link with an Horror and doesn t merge with it.
Instead they craft an Armor from the body parts of their first Throphy and raw material available in the Hall.
They always wear the Armor, but only Heroes, Beasts and other creatures with similar perceptions can see it when not Shining.
The Armor Shines, confering benefits similar to a merge with an Horror, only when the Hero is inside the Hall, but his physical body cannot wear it during this time.
Outside the Hall the Hero can activate the Shining with an instant action but only for a number of turns equal to the Hall rating.
He cannot make it Shine again until he re-enters the Hall.

Kinship abilities became Leadership abilities.
Heroes don t see other supernatural creatures as "relatives", they only measure their value as potential followers.
Instead of supernatural creatures they consider creatures with an Integrity score and with a condition or damage gained from a supernatural creature feeding or hunting on them as "descendant of the dark mother" in relation to other Leadership abilities, and they usually call them "Victims".
Fundamentally human and No Kinship categories remains the same.
Thicker Than Water and Family resemblance works considering the altered kinship categories (this means that Family resemblance allows automatical detection of Beasts) but when Family resemblance is used on Victims the Hero detect the "scars", and the rolls results changes:

Success: The Hero is aware of the type of creature responsible, as well as his approximate power level. He is also roughly aware of how much the creature has fed from the Victim, in terms of his power currency reserves (Blood, Glamour, etc.). With regard to a Victim of a Beast, this extra scrutiny allows him to identify the abuser's Family.
Exceptional Success: As above, plus the Hero instinctively knows the general nature of the supernatural talents used on the target.
This heightened insight into the target’s thrauma also removes two Doors on the next Social maneuver the Hero makes against the target. If the abuser is another Beast, the user learns his Hunger and can infer the nature of his Lair, including which Traits it contains.
Dead Victims are valid target of this ability if the injuries or condition's effects are still percepible.
As a side note Beasts Family Resemblance consider Heroes as fundamentally human, and a successful detection shows the hero's Armor.


Mother’s Kiss became Countermeasures.
The Systems is similar but works in reverse, penalizing the next power used by the target and subtracting willpower in the case of an Exceptional success.
The three dice bonus granted by Family ties applies instead if the Hero has been the target of the same power in the past.

Passing Resemblance became Wolf's clothes.
It works in the same way, but the Hero needs no Family ties and always mimic a Beast of his corresponding Family.
His armor always assumes the visage of the Horror it was made of and no other illusory effect applies.
Family Dinner becames Kinslayer.
Heroes can recover one Satisfaction point when they kill a creature with the Family ties Condition or two if they slay a Beast's Herald.
They have no way to detect the Condition presence, but they instinctually realize after the killing that the creature was a "minion" someway marked by the Beast.
This ability also works if the Hero is present when the target resolve the Condition or when an Herald kills his master (and in the latter case the former Herald turns into an Hero).

Satisfaction works as Satiety does, with a few exceptions:
Heroes don t inflict nightmares at low Satisfaction.
Instead their caged Horror starts sending lamentations at Satisfaction 7+ when the Hero goes to sleep.
The Hero always tries instinctively to counter the Horror efforts.
The range and frequency of roll is the same as for inflicting nightmare, using the Starving table column when Elated and the Ravenous one when Cursed (the Hero is considered removed from the local Hive in range terms).
When Elated only a chance die is rolled.
With a dramatic failure the Hero stops firmly the Lamentation, the Horror exerts itselfs losing one Satisfaction point.
With a success the Horror sends out to a nearby Horror a brief vision about a detail of the Hero identity, actions or locations.
When Cursed the Horror rolls Power+Hall versus the Resolve+Composure of the Hero.
If the Horror gains more successes the effect is the same as when Elated.
If the Horror wins with an Exeptional Success the targeted Horror gains the Informed condition focused on the Hero, but the player rolls also 10 dice and subtracts 1 Satisfaction for every roll that doesn’t come up as a success (10-again does not apply to this roll).
If the Hero wins with an Exeptional Success the results are the same as above but without the vision leading to the Informed condition.
Once the Horror is successful in the call it will try to focus on the same target if possible, and if Cursed receives a +1 bonus for each attempt.

The Satisfaction conditions are:
Disgraced 0 points
The Hero exerted too much with little or no results, or remained too long without a Reward.
In each case its self image is ruined, his confidence a dim ember of what once it was, and without a great effort the situation will not change.
Systems: The Hero cannot spend Willpower except in pursuit of Satisfaction, but she finds that easy, low-Satisfaction preys don’t fulfill her. The character does not regain Willpower normally. He may only regain Willpower by taking actions that would replenish Satisfaction at low to moderate level (Satisfaction potential 1–6). When the character feeds at this level, no roll is required; the character simply regains a point of Willpower.
Armor and Traps cease to function, and remains inert in the Hall.
He loses access to all her Gifts, Anathemas, Beast-specific Merits, and Birthrights. He does not lose access to Leadership abilities, but cannot spend Satisfaction to power them. He does not gain an Integrity trait but is otherwise human.
Beat: Experiencing a meaningful failure due to human limitations or weaknesses (at Storyteller discretion) grants a Beat, as does actions that would normally fill her Reward at Satisfaction potential 1–3.
Resolution: Regain a point of Satisfaction. This can be accomplished by fulfilling her Reward in an action with Satisfaction potential of 8 or more. The player doesn’t roll the dice poll as usual but simply takes one point of Satisfaction. The Hero can also regain a dot of Satisfaction by taking a Trophy from a Beast of his corresponding Family. The Hero can also regain a point of Satisfaction if he sees a Beast or Hero feeding in his presence (with conditions similar to the Family dinner ability).

Yearning 1 to 3 points
The Hero experiences a lack of power and confidence, as the Hall gives no protection from attempts to cloud his thoughts.
He takes on a cautious approach, probing for flaws and openings.
Systems: As Gorged, but the +2 bonus applies on the Open gate ability rolls.
Beat: At any time, you may choose to automatically fail a roll because of your character’s lack of confidence. This should only be used on rolls where your character is attempting to be proactive and engaged. It should also only be used on rolls with clear consequences. If you do so, take a Beat. You may opt to make this failure into a dramatic failure for an additional Beat. Also, if the character falls victim to a supernatural power that forces her to take some detrimental action, take a Beat.
Resolution: as Starving

Satisfied 4 to 6 points
The Hero is neither overconfident nor discouraged.
This state of equilibrium is dangerous as it could lead him to being caught off guard.
Systems: as Sated
Beat: as Sated
Resolution: as Sated

Elated 7 to 9 points
The Hero feels mighty and righteous, everything (and everyone) becames secondary while he pursuit his prey.
His bravery leads him into choosing reckless head on tactics.
His Hall bursts with power and the Armor sometimes feels almost alive.
Almost.
Systems: As Starving, but the -2 malus applies on the Open gate ability rolls.
The Hero is considered "merged" when his Armor is Shining.
Beat: If the character takes an irrational, clearly dangerous, or deeply risky behavior in pursuit of Satisfaction, take a Beat. As well, if your character hurts a loved one, Victim, or a character with the Swayed Condition in pursuit of Satisfaction, take a Beat.
Resolution: as Gorged


Cursed 10 points
The Hero exceeded his limits, becoming more focused on the Reward than on the mission.
His torpid Horror collects enough power to awake, reassembling his body using the Hall's Stands.
The Hero starts to feel and appear like a Ravenous Beast, an inner torment mirrored by the chains that prevents his Horror from escaping the Hall.
Systems: The Hero appears as a Beast to anyone using appropriate senses.
He cannot spend Satisfaction for any reason and does not naturally lose Satisfaction, no matter how many dots of Hall she has.
His Reward trait transforms into a corresponding Hunger and once a day, when the right situation arises, he must act on it, no matter who or what the prey is.
Every successful feeding inflict to him one level of lethal damage. He cannot heal lethal or aggravated damage while Ravenous (though magical healing from a third party works normally).
Finally, the Hero cannot use Atavisms while Cursed.
Beat: Whenever the Hero experiences a situation in tune with the point of view of a Beast (being hunted by a Hero, or feeding on his own volition for example) take a Beat.
Resolution: The Hero must reduce the Satisfaction score of the Horror.
He can enter the Hall and set the Horror free, facing it in battle.
If he fills the Horror health track with damage he doesn t kill it, but gains a window to inflict an Anathema on the semi-conscious Horror.
The player rolls 10 dice and subtracts 1 Satisfaction for every roll that doesn’t come up as a success (10-again does not apply to this roll).
The Horror can also lose Satisfaction as explained in the sending lamentation rules.
The Hero can also try to feed to the Horror a "poisoned bait".
If the Hero loses to her feeding target, intentionally or not, and suffers a feeding from him, both the Hero and the Horror feels a deep shock, losing a number of Satisfaction point equals to the successes gained by the enemy on his feeding roll.
In each case the Hero must then restore the Hall in the former state by working inside it for a scene.
Should the Hero die with this Condition, the Horror undergoes the Retreat.

Heroes loses Satisfaction over time in the same way as Beasts loses Satiety, but at half rate.

Heroes can recruit Followers by using social maneuveering on Victims.
They must persuade the target that a certain "monster" is the cause of his fear and pain, but the monster can be an effective Supernatural creature or a metaphor for describing some kind of dangerous behavior (like being too materialistic, or an unresolved issue with a father).
If successful the Hero can impose the Swayed condition on the Victim.

Swayed
The character suffer the effect of the Obsession condition, focused on "confronting with the monster".
The player choses a condition that makes the character a Victim as the "Thrauma" condition.
If the character has no such conditions but only damage he acquire an appropriate Lasting injury condition (from Hurt locker) as the Thrauma condition.
While Swayed the character receives beats from the Thrauma condition as normal but it cannot be resolved or removed.
The character consider the Hero as a Hall/2 dots Support network (from Hurt locker) while Swayed.
Beats: once per day following the Hero instructions gives the character a beat.
Resolution: the characters feels safe from the monster.
If it is resolved that way, the Thrauma condition resolves automatically at the end of the scene.
The character impression of the Hero becames Hostile.

Heroes cannot open Primordial pathways as Beasts do, but they receive the Open gate gift as an innate ability.
Their dice pool becames Resolve+Occult+Hall.
They also have alternative versions of Skeleton key and Under the bed.
The first works mostly in the same way but the Hero can open only portals whose last user was a Beast, which counts as the gate owner for him.
If successful the gate will always lead to the Beast's Lair, even if she opened it to the normal destination.
Under the bed is replaced by a modified version of the Shepherd’s Gaze gift (from Conquering Heroes).
The dice pool becomes the Hero's Presence+Satisfaction vs the target Integrity, but the roll effects remains the same.
For clarification the three dice bonus applies also on Stalking rolls.
While using the power if the Horror enters the dream the Hero can also spend a Satisfaction point to create a link that last for as long as the monster is present.
With a normal success the Hero can use the link to impose Traps in the dream.
Generally if the Horror is affected by the Trap it will escape, or at least chose another target for the next feeding.
With an exceptional success the Hero can make his Armor Shining to send his astral form into the dream, for as long as the link or the Shining lasts.

The Hero enters automatically in the Hall when he sleeps and when unconscious, even from damage.
He can also enter by meditating with a successfully resolve+composure roll.
In each case the Hero build an astral form, with stats equal to an Horror merged Beast and damage levels equal to those suffered by the body.
When separated damage and healings are applied to both the Hero physical and astral form at the same time, but since the last usually has more health level than the previous most Heroes can survive fatal injuries to their bodies.
When the body health track is filled of aggravated, further damage and healings to the body are applied first to the extra health level of astral form, that can be killed in this way (or by critical injuries like decapitation).
The Hero's body enter a state of fake death, with reduced heartbeat and oxygen consumption (and stops bleeding further damage), until it heals at least one damage level.
Injuries suffered directly by the astral form results in shocks and internal bleeding in the body, but damages and healings inflicted on extra health levels (if any) applies only to the astral form, and if its health track fills with aggravated damage the Hero truly dies.
Heroes heal at normal rate when in the Hall, but they can also heal with Satisfaction points like Beasts does when the Armor is shining.
Each Hall assumes the form of its owner ideal hideout, and near the Stands naturally forms depictions that allows the onlooker to relive the Hero's past hunts.
The visions are often exagerated and celebrates the epic quests of the Hero, so they are not an accurate retelling of those memories.
When two Heroes wants to confront without witnesses they have the option to perform a Duel with their Halls.
While inside his Hall a Hero can expend a Satisfaction point to launch a challenge to another know Hero.
The target receives a message in his Hall, in a form decided by the challenger, and perceives it even if he is currently outside.
If he accepts he must spend a Satisfaction point too, and the challenger are immediatly informed.
Two burrows forms from both Halls, and meets on a neutral points where Armors and Traps works as if they were in the material world.
The challenger can retire the proposal whenever he wants, otherwise it persist indefinitely.
The burrows can be used only to duel in the central point, Heroes cannot visit another Hero's Hall and in fact the astral form cannot normally leave the Hall.


The Hero Hall is a pseudo Oneiros located outside the Primordial dream but linked to it by the pathway to the site of his first battle with the Horror.
The ruins obstructing the passage prevent the Hero from enter and fully experience the Realm.
The potential Heart is still present in the Mists and it s the only way to reach the Hall from the outside, as the Hall is fully incompatible with the narrative mechanics needed to open a Primordial pathway to it.
A Beast can find the Heart in the Mists normally (the Informed condition focused on the Hero can help the roll), but all of the Hero Traps are applied on the Chamber, imposed as Beasts Traits.
The Beast can try to create a sort of Brood lair with this Chamber, with all the usual mechanics, and if successful only the Beast gains immunity to all of the Hero's Traps/Traits.
Trying to collapse the Heart follows the normal rules, but instead of destroying it the process clears all the ruins obstructing the pathway.
The Hall becomes filled with mist and the Hero Satisfaction rises to 10.
The Hall can be collapsed as if it was an Heart and if successful the Hero dies from an heart attack.

Heroic tracking works mostly the same, with some modifications.
Primordial dreams disturbances lasts for the originating Beast Lair score in days.
During this time any Hero in the zone experiences a dream-vision while inside their Hall, hallucination caused by strange mists filtering from the original pathway ruins, and recovering willpower from rest becomes impossible for them.
Heroic stalking can be used by interacting with the disturbance (the place or the person) while it lasts, but when the ability is used with other people and places the rolls receives a -3, or -1 if the Beast has used a power.
The dice pool and modifiers are the same but with no willpower costs and the results differs:
Dramatic failure: the Hero gains totally false informations.
Success: the Hero know if any Beast was present in the area or interacted with the target within (Lair) days.
If the target is a disturbance he can determine in which direction the target Beast is at the moment of the roll.
If the Beast was present he can determine in which direction she has gone.
Exceptional success: the Hero also knows when the Beast was present and if the target is a disturbance the approximate distance in miles.
The Spoor merit third effect and Advanced fame merit drawback applies on this roll.
Finally Heroes are not able to perceive and study chambers as Beasts does.

Heroes can buy Beasts only merits, altough some might need some modifications at the GM discrection.
Some hero gifts in the books could also be revised as merits.

About Inheritances, there could be Hero based ones, like:
-acquiring a soul and destroying the Hall while Disgraced to become fully human.
-the Retirement mentioned in the core book
-clearing the ruins from the Hall to start an Hero Inversion
Beast's Inversion Inheritance could be revised to allow Beasts to become full Heroes.
I m open to suggestions!

[TerrorCooper]

I like this concept a lot! Perchance you could cast your eyes towards Krat05's own Hero-related thread? The two could have some synergies.

[TerrorCooper]

Okay, so, Neos01, as I'm fairly certain that you've noticed that there's yet another thread on here that focuses on Homebrewing Heroes into a playable form. If you somehow haven't, then I'll provide you with >>this<< here link. I'm posting this as fair warning that I've directed them here in the hopes of some glorious Synthesis, or at least Symbiosis, between all three of these threads. So, yeah. Have fun! *Trollishly Cheshire Cattish Grin*

[TerrorCooper]

Found another one, Neos01.