1001 Hunter Story Hooks

[Nyrufa]

54: During an undercover investigation, one of the PC's visits a medium with their friend to have their fortune read. As far as the PC can tell, their "gift" is complete bullshit, even when she gives their friend a prediction, especially when she tells their friend that tomorrow will "broaden their horizons when they wake up the next morning". So the PC decides to report nothing is amiss, until the next day when their friend calls them up on the phone and starts raving about the "Supernal Realms" and the "Lead Coin!" and says you have to check this shit out. When the PC's try to return to the medium's office, they find not only she has vanished, but the entire building as well!

Your friend was just a civilian, they didn't know anything about the supernatural world or your hunting profession. So what does the PC do when they visit their friend and find them practicing death magic in their living room?

[Flyboy254]

55: Well this is great. Turns out your plan to corner those fairies just led you into the biggest dive in town, and a lot of guys with a 1% patch are staring down you and your cell. Two of them are already way too close to the door, and what's worse is that the fairy is serving drinks behind the bar. Right now all that's saving your sorry ass is the fact that the bikers don't want anyone calling the cops, but the more drinks get served by the fairy the more dangerous things will get.

56: Your position in the local police department has given you a leg up for the past few years; CSI techs rarely get called in for arrests, and the weird cases you could easily disregard to the rest of the department while your cell did the real work. It let you feel a sense of accomplishment without risking death or worse, but the salad days are closing. The commissioner wants cold cases solved, and you're in charge of uncovering just who killed a string of people you know are werewolves that were killing local citizens. Your stellar record is suddenly convincing everyone you can easily give the necessary clues to track down the killers; your own cell.

57: No one in the cell blames you for killing the kid. It happens, collateral damage in the Vigil. You watched the funeral from a distance, paid your respects when no one else could see you, made your confession to a priest you could trust. But someone knows. They're leaving the kid's toys on your doorstep every Friday. First it was his baseball and mitt. Then it was his old Gameboy. Now it's his stuffed animal. The one he was buried with. You know that priests are sworn to never reveal anything heard in confession, so that means the only people who know are your own cell. Who's decided you're the target now? And if it isn't your cell, who knows your dirty secret?

58: (Ahl al-Jabal) The prison riot seemed completely random at first, the skinheads and MS-13 members going at each other only for the guards to lose control and seal off the outside, barricading themselves in the secured sections and leaving the prisoners running rampant in the empty cellblocks. Already the prison gangs are taking "territory" for their own, and you found what you feared the most. A vampire is loose in the prison, and it's already killed a guard that it apparently thought was part of your cell. He wasn't, he was just on the payroll. But now you have a stealthy killer running through the prison walls, and the authorities wont' abide a riot running so long forever. Find the vampire, kill him, and act like you're completely innocent and waiting for the authorities when they retake the prison.

[The Kings Raven]

59: One morning every last hunter in town wakes up with a flier in their mailbox. Weapons! Power! Monster's secrets! Come all to the Goblin Market! By tomorrow the balance of power is going to be turned upon it's head. By mid-day the monster's know about it.
Twist (Office of the Lord Stewards): Before the Goblins made their pitch the area was a beacon of stability. Hunters, supernaturals and ignorant civilians all benefited from a carefully negotiated peace treaty. Are the local hunters going to destroy that out of a chance to exterminate the supernaturals or has co-existance brought tolerance? Will the supernaturals panic at the thought of humans getting power? Can you keep the peace?
Twist (Task Force: VALKYRIE): Here's how it works. The vampires run this town, they keep the other monsters down, they keep the Masquerade (yours and theirs) enforced, they only feed and take slaves from the inner city. In turn you give them the cash, weapons, and cover stories they need to keep the hunters down; every month or so you fly a drone packed with white phosphorus just to remind them who's in charge. Well guess who's about to buy knowledge of the government's involvement, half price with every weapon of magical destruction?


60: (Barrett Comission - Five Stars) The White House has publicly declared Task Force: VALKYRIE to be an illegal terrorist organisation. Instantly the Conspiracy shattered, loyal Americans turned themselves in to the proper authorities. Zealous Hunters turned off their radios, stripped off the uniforms, and became just one more group of armed private citizens hunting monsters. Veteran officers went mad, the Code that kept them stable collapsed as their self-identity was stolen from them, their units have gone rogue. The world's best armed Conspiracy of monster hunters has broken, and the wreckage is scattered all across American soil. Somebody has to clean it all up, and that somebody is the legitimate American army.


61: (Anyone with a magic like Endowment) The rumours of Witches you were following turns out to be a deep cover cell of your own organisation, and you've just put their mission in jeopardy.

[LostLight]

60: (Barrett Comission - Five Stars) The White House has publicly declared Task Force: VALKYRIE to be an illegal terrorist organisation. Instantly the Conspiracy shattered, loyal Americans turned themselves in to the proper authorities. Zealous Hunters turned off their radios, stripped off the uniforms, and became just one more group of armed private citizens hunting monsters. Veteran officers went mad, the Code that kept them stable collapsed as their self-identity was stolen from them, their units have gone rogue. The world's best armed Conspiracy of monster hunters has broken, and the wreckage is scattered all across American soil. Somebody has to clean it all up, and that somebody is the legitimate American army..

You have seen SHIELD, didn't you? :P

62. (Les Mysteres) The spirits are silent lately- dead silent. Your don't don't seem to find any of their former allies in the Shadow World, and the very few spirits you find are weak and scared. They speak about great spirit which was banished ages ago, and that now it returned and started to devour lesser spirits and mutate them to horrifying forms. Fortunately, you are not alone in battling that enemy. Unfortunately, the only "people" who are on your side are the werewolves named as the "Forsaken", your long time enemies. Could your cell forget years of war against the shifters? Could the proud wolves accept help from those they hate so much? Or would the ancient spirit use your conflict for its own gain?

[The Kings Raven]

You have seen SHIELD, didn't you? :P

Yes; and I actually found their handling of it to be borderline offensive, but mostly just lazy. Still, the final episode managed to be pretty damn cool.

[Shock]

63: A new drug has been hitting the streets. Local dealers have several names for it but mostly call it "prime". The drug is mostly lost the crowd between meth, crack, and krokodil but it's starting to gain some traction with fighters and people who can't afford the good shit but want something beyond pot. The effects of the drug are that of an adrenaline rush combined with intense fight or flight response. Most crime labs and police departments chalk this up as PCP but never seem to find traces of the chemical on any drugs that they receive.

Now darker stories are starting to appear. About how long term users tend to vanish but not before leaving behind scenes of claw marks and broken rooms. The scenes have confounded law enforcement but are mostly at a loss of who or exactly what happened. If asked, the addicts give a quick look of worry before changing the subject. There also has been a spike of exotic animal escapes as well.

[Flyboy254]

64: (Bear Lodge) It's time, the Montana lodge has to be retaken. Five cells from five lodges have gathered in Helena, planning on how to best kill the werewolves occupying the lodge. No stops this time, the werewolves are going down. One of the men made a joke how this time it's the monsters in the middle of the woods being hunted, and that's how everyone's looking at it now.The wolves think they control the forests. By the time you've retaken the lodge, you want to see them afraid to even step outside their dens. Pick off the weak first, and watch as big bad gets sloppy in your crosshairs.

65: (Night Watch) The dealers in town don't fuck with your street, with good reason. You've known for years that the leeches love to use them as easy blood and quick bodies for a fight, but after you sent them a message with the fingers of one of their own, only the green or suicidal ones would think to go near your turf. Only this is drawing the wrong kind of attention, and local organized crime is eying your turf up as potential expansion. If you fight them, the leeches take your street. Ignore them, and the mob takes you out.

[That Other Guy]

66. An eccentric new consultant is being widely used by the local police department, a purported 'psychic'. Few people initially take them seriously, as they dress sloppily and seem to have no idea about real police work. However, that starts to come to an end as the consultant provides tip after tip to solve murders with unerring accuracy, and they lack the normal showboating that psychics have a reputation for. One of the PC's contacts (or one of the Cell themselves) are shaken when they see the psychic kneel in front of a corpse in the crime scene and seem to hold a full conversation with it, giving information no one has any right to know. Is this psychic a fraud covering their own murders, or do they have a true gift? If the latter, should they be hunted or join the hunt?

[Shock]

67: They're everywhere. The googly eyes. Every where you look, it seems like someone plastered them on to some sign fixture, artwork, or even cars. While unnoticeable at first, now you can't stop seeing them. They're everywhere. What is causing this and by god how can you stop it?

[Darkhunter]

68) The selfie. No one in your cell could understand why such a thing could catch on. But then when a member goes to a party they begin to post them, mostly due to peer pressure they say but ever since then then begin to be more paranoid than normal. You asked them "What has you so spooked?" Their response: "The selfie."

The weird thing is that until your cell mate took one you never noticed it but then you did: the man behind him. You begin to look at others ones: the same man in each one. So you take a selfie of yourself and there is something weird in yours... he is yours in the janitor's closet at your work... where it defies physics...

[The Kings Raven]

Inspired by Darkhunter

69) The selfie. No one in your cell could understand why such a thing could catch on. Maybe you're just curmudgeonly adults, but when you were staking out the club (pardon the pun) you noticed something. The youth were trading selfies, and no one would hang out with anyone who didn't have a good snap. A cultural defence against Vampires. Perhaps you can use this.

Twist: Facebook is a godsend to the vigil. You think someone's a vampire, check for photos. But then you hear the kids are taking selfies to ward off a serial killer, has another Hunter become a Slasher or is something weirder in town?

[Shock]

Twist: Facebook is a godsend to the vigil. You think someone's a vampire, check for photos. But then you hear the kids are taking selfies to ward off a serial killer, has another Hunter become a Slasher or is something weirder in town?

The internet is a surveillance state. Just more cuddly and filled to the brim with cats.

[The Kings Raven]

Inspired by Shock. (Sorta, I've done something very much like this before for Hunter: Cults)

70) (Network Zero) It turns out the Internet is a tool of surveillance, but it's not the government's tool. It's not the Men in Black's tool. It's not even the monsters' tool.

Since Ancient Egypt cat gods and goddesses have been watching over humanity, and the internet has made it so much easier to watch. On the one hand you'd trust Baset more then feds, on the other hand it's still 1984 stuff and you don't like the idea of anyone spying on the net. Does Tor even work against divine powers?

So step one is to get all the cat pictures off the hard drive, what's step two? How do you stop a goddess? Ask nicely?

[Flyboy254]

71: Conspiracy theories are practically Vigil 101 for a lot of people. But you're not interested in the Kennedy family, or Princess Di, or even TWA 800. You want something no one else cares about; the Bhopal Incident. You're convinced that Bhopal was a test for someone, a way to try and clear out their enemies on a massive scale. But it went wrong, and thousands died, and will die. It's easy to ignore outside of India, but if you're right it's just one of a number of possible catastrophes. Find out who caused Bhopal, and maybe you can stop them from doing it again.

72: (Conspiracy) Nikola Tesla? Guy was a lunatic. But he was a lunatic who knew things, especially things about power. Even today his inventions still make the world sit up and wonder how they can be used. The US government essentially stole all of Tesla's work, but you think you found the central holding site for his most valuable tools and inventions. Normally going up against the US government would be suicide, but your people on the inside are going to make sure you get your chance when the guards are at skeleton strength.
TFV: Your cell's been assigned to guard the most powerful blueprints and designs of Nikola Tesla, and orders are clear: Nothing leaves. You even have the authority to destroy the entire stockpile before letting it fall into anyone's hands, but only as a last resort. So of course, you're the one cell on duty when someone else decides they want what you have.

73: Crytipds aren't usually hard to deal with. Basically animals, many hunters believe that one they a few will be revealed and the world will accept them. Some are barely understood even after years of sightings. Mothman is one, and it's tearing up a sighting streak in coal country. Miners are anxious to even go out and do their jobs, and the local authorities are paralyzed. Mothman is said to be either a harbinger or bringer of disaster, and the area still has dozens of active coal mines. Can disaster be averted, and the enigma of the Mothman given even some answers?

[The Kings Raven]

Dedicated to my writing partner from Ben's city.

74: Everyone knows Benjamin Franklin had an interest in alchemy. They've just found out he's a true master, good enough to achieve immortality. You see, Ben just got back from a bromantic sub-light tour of the solar system with his buddy Isaac Newton. Turns out he doesn't quite like what people have done with the country since he left and has formed a new political party which has a real chance of victory at the next elections. His policies are a mixture of his real life viewpoints and whatever appeals most to your group's personal tastes; they've had a while to develop and Benjamin is a lot smarter than he was before he started drinking those elixirs of intellect.

So what does this have to do with Hunters?

Malleus Maleficarum: Witch is a Witch is a Witch, but the Church cannot be implicated in the murder of a Founding Father.

Twist: The Pope isn't convinced that Alchemy comes from the devil. Isn't it closely related to science? It takes time to turn a Conspiracy the size of the Shadow Congregation around, but this is going to make things much harder.

Task Force: VALKYRIE: Quite a few of the Task Force are planning to cast their vote Benjamin's way, and a lot of his opponents are still content to let democracy decide the next president. Then word comes from above, it's not really Benjamin Franklin and a supernatural imposter cannot get into The White House. Will the players realise their superiors are wrong, or worse, lying before it's too late? And what can they do after they learn the truth?

Barrett Commission: Benjamin might have founded this country, but he left to go swanning around the solar system while you poured your blood sweat and tears into keeping it standing. You don't like this new hippy crap he picked up among the stars, and you earned your just rewards for all your work and sacrifice.

Task Force: VALKYRIE again: Word's come in. Somebody object's to Benjamin's alchemy or his policies. Either way, presidential candidates are under VALKYRIE's protection.

Barrett Commission again: A good politician knows which way the wind is blowing, and today it's blowing due Benjamin. Now Ben Franklin is a smart guy, it didn't take him long to learn what's what in the modern political world but intelligence is only as good as the information it has to work with. He needs somebody to show him what's going on in the shadows, you need a seat where the action is.

The Office of the Lord Stewards: American politics isn't part of your job. Heck, British politics isn't really part of your job. Civil Servants don't decide policy, they just implement it. Still, it makes you feel proudly British to have Issac back. Yet word has come to the Office. There's some major issues brewing in the shadows of Washington and they want a neutral party to host peace talks. Britain was a natural choice, and when Whitehall heard the word "Alchemy" they gave it to you. Well this isn't your first innings, peace talks are right up the Office's alley; in fact you've made Arrangements to host them.



Fun fact: this is the second time I've had the Stewards dealing with a major political figure returning. Last time it was King Arthur.