Cheap Hunter: The Reckoning (Hunter: The Reckoning (Hardback)) (Book) (Bruce Baugh, Geoff Grabowski, Angel McCoy, Greg Stolze, The White Wolf Staff, Ken Cliffe, Ed Hall, Stewart Wieck) Price

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Customer Reviews of Hunter: The Reckoning (Hunter: The Reckoning (Hardback))

Hunting for a good Hunter game
Well, I met only disappointment in my purchase of this book, despite high expectations. I have come to expect only the best from White Wolf, and this product is definietly below par for them. It seems almost that they lost their touch on this one. It lacks the edge of previous releases such as Vampire and Werewolf. However, the best products to compare it too would be the other individual Hunter titles like The Inquisition, Project Twilight, etc. Granted, they set out to have a common man Hunter title, but it comes off contrived and weak in comparison to the aforementioned titles.I would refer the discerning gamer to the other Hunter titles for a good game of hunting down the monsters of the WoD, and to pass on this one.

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Hunter is a trophy to keep
While White-Wolf did basicly recycle their old games' systems into Hunter, the story is a new one. For years, White-Wolf's World of Darkness has been ruled by the creatures of the night: Reality shatters at a Mage's whim; Ghosts terrorize the living; Vampires see humanity as a group of cattle; Rampaging Werewolves can tear a human apart without a second thought... and not even our dreams are safe from the Changelings. In response to this, reality seems to have begun to randomly choose champions to fight back. The Imbued, also known as hunters, are taking the war back to the doorsteps of the supernatural. As opposed to other WW games, the Hunters are ordinary people with some extraordinary abilities. This is the emphasis of the game. They are students, mothers, doctors, DJs, whatever. But they aren't all fantasticly rich super-strong martial arts instructors. This is a game about finding hope through one's actions, and giving the innocent an easier sleep at night. Also, the writing in the book is well done, and the powers and abilities are fresh as well. Where Aeon floundered, Hunter will stand firm.

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"Heeeere monster. That's a nice monster..."
Though suffering from a bit of the verbosity that seems to plague White Wolf publications (the supplements in particular; you could halve their lengths if you just made sure each point was made only once), Hunter: The Reckoning is, despite the judgements flung towards it, actually one of the most down-to-earth, difficult, and tactically challenging games White Wolf has released. Though many might instantaneously assume that it is meant to be an Army of Darkness style shoot-'em-up (like the namesake video games based on Hunter), the inclusion of firearms is primarily just a natural human response to grab SOMETHING they can fight back with. Honestly, against blood-drinking walking corpses, semi-spirit werewolves, immaterial ghosts, and horrors far worse, you'll need brains to survive. Unless your storyteller is heavy on action and firepower, trying to play this game in the twinky stereotype it's often given will get you killed, fast. In fact, not all the Creeds (philosphical archetypes of Hunter, which determine their powers) are even geared toward fighting at all. Some try to rehabilitate or cure monsters, while others don't even go that far, simply seeking to understand them, let them know they are not begrudged for it, and leave the doors of forgiveness open. Trying to talk an angry vampire out of killing a roomful of mortals can take on challenges all its own.

An issue of confusion seems to be those who mix up the Hunters (capital H; note the full, proper title being the "Imbued Hunters") with unrelated groups. Though some number of them may have joined groups like the Society of Leopold, Hunters are imbued with their powers when confronted with the supernatural. They share no unified system, no overarching organization or membership cards. Though they can meet with others of their kind, their disorganized nature and supernatural powers set them apart from conventional mortal hunters, be they alone or in groups. The issue of incompatibility seems to be largely unfounded. Imbued Hunters are explained in several White Wolf core rulebooks, and creatures from several of these books are even summed up in Hunter. The relatively minimal mention of them does make sense. Ultimately, the Hunters, as they are, are not a powerful force. All together, their powers and armaments mean relatively little. Only with time, careful planning, and survival could they ever hope to take back the night. It is this ultimate weakness which is their primary dilemma. Still ultimately mortals with a few helpful cantrips and tricks to give them a better chance, most are left with the disappointment of only being able to do what few things they can.

Whether you want to play a boomstick-toting zombie blaster, a skittish parapsychologist trying to get a peek into a dark and hidden world, a wandering redeemer seeking to save the inhuman souls of the damned, a stake-toting Van Helsing, or a stiff-collared exorcist attempting to dispel hellish influence from the world, there's a niche in Hunter for you. Just don't pack any guns you can't drop in a hurry. You'll need to shed as much weight as possible when it's time to start running.