Table of Contents

Hunters Unleashed 3

The Shadowed Realm 4

The Hunters 5

Resting 10

What do Rests look like? 11

The Chronicler 12

Rising tension 12

The Killer 19

CREDITS 21

RECOMMENDED MEDIA 21

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 Hunters Unleashed

In Hunters Unleashed the players are chasing after a serial

killer in a dark fantasy version of the real world. It is a story
of how these hunters struggle to retain their humanity when
faced with the horrors brought to bear against them by the
inhuman monster they chase.

There are two roles:

• The Hunters: people driven to the chase by their
convictions
• The Chronicler: you represent the Killer and the world that
suffers their existence. Don’t misunderstand, while the
Killer is opposed to the Hunters, you are not.

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 The Shadowed Realm
Behind the facade of human normalcy there exists the realm
of ultimate truth. The Shadowed Realm, in which pure light
cannot exist and which mirrors our own “real” world.

In this realm everything is reduced to its basest self: TVs

project adverts screaming “BUY ME!”, Newspapers show
headlines saying “Hate this person, like I hate them!”, people
speak only about what they truly desire.

And both the Killer and the Hunters are connected to this
realm and draw power from it, deliberately and
subconsciously.

By influencing these mirror images those connected to the

Realm can affect our reality, cast spells, learn hidden truths
and even kill. Beasts from this preternatural environment -
both sentient and not - often find their way into our world, a
process which brings nought but rage to these creatures who
are used to a realm where the truth cannot be falsified, only
hidden.

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 The Hunters
A Hunter needs a couple things before the hunt can begin:
1. A name
2. A reason for hunting the Killer - this can be as detailed or
simple as desired but each Hunter should have at least a
general idea of why they hunt
3. Traits
Every Hunter has three human and three monstrous traits
which oppose each other.
• Hope vs. Slaughter

• Perseverance vs. Mutation

• Ingenuity vs. Occultism

When creating your hunter divide 180 points between your

human traits. Every time you attempt to do something pick
the trait that fits best and roll 1d100, if you roll under the
respective trait then you succeed. Normally hunters don’t
start with points in their monstrous traits but if you chose to
you may add 10 points into a monstrous trait of your choice.

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Inevitably all hunters begin to resemble their quarry. When
you use a human trait and do not succeed, it decreases and its
opposite trait increases by the same amount. Unfortunately it
is harder to resist the descend into monstrosity then to
achieve the opposite. Monstrous traits can only be reduced
through failure and Rests.

Specific actions may allow you to increase a Human trait, but

these are rare occasions at best.

If a Human trait reaches 0 or a Monstrous trait reaches 100

then the Hunter can no longer continue on. They despair or
even become an unwitting minion of the Killer.

Each trait comes with example actions that fall under the
respective trait, as well as two values. These tell you by how
many points you raise or lower the respective trait when you
succeed or fail.

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Human Success / Failure

Hope
• Convince someone to be helpful 0 / -1d10
• Witness a great horror 0 / -2d6
• Focus despite a gruesome distraction 0 / -1d10
• Redeem someone lost to darkness +1d10 / -2d10
• Save someone from certain doom +2d10 / -1d100

Perseverance
• Barricade a doorway 0 / -1d10
• Brave the elements unprepared 0 / -2d6
• Dodge a swinging axe 0 / -2d10
• Wrestle an enemy into confinement 0 / -2d10
• “Nobody could have survived that!” +1d10 / -1d100

Ingenuity
• Repair damaged equipment 0 / -1d10
• Deduce an enemy’s weakness 0 / -2d6
• Build a device to solve a problem 0 / -2d10
• Decode an encrypted message 0 / -2d10
• Find a scientific explanation for something unnatural +1d6 / -1d10

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Monstrous Success / Failure

Slaughter
• Engage in violence +1d6/ -1d6
• Abuse a monster +1d8 / -1d8
• Slaughter your foes with blade and flame +1d10 / -2d10
• Execute a helpless being +3d6 / -1d10
• Kill one of your allies + 2d10 / +1d100

Mutation
• Infect others with your sickness +1d10 / 1d6
• Gain limbs where there used to be one +2d10 / 1d8
• Give in to alien instincts +1d6 / -2d6
• Use inhuman abilities +1d6 / -1d10
• Abandon the semblance of the bipedal form +2d10 / -2d10

Occultism
• Understand the sorcery you witness +1d10 / 0
• Learn from a mystic tome +1d10 / -1d6
• Cast a spell +1d8 / 0
• Peer into the Shadowed Realm +1d10 / -1d10
• Step into the Shadowed Realm +2d10 / -3d10

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 Res�ng
Hunters may rest whenever they feel it is necessary. A Rest
is more than a nights sleep, the Hunters must reaffirm their
humanity by interacting with other humans and each other.
Examples:
• Having dinner with a friend

• Watching a movie together

By taking a rest the Hunters get a number of points which

they may shift from their monstrous attributes to their
human ones. The Chronicler will inform you how many
points exactly based on the current phase of play, but there
are things you can do to influence the number of points you
get to shift around:
• Invite both a Hunter and a normal person to spend time with you

• Reveal your feelings for someone

• Reveal a secret to another Hunter

• Ask for advice

• Reveal how you feel about something

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Depending on how many of these or similar things you
incorporate into a Rest you either get:
• For 1: +2d6

• For 2: +2d8

• For 3+: +2d10

In additional points.

What do Rests look like?

Imagine Rests as the calmer moments of a TV show. There is
no threat that could deter the Hunters from reaching their
goal or harm them. These are character focused moments
which provide ample opportunity for role-playing and
revealing the Hunters’ history or revealing how the hunt has
affected them. Rests always involve other humans and help
to reaffirm the Hunters’ humanity.

Examples: After a day of looking through police reports the

Hunters visit the local fairgrounds. They chat with each
other and the locals, enjoy the rides and in between talk
about the case and themselves.
After being on the road for so long the Hunters decide to rest
at a lake by the roadside. They walk around, enjoy the sun
and chat with each other.

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 The Chronicler
As the Chronicler it is your job to create the basis of the story
the Hunters are experiencing, the following system may help
in creating the general structure for your chase:

Rising tension
The hunt for the Killer can be separated into multiple phases,
each is punctuated by a dedicated scene which acts as the
gateway into the next, less forgiving phase. These phases are
important because they tell you and your players how close
they are to catching the Killer and by that the end of your
shared story, or at least the end of this chapter of your story
should you plan on a longer campaign.
The closer the Hunters get to the Killer the less time they will
have to rest and think about what they are doing.
The descriptions of the phases and the associated questions
and scenes are metaphorical and are meant to convey a
certain atmosphere. Use the questions as a guideline to help
you determine if the Hunter’s should progress to the next
phase. If you have answered at least one of them the phase
might have already fulfilled its purpose.

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1. The Hunt begins in the dark forest, you are so close …

This is where the basics of the game get established. The

Hunters are following a promising clue that will lead them
towards the Killer. We get to know the Hunters and their
mission.
Example: The Hunters are on the road, driving towards a
location where a police contact spotted the Killer only hours
ago.
Rest: 30 pts.
Questions:
• Who are you?

• Why are you after the Killer?

• Who did the Killer murder that was important to you?

Scene: You stumble upon a village!

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2. The village is warm and inviting. The killer could not resist …

This phase is the real introduction to the Killer, the first time
the players actually get to see their handiwork. The players
enter a sizeable new location, a small town for example,
interact with the locals, follow the clues and signs. It’s a good
idea to spend some time in this phase, really get to know the
machinations of the Killer and interact both with innocent
people and the Killer’s allies.
Example: After spending some time on the road, the Hunter’s
arrive in rundown village. The people are friendly but
distant. After asking for their friend the locals send them
straight to the police. Their friend was murdered and he’s not
the only one. The Hunters must investigate the crimes to find
clues that will lead them towards the Killer, which they are
suspecting is still in town. This leads them to a copycat that
can show them where the Killer is hiding.
Rest: 20 pts.
Questions:
• Who lives in this village?

• Who did the Killer murder?

• Are there any witnesses?

• Did the killer leave anything behind?

Scene: The Killer escapes you by a hair’s breadth!

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3. The Killer slips away, there is blood on the air …

This phase should have the first actual confrontation with

the Killer and a chase. They do something to sabotage the
Hunters and then flee. It should be as close as possible and
really invoke the Hunters’ anger.
Example: A shot rings out and hits the copycat just as he was
about to unveil something about the Killer. The Hunters run
outside and recognise their prey, jumping into a car and
driving off. They jump into their own and chase after them,
weaving through traffic and doing their best to force the
Killer to crash. A second later it happens, both the Killer’s and
the Hunters’ car crash. The Killer hobbles away into the
forest with the Hunters just behind them.
Rest: 15 pts.
Questions:
• Where is the Killer headed?

• If I understand this correctly then - get out it’s a trap! You …

• How is the killer trying to get rid of the Hunters?

Scene: You drive the Killer into a corner, to your surprise he

slips away, you’ve arrived at their Lair.

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4. The Killer can no longer escape, but the horror doesn’t end …

The Killer was almost in the Hunters’ grasp but has slipped
away into his Lair. In their Lair the Hunters are confronted
with the deepest levels of the Killer’s depravity before finally
catching up. If you haven’t already then this is a good point
to transition into the Shadowed Realm to portray the
madness that surrounds the Killer.
Example: Gunfire from the Hunters drives the Killer into an
abandoned mine deep in the forest. Inside the Hunters find
abducted victims, and gruesome preserved trophies.
Following a trail of blood deeper and ever deeper the
Hunter’s get ready for the final confrontation. Their
surroundings change in subtle ways. Victims, thought dead,
retell the tales of their imprisonment. Defeated monsters
shriek in human voices and beg for forgiveness.
Rest: 5 pts. - Rests should be small moments between the
Hunters or even Flashbacks.
Questions:
• What horrible things has the Killer left here?

• Does anything in the Lair have a deeper meaning to one of the

Hunters?

Scene: The Killer is in front of you, now they will learn what
it means to be prey!

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5. You corner the monster …

The final confrontation awaits. The Killer has manoeuvred

himself or has been driven by the Hunters into an
inescapable situation. There’s nothing left to do but to fight
them!
Example: In a Grotto in the deepest level of the mine the
Hunters come face to face with the cowering leftovers of the
Killer. They beg for life, swearing the Hunters got the wrong
person only for one of the Hunters to step too close.

Blazing lights come alive and malformed monsters, reshaped

survivors of the Killer’s experiments attack the Hunters
while the Killer’s laugh echoes through the Grotto. In the
fighting one of the Hunters rips a metal spike out of a
monster’s back and charges the Killer, time and space stretch
endlessly until a final spell opens the path. The Hunter
impales the Killer ending his reign of terror in a symphony
of pain and blood.

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They are finally dead, but at what cost? One of the Hunters
paid with their life to deliver the final blow, another turned
into a monster himself to destroy the Killer’s minions. The
last one picks up the Killer’s tools - they were a monster but
surely, someone like the last remaining Hunter could use all
the Killer accomplished for good, right? Right?
Rest: 5 pts. - Rests should be small moments between the
Hunters or even Flashbacks.
Questions:
• What does the Killer look like?

• Where do you finally face them?

• Was the Killer acting alone, or were they too just a puppet of
someone else?

• Did you truly chase them here, or was it an elaborate trap?

Scene: You take your revenge!

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 The Killer
It is true, as the Storyteller you control the world but there is
a darkness at the heart of the chase.

The Killer is more than a criminal, they are a disease

infecting everything they touch. Every town they pass
through develops shadows where there were none.
Previously innocent people turn to violence and crime and
dark things stir that once slept.

Chasing after the Killer should be a desperate hunt, always a

step behind their machinations with the players being the
only people in the world with even a chance to catch them.
Hell, they might be the only people that can actually see what
the Killer is doing.
In terms of mechanics the Killer has a stat of 80 if they act in
service to their own cause otherwise they have a mere 30.

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20
 CREDITS
Author: Torsten “Owlsten” Kaltenecker

Attribution:
Based on Nightmare Unleashed by Lyme: https://lymetime.
itch.io/the-nightmare-unleashed and Plasmophage (Art):
https://plasmophage.itch.io/

RECOMMENDED MEDIA
Shia LaBeouf - Rob Cantor
Babylon 5 - Passing Through Gethsemane
Prisoners - Denis Villeneuve
Fallen - Gregory Hoblit
Supernatural

Leave a comment and/or review at:

Store page: https://owlsten.itch.io/hunters-unleashed

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 A bloodthirsty killer!

A band of Hunters hot on their trail!

Experience a chase like never before in

Hunters Unleashed!

This game offers a system to portray the slow

descend into darkness any Hunter can
experience as well as a detailed setup to help
new Storytellers lead their players through a
bone-chilling chase.