Section Title

Chris Bissette
Twitter.com/Pangalactic
LootTheRoom.io

ii iii
 Game Design, Writing, & Layout
Chris Bissette
Contents
Special Thanks The Basics 2 Playbooks In Detail 20
Ash Catling, Cat Evans, Oliver Darkshire, Diwata ng Manila, Alicia Furness, Matthew Overview 2 The Jock 20
Gravelyn, Spencer Campbell, John Geary, Adira Slattery, Matt Sanders, Zach Cox, Adam The Setting 2 The Outsider 22
Vass and everyone at the Brain Trust, and of course all of my patrons on Patreon. Playing The Game 3 The Sceptic 24
What You Need 3 The Resilient 26
This game wouldn’t exist without Blades in the Dark by John Harper, Monster of the Safety Tools 4 Actions In Detail 28
Week by Michael Sands, Escape From Dino Island by Sam Tung and Sam Roberts, Getting Started 6 Guidance for the Guide 29
Brindlewood Bay by Jason Cordova, Dream Askew / Dream Apart by Avery Alder and Character Creation 7 How It Plays 29
Benjamin Rosenbaum, Wanderhome by Jay Dragon, Dread by Epidiah Ravachol, and Act 1 Questionnaire 8 On Character Death 29
Quietus by Oli Jeffrey. End of Act 2: Plot Twist 11 Being The Guide 30
The Structure of the Game 13 Guide Agenda 30
All art licenced from Adobe Stock Doing Stuff 14 Guide Principles 30
Action Rolls 14 How To Use The Guide Agenda 30
This work is based on Blades in the Dark (found at http://www.bladesinthedark.com/),
Spinning A Story 15 Hunter Moves and The Myth Pool 31
product of One Seven Design, developed and authored by John Harper, and licensed
Fortune Rolls 16 Hunter Moves in Detail 32
for our use under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (http://
Complications 16 Fighting The Hunter 33
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).
Harm 17
Blades in the Dark™ is a trademark of One Seven Design. The Forged in the Dark Logo is Fear, Trauma, & Resistance 18
© One Seven Design, and is used with permission. Trauma Conditions 18
Trauma Questions 19
The X-Card was created by John Stavropoulous, and is published under the Creative
Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0/).

iv 1

The Basics
“Okay, here’s your motivation. You’re lost, you’re angry in the woods, and no one is here to help you.”
- Joshua ‘Josh’ Leonard, The Blair Witch Project
Overview
The Hunted is a game about a group of friends on a
weekend break who become lost on a barren moor (or in
another location of your devising). As the fog thickens and
they become increasingly isolated, they become aware that
they’re being hunted by something that they can’t identify.
As the characters navigate the area and attempt to escape
they tell stories about the supernatural force that pursues
them, building up their own legends of the hunter until
they face it in an explosive final act.
We play to find out if this found family can survive
against the worst of odds - and to find out what stories the
players will tell about the things that scare them.
The Hunted is designed for 3-5 players to tell a single
story over the course of 1-2 sessions (ideally 1) lasting 3-4
hours each.
Most of you will take on the role of the Hunted, the
protagonists of the horror story you’re going to create
together. You’ll grow to know and love these characters,
and will want them to succeed, but be warned - you may
not all make it out alive. One of you will be the Guide,
who controls the force threatening the characters, any
secondary characters they meet (Non-player characters
or NPCs), and the setting itself in all its damp, fog-
shrouded, mysterious splendour.
2 3
The Setting
The default setting is a wide, expansive moorland like
those found in England’s Peak District. Moors are areas of
open and usually high land with poor soil, covered mainly
with grass and heather. They often give way to crumbling
cliffs, or dense woodlands in areas of lower elevation.
Think of the landscape seen in Wuthering Heights, The Hound
of the Baskervilles, or An American Werewolf In London. It’s
open, largely barren, and incredibly isolated.
You may decide that you don’t want to use moorland
- maybe you’re not familiar with it, maybe you have
a preferred spooky location, or maybe you just want
a different kind of story. Good alternatives are dense,
sprawling forest; broken, rocky gullies and ravines; or high,
cold mountains. Whatever you use, it should be isolated
and provide fertile ground for creeping, unknowable
horrors on the edges of the known world.
Touchstones
When you’re pitching the game to your players, here are
some touchstones you can use to relate the game to stuff
that they might already be familiar with.
Cinema: The Blair Witch Project by Daniel Myrick and
Eduardo Sánchez, The Ritual by David Bruckner, Trollhunter
by André Øvredal, and A Field In England by Ben Wheatley.
Literature: The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen
King, The Lamb Will Slaughter The Lion by Margaret Killjoy,
and Harvest Home by Thomas Tryon.
Playing The Game What You Need
The Hunted is designed to be played in one session,
The Basics
To play The Hunted you’ll need:
mirroring the structure of a film. You’ll have a conversation
◊ 3-5 people, including you.
with each other, telling a story that goes through three
Acts and wraps itself up with a satisfying conclusion. ◊ A few pens and pencils.
Sometimes you’ll roll dice to figure out what happens next. ◊ At least 4 six-sided dice (d6s). Ideally enough for
In Act 1 you’ll introduce the setting and the characters, everyone except the Guide to have 4 each.
You’ll explore their lives and relationships, and get them ◊ The The Hunted playsheets (download them at
thoroughly lost in the world you’ve created. At the end of loottheroom.itch.io/hunted).
the first Act you’ll introduce the Hunter, and they’ll realise
You’ll also probably want:
that they’ve got themselves into trouble.
◊ Some dark and moody music to set the mood
In Act 2 the characters will do their best to survive.
(maybe the official soundtrack for this game,
They’ll look for a way back to civilisation, learn more about
available at loottheroom.itch.io/hunted-ost).
the Hunter as they share the stories they know about it,
and they’ll get themselves more lost even as they try ◊ Snacks. Popcorn is recommended.
their best to get out. During this Act you’ll all introduce a
plot twist that will further define the Hunter - a hidden
cult, a desecrated shrine, an abandoned witch house, or
something else of your own devising. At the end of Act 2,
all the characters advance as we get ready for the final act.
In Act 3 you’ll steam towards the finale. The Hunter has
revealed itself fully, the characters will be in all sorts of
trouble, some will be injured, lost, or dying, and the twist
introduced in Act 2 will be turning into a source of real
trouble. All that remains is to get to the explosive final
scene, and figure out who - if anybody - makes it out alive.
The best way to have fun in The Hunted is to treat your
character like a stolen car. This is a one shot, and all the
characters might not make it out alive. Play hard and
fast, throw your characters into seemingly impossible
situations, and make bold decisions that keep increasing
the stakes. Drive it like you stole it.

Safety Tools
The Hunted is a game of horror, violence, and being afraid. It has the potential to delve into some dark places, to
conjure painful images, and to touch on traumatic events that may affect some players in unexpected ways.
Being scared is fun. Being traumatised is not. We use safety tools to ensure that people can experience fear in a way that
is healthy and safe, doing harm to the characters without harming the people roleplaying as them.
Who is responsible for safety?
The simple answer is everybody. The Guide should brief
everyone on safety tools and how we use them before the
game, but that doesn’t mean that they’re in charge of
them. Safety tools are for everybody to use as and when
they need them.
Won’t safety tools make it less scary?
No. Knowing where the boundaries are allows you to
play harder within them without being afraid of crossing
them. Knowing that your car has brakes that work, and
work well, means you can put your foot down and drive
fast without fear of dying. (This is a metaphor. Speed kills.
Don’t be that person.)
Drawing lines and veils before we start playing means
we know where those boundaries are, and means that
you can feel safe playing the game without worrying
that something that’s traumatic for you will come up
unexpectedly.
Using a tool like the X-card means that you can
confidently and safely delve deeper into horror, knowing
that if at any point you go too far for someone they can
tap the card and stop it immediately before you do any
damage.
If anybody at your table balks at using safety tools, mocks
you for wanting to use them, or otherwise minimises
the importance of them, don’t play this game with that
person. They don’t respect you or your boundaries and you
4 Never question or challenge a player’s lines or veils.
shouldn’t give them the opportunity to harm you during
play. If they have a problem with this paragraph, my
contact details are at the front of this book and they can
take it up with me directly.
The Hunted uses the following safety tools: lines and
veils, the X-card, checking in, and an open door policy.
These tools are not optional. They are a core part of the
game.
Lines and Veils
Lines and veils establishes content boundaries at the start
of the session and during the game. It was created by Ron
Edwards.
A line is a subject that a player does not want to come up
in the game under any circumstances.
A veil is a subject that a player is willing to see in the
game as long as it is not described in graphic detail. You
metaphorically throw a veil over it.
At the start of the game the Guide should describe what
lines and veils are and then declare their own first, so that
players feel more comfortable about disclosing their own.
If anyone isn’t comfortable sharing their lines and veils in
front of everybody for any reason, you can instead have
all the players write them down secretly. As the Guide you
should then transcribe this list yourself so that nobody
can tell who wrote what and share it with the group. This
is a good option to use when playing with strangers, for
example online or at a convention.
The X-Card
The X-Card was created by John Stavropoulos, and is a
simple and effective tool that allows anybody - including
the Guide - to edit out content during play. The Hunted
is entirely improvised, and there’s no way to know what
content might arise until it does. This means it’s possible
for the game to go in a direction that’s uncomfortable or
unwanted for some players. The X-Card allows players to
quickly fix problems on the fly, editing out content that
makes anyone feel uncomfortable in a bad way.
Draw an X on a piece of paper and put it in the centre
of the play area. If anyone wants to use it at any time, all
they have to do is touch it. When that happens, rewind
the fiction to a point before the offending content was
introduced and continue as though it didn’t happen. If
you’re playing online you can ask people to type an X in
your chat, or make an X across their body with their arms.
If this is your solution, make sure you’re keeping a close
eye on the chat so that you don’t miss somebody X-ing
content.
As with lines and veils, the decision to use the X-Card
should never be questioned or challenged (though you
should never stop a player from explaining why they used
it if they choose to do so).
If you as the Guide aren’t sure what content is being
X-Carded, take a quick break and check in with the person
who used the X-Card. If they don’t want to discuss it, don’t
force the issue. Instead, start the whole scene from the
beginning.
Checking In
Consent can be withdrawn at any time. All your players
agreed to play The Hunted and they set their lines and veils,
but things change and just because somebody thought
they would be fine with something at the beginning of the
game doesn’t mean that they’re fine with it when it comes
up in play.
The X-Card is designed to deal with changing comfort
levels, but not everybody feels confident using it -
Safety Tools
especially when they’re faced with something that’s
upsetting them. It can be hard to speak up in the moment.
If you as the Guide notice a player looking uncomfortable
during play, check in with them. Take a short break and ask
them if they’re happy to continue, if there’s anything they
need to X-Card, or if they need to add to their lines or veils.
It’s best not to do this at the table in front of everybody,
because putting all the focus on them creates the same
problems as relying solely on the X-Card. If you’re playing
online, take a break and send the player a private message
to check in.
It’s possible that after a check in a player may not want
to continue playing the game. That’s fine. The players are
always more important than the game.
Open Door Policy
The simplest safety tool to use is the Open Door Policy,
which is exactly what it sounds like - give players explicit
permission to leave the table at any time, for any reason.
Nobody is obligated to see the game through until the end,
including the Guide. Just like you’d turn off a horror film
if it got too violent or scary for you, you can always decide
that you’ve had enough and stop playing.
The Open Door Policy also means that people can come
back at any time. A player may need to step away from the
table after a particularly intense scene and take a moment
to themselves. This is often a good time to take a break for
the whole group, but some players may instead ask that
you keep playing without them for a few minutes. They
can then drop back into the game once they’re comfortable
again.
5
 1. Assign Three Action Dots 3. Answer Two Of Your Character
Getting Started Your playbook begins with three action dots already Questions

Getting Started - Character Creation

Character Creation placed. You get to add three more dots (so you’ll have Each playbook has a set of questions that tie the
Characters in The Hunted are initially very vague, a loose First, choose a playbook. Playbooks represent the broad
six total). At the start of the game, no action rating may characters to the world and each other. Pick the two you
collection of mechanics that tell us what these characters archetypal role that your character will fill, and provide
have more than two dots (unless a special ability tells you like best and answer them. This part of character creation
are good at and the basics of what role they fill in the story. the specific rules you need to play that character type.
otherwise). Brief descriptions of all the actions can be works best as a conversation where everybody works
We’ll find out who they are, and why they’re good at the An overview is given of each playbook here, and on the
found on page 28. Assign your three dots wherever you together to build the narrative of who these characters are
things they can do, as we play the game and explore their following pages you’ll find more detailed breakdowns for
like, thinking about why your character is good at those and how they are linked to one another.
stories. each one - including starting builds you can choose to
things in particular - and what being good at those things
speed up character creation. looks like for them.
4. Give Yourself a Name & Look
Choose a name from your character from the sample list,
Playbook: The Jock You can also choose to use one of the starting builds on or create your own. Record a few evocative words that
your playbook, which have the Action dots and special describe your character’s look.
Sporty, athletic, conventionally attractive. It seems like you’ve got it made - even if most people treat you like
ability already placed for you.
there’s nothing more to you than that pretty face. 5. Review Your Character
Playbook: The Outsider Wits The Sceptic playbook Take a look at the details on your character sheet,
Scout begins with one action especially the advancement options. These will come
You’ve lived life on the fringes, never quite fitting in anywhere. People don’t necessarily dislike you, but they don’t Study dot in Scout and one in into play at the end of Act 2 and you don’t need to worry
really take a shine to you either. What people don’t realise is that you’ve spent all this time watching them, and Track Study.
about them now, but they might help guide some of your
you know them better than they know themselves.
decisions as you play through the story.
Playbook: The Sceptic Nerve Wits That’s everything! Your character is ready for play.
You pride yourself on being the sensible one. You don’t take risks, you don’t get out of control, and you definitely Flee Scout When everyone is done, you should all move to the Act 1
don’t believe in monsters. But you’d best start believing in ghost stories fast, because now you’re in one.
Still Study Questionnaire on the next page.
Hold Track
Playbook: The Resilient
Mol chooses the Rationalist
Why do bad things happen to good people? You wish you knew the answer, but you don’t. All you do know is that starting build, which adds three
bad things will happen - and you need to be ready to face them when they do. action dots - one in Hold, one in
Scout, and one in Track.

When you choose a playbook you’re choosing a set of Choosing a playbook shows us what a character can do.
attributes and abilities specific to that character type. Playing the game reveals to us who they are.
2. Choose A Special Ability
Take a look at the special abilities for your playbook and
Don’t feel confined by these - just because you play a jock
Once you’ve chosen a playbook, fill in your sheet by choose one. If you can’t decide which one to go with, you
doesn’t mean you have to play an unintelligent person, for
following the steps on the next page. have two options: either go with the first one on the list,
example. Allow the playbooks to guide the way you picture
which is intended to be a good default choice, or wait to
your character, but make them your own. You’re selecting
choose one until you’re playing and have a better idea of
the set of initial action ratings and abilities your character
who your character is. It’s perfectly fine to pick your special
has access to - you’re not defining their personality or true
6 nature in strict, unbreakable terms.
ability at the moment where you decide you need to use it. 7

Act 1 Questionnaire
Use this questionnaire to establish the starting point for the game - all the things that happened before the cameras
started rolling. Work through the answers together, discussing them and fleshing them out wherever appropriate. This
process should take around 30 minutes and leave you ready to jump straight into the action at the beginning of Act 2.
1 Who are you?
◊ Choose a playbook and create your character if you
haven’t already done so.
◊ Choose two of your character questions, asking one
to the player on your left and one to the player on
your right. (If you decide you want to ask more of
these questions, do that!)
◊ Give yourself a name, pronouns, a personality, and
a look.
As you continue to define the starting situation, imagine
who your character might be and how they relate to the
other characters. There’s no need to get too deep into it yet.
The details of your character’s backstory, personality, and
relationships with the others will develop as you play.
2 The Setting
For all these questions the players should choose one together,
roll, or invent something new between you.
What is this place?
1. A vast barren moorland at high elevation.
2. A sprawling, dense forest in the depths of a deep
valley.
3. Dank, sucking boglands on the very edges of the
country.
4. A high, exposed peak in the midst of a vast
mountain range.
5. A network of unmapped subterranean tunnels and
caves that rarely break the surface.
6. A small, secluded community cut off from the rest
of the world
8 ◊ What specific thing that happened on the way here
3 Growing Problems
What is the mystery that you need to solve?
Setup - Act 1 Questionnaire
The answers to these two questions provide your Players: Choose one together, roll, or make up your own
obstacles. The Guide has more information about how scenario.
these affect the game.
1. What is the meaning of the strange idols and pieces
Something has just gone wrong. What is it? of folk art you found? (As a group, describe what
You came to the moors together. Why?
Players: Choose one together, roll, or make up your own you found)
1. We’re on a weekend trip, hiking and camping and
scenario. 2. All of your phones/radios/walkie-talkies keep
getting away from it all.
1. Another friend who came with you on the trip has picking up a strange signal. Where is it coming
2. We’re here to research local legends.
just gone missing. Who are they and where did you from? (As a group, describe the signal)
3. We lost a friend a year ago, and we’re here to scatter
last see them? 3. Who are dark figures moving on the edges of your
their ashes.
2. You’ve just lost contact with the outside world. vision that seem to be following you and what do
4. We’re on a religious pilgrimage of some kind. they want? (As a group, describe the first time you
Why?
5. We’ve been hunting a long-forgotten place for saw them and the most recent time you saw them)
3. You can’t leave without finishing the job you came
years, and our research has brought us here. 4. Your compass has just started malfunctioning and
here to do. What still remains to be done?
6. We’re explorers, looking to chart a specific place you don’t know which way is North. What’s causing
4. You decided to take a shortcut that turned out to
nobody else has ever been to. this? (As a group, describe the moment you realised
not be such a shortcut. Why can’t you just turn
2 Your Arrival the compass was broken)
back?
Once you got here, tensions started to rise quickly. 5. You’ve just seen a small village that isn’t on any of
5. The weather has turned bad unexpectedly and
the maps. Who lives there, and why is it a secret?
Guide: For each question, choose one player to answer. you’re going to have to seek shelter. What kind of
(As a group, describe one unusual thing you’ve
◊ Describe the situation - where are you all right bad weather are you facing? (Rain, fog, heavy wind,
noticed about the place and give one reason why
now? snow, etc.)
◊ Who has been irritating you the most since you got you can’t just head straight there)
here, and what are they doing? 6. You’re just found a dead body. What awful thing
6. What are the strange noises you keep hearing,
has been done to it?
◊ What thing is making you feel anxious right now, and why can’t you see what’s making them? (As a
and who knows about it?
group, describe the last time you heard the sounds)
◊ Why do you keep falling behind?
Your problems are bigger than just a bit of Now you’re ready to go! The Guide should spend a myth
arguing. point to make a Hunter move to get things rolling.
Guide: For each question, choose one player to answer.
◊ What was your first hint that something wasn’t
right?
◊ Who are you looking to for guidance, and why?
◊ Who do you think knew that something was going
to go wrong, and why?
had already set you on edge?
9
 End of Act 2: Plot Twist

Act 2 Questionnaire
When the characters are in real trouble and the Hunter is starting to take shape, it’s time to up the stakes. The plot
twist happens when the characters have overcome one of the two obstacles.

First, all the characters advance.

Choose one plot twist from the options below, based on two criteria - what seems cool, and what makes sense. (You
can also roll to choose randomly, or make something up amongst you).

Then, each choose one of the questions below the plot twist to answer (including the Guide). If you make up your own
plot twist, you should each add one detail.

A Hidden Cult An Abandoned Witch House

1. What strange item of clothing do the cultists wear? 1. Who used to live here?
2. What ritual did we witness? 2. What strange graffiti covers the outside of the
3. What offering do the cultists make to the Hunter? house?

4. How has the cult kept its existence secret? 3. What links the house to the Hunter?

5. What does the Hunter provide the cult with? 4. What noise can you hear coming from inside the
house?
6. What does the home of the cultists look like?
5. What do you expect to find inside the house?
6. Why can’t you resist the urge to go inside?
A Desecrated Shrine
1. What piece of the natural landscape has been
corrupted to make the shrine?
2. What obscene thing has been done to the ground
around the shrine?
3. What is that smell?
4. What offerings have been left by the shrine?
5. What evidence is there that the Hunter comes here
frequently?
6. What is here that shouldn’t be possible?

10 11
 The Structure of the Game
From the perspective of the players, the game is relatively
free-form. In actual fact The Hunted uses a very rigid
structure that will enable you to facilitate a gripping,
cinematic story.
Much like a film, the game is divided into three Acts.
Act 1 is where we learn about the characters and the
setting, and introduce the initial complication. This takes
place during character creation, by answering the starting
questionnaire and filling out the playbooks.
The Growing Problems section of the starting
questionnaire gives you the tools you need to progress
the story. The answers to this section provide you with
two obstacles for the characters to overcome. The answers
the players give to these questions tell you what kind of
story they want to tell, and where the narrative should be
heading.
Begin Act 2 by spending a myth point to use one of your
Hunter moves. Describe what happens, then ask “What do
you do?” and play to find out what happens. The Hunter
will slowly grow in presence in the narrative as the players
describe it and you gather more myth points. Make moves
liberally, but try to pace it so that the Hunter doesn’t
fully reveal itself until later in the game. Things are much
scarier when you don’t know exactly what they are.
Act 2 should last around an hour or so, or longer if you’re
all into it and want to keep letting the story play out.
12
Guidance for the Guide - Game Structure
Once the characters have solved one of their obstacles,
it’s time for Act 3. First all the characters advance by
doing one of the following things:
◊ Add +1 to two Action Ratings or +2 to one Action
Rating by colouring in the empty pips. (Action
Ratings can’t go higher than 3)
◊ Choose another Special Ability from their playbook
Then consult the plot twist section as a group to decide
on the new information that reveals itself to the characters.
Act 3 begins once advancement is done. Make another
Hunter move, and again ask “What do you do?”
The characters may still be trying to overcome their
second obstacle, but don’t be concerned if it falls by the
wayside during the final Act. At this point the Hunter
should be fully present in the narrative and actively
working against the characters. Play hard, spend your
myth points liberally, put the characters in impossible
situations, and drive the narrative towards an explosive
finale.
Act 3 should last about half as long as Act 2 - somewhere
between 30-45 minutes.
Once the game reaches its conclusion - maybe the Hunter
and its minions are dead, or a handful of characters
escaped but the Hunter lives on, or however else your story
draws to a close - take a second to decompress with a free-
form epilogue.
Let characters who survived spend a few minutes talking
about where they go from here and what they do. When
you think the story is done, fade to black and roll credits.
13

Doing Stuff
The Hunted uses a stripped-down Forged In The Dark
system. If you’re familiar with Blades In The Dark this
will seem familiar. If you’re not, don’t worry. It’s very
straightforward, and ultimately it doesn’t really matter
if you get things wrong as long as everybody enjoys their
time in the game.
Action Rolls
When your character wants to do something and the
result is in doubt, you make an action roll to see how it
turns out. If the character is doing something we’d expect
them to be able to do, or if failure wouldn’t be interesting,
don’t reach for the dice.
Making an action roll is a simple process:
◊ The player narrates what they want their character
to do and states their goal.
◊ The player chooses an action to use.
◊ The player builds their dice pool.
◊ Add bonus dice.
◊ The player rolls the dice and we adjudicate the
result.
1 - The Player States Their Goal
The player stating their goal is usually a natural part of
the conversation taking place at the table, as a result of the
Guide placing an obstacle in the group’s path. Maybe your
goal is “I want to look through the window without being
seen”, or maybe it is “I want to shove the cultist out of the
way as Heather makes a break for the door”. Sometimes a
stated goal can be broken down into multiple actions - it’s
up to your group to decide if you want to roll for lots of
things or if you’d prefer to save rolling for the really crucial
decisions. Both are completely valid ways to play.
Whatever you decide, an action roll should always have a
14 concrete goal and a consequence for failure.
2 - The Player Chooses An Action
The player chooses which of their actions to use. This
should match what the character is doing in the fiction.
If you want to roll your Flee action, then start running.
If you want to roll your Still action, then try to be quiet
and unseen. You can’t roll for an action that your character
isn’t currently performing.
Some of the actions overlap, and that’s by design. It’s up
to you to tell the group how you’re performing your action.
3 - Build Your Dice Pool
You’ll always roll at least one six-sided die (1d). For each
circle filled in next to your chosen action, you get an
additional +1d. Grab those dice now.
4- Add Bonus Dice
You can normally get two bonus dice to add to your roll
(you might have a special ability that gives you another
extra die in specific circumstances).
For one bonus die, one of your companions can assist
you. They say how they help, gain 1 fear, and you take +1d.
For another bonus die, you can either push yourself (say
how you exert yourself, gain 2 fear, and take +1d), or you
can spin a story (answer one of your myth questions and
take +1d). You can only choose one of these - you can’t do
both.
5- Roll The Dice And Judge The Result
Once you’ve built your dice pool, including any bonus
dice from assistance, pushing yourself, or telling stories,
it’s time to roll them and determine the outcome.
The action roll doesn’t just tell you whether a character
succeeds or fails - it tells you how well the character
performs as well as how serious the consequences of their
actions are. Once the dice are rolled, take the highest result
of all the dice.
Spinning A Story
Spinning A Story is the throbbing heart of The Hunted.
Every time you spin a story and answer one of your
playbook’s myth questions, you start to define the Hunter
that is pursuing your characters.
Spinning a Story grants you +1d on your roll, and the
Guide adds 1 to the Myth Pool (see page 31).
When you spin a story, choose one of the Myth
Questions from your playbook and respond to it in
whatever way you see fit. This is your opportunity to build
the details of the Hunter that is pursuing the characters,
and to drive the narrative in the direction that you want to
see. Feel free to be as detailed as you like with these stories.
◊ On a 6, the character does what they want to do
without any complications or consequences.
Doing Stuff - Dice & Stories
◊ On a 5, you hesitate. Come up with a different
approach, or do it anyway with a minor
consequence: a minor complication occurs, or
you suffer harm.
◊ On a 4, you do it, but there’s a consequence: you
suffer harm, and a major complication occurs.
◊ On a 1-3, things fall apart. You suffer harm, a
complication occurs, and the Hunter makes a
move.
It also doesn’t matter if your story contradicts one another
player - or even you - have previously told. The nature of
urban legends of folk stories is such that the details shift
and change from telling to telling. The unknown is where
fear lives. Lean into it.
When you have told a story, mark it on your sheet. You
can’t tell that story again unless you have run out of stories
to tell. If you tell a story more than once, the Guide takes +1
to the Myth Pool for each mark against that story.
Don’t be shy about using the stories to gain bonus dice
and increase your odds of succeeding at your rolls. The
stories are what drive the narrative of the game, and they
are there for you to make use of liberally.
15
 Fortune Rolls
The fortune roll is a tool the Guide can use to aid with
decision making. When you need to make a decision
or choose an outcome that isn’t directly affected by the
actions of the characters you can turn to the fortune roll.
While searching through the abandoned shack, Laurie grabs
a handful of old documents and a notebook. Will it contain
information about the cult that worships the Hunter? Will
it provide details about somebody who was here before the
characters? Or is it just a mouldering pike of useless paper?
Who knows? The Guide can’t decide, so she makes a fortune
roll to see how it turns out.
When you make a Fortune roll, choose the Attribute
(Nerve, Will, or Luck) that best represents the decision
being made. As with Action rolls, the base roll is 1d. Add
an additional +1d to the pool for each filled Action pip on
the left of the line under the Ability.
This character has a
Wits Scout Action rating of
1 and a Study action
Scout rating of 2.
Study
Their Wits attribute
Track rating is 2 (the first
column of dots).
On a 6, it’s a good result. The outcome is beneficial to the
characters in some way.
On a 4-5, the result is mixed. The outcome is mostly
beneficial, but introduces a complication.
On a 1-3, the result is bad. A major complication is
introduced, or something happens that hinders the
progress of the characters.
16
Complications
Complications represent trouble, a new threat, or growing
danger. The difference between a minor complication and
a major complication is one of degree of effect.
For example, Paige’s character is trying to cross a
narrow tree trunk that has fallen over a rushing stream.
She describes how she takes a deep breath, placing one
foot carefully in front of another and testing her footing
before taking each step, keeping her arms spread wide for
balance.
The Guide asks her to make an Action roll using Hold,
which Paige has one rank in. Since this is early in the
session and not hugely important, she decides to forgo
pushing herself or telling a story for an extra +1d. Paige
gathers 2d6 (1d as a base, +1d for her Hold score) and rolls.
The result of her roll is a 4 and a 5. She takes the 5, and
the Guide gives her the options for the roll - she can either
hesitate and come up with another approach, or do it
anyway and accept the consequences. Paige decides to do
it anyway.
The Guide describes how her foot slips as she’s halfway
across the log, and gives her a choice - either take a minor
complication as she falls into the river, pulling herself up
onto the far side having taken a dip, with all her clothing
and belongings wet, or suffer harm as she scrambles
to catch herself on the log and scrapes the skin of her
forearms, drawing blood.
If Paige’s highest die had been a 4, there would have been
no choice for Paige here. The Guide would narrate how
Paige’s character slipped and fell, dunking herself in the
water and soaking the map the group were relying on (a
major complication) and suffering harm as she strikes
her head on a rock beneath the water.
The difference between major and minor complications
is one of impact and effect. There are no hard and fast rules
Doing Stuff - Complications
for what constitutes a complication, as it will always be
dependant on the specific circumstances of a roll. The
Guide is the ultimate arbiter of what happens as the result
of a roll, but players should always feel empowered to
suggest what happens when a complication is called for.
Remember that you can always choose to resist
consequences that you do not like (see below).
Harm
When you suffer harm you suffer a long-lasting,
permanent consequence that has a mechanical effect on
your character. Your playsheet contains a harm track box
used to record the levels of harm you suffer.
When you suffer harm, record it in the highest empty
box on your harm track. Harm always starts at level 1
and increases as your track fills up - if you need to take
harm but the row is full, move down to the next row. Your
character suffers the penalty indicated at the end of the
row if any or all harm recorded in that row applies to the
situation at hand. For example, if you have “Sprained
Ankle” in the top row, you’ll suffer +1 fear any time you
would take fear when running from something (like if you
push yourself to flee from a murderous cultist).
If you need to mark a harm level but the whole track is
full, your character suffers a catastrophic, permanent
consequence (loss of limb, sudden death, or whatever else
fits the fiction at the table).
Harm can be anything that fits with the current fiction
and describes what has happened to the character. The
words you write in the box serve as a reminder of what
injuries or conditions your character has suffered so
that you’ll remember to apply the penalty when they act.
It could be as broad as “Exhausted” or “Terrified”, or as
specific as “Deep gash in the back of left thigh”. 17

Fear, Trauma, & Resistance
Fear
Player characters in The Hunted are under immense
pressure - isolated, lost, and in immediate mortal peril.
Most of the time they press on and persevere, dealing with
the consequences of their actions as they emerge - but
sometimes things get too much. Their reserves of grit and
determination are represented by the fear track. When
characters suffer a consequence that they don’t want to
accept, they can take fear instead.
When your character suffers a consequence that you don’t
like, you can choose to resist it. Just tell the Guide, “That
doesn’t happen. I’m resisting it.” Resistance is automatic
and always works. You and the Guide should decide
together whether the consequence is reduced in severity
or avoided altogether, trying to keep in mind what’s
happening in the fiction as you do so.
Then you make a resistance roll to see how much fear
your character suffers as a result of their resistance.
You make the roll using one of your character’s attributes
(Nerve, Wits, or Luck). The Guide chooses the attribute,
based on the nature of the consequences:
◊ Nerve: Consequences from physical strain or
injury.
◊ Wits: Consequences from mental strain or
willpower.
◊ Luck: Consequences from overextending yourself
or misfortune.
Your character suffers 6 fear when they resist, minus
the highest die roll from the resistance roll. So, if you
rolled a 2, you’d suffer 4 fear. If you rolled a 6, you wouldn’t
suffer any fear. If you rolled a critical (two sixes), you’d
also clear 1 fear.
18
You may only roll against a given consequence once.
Trauma Questions
Paranoid: There’s a deeper, hidden meaning to
everything that’s happening, and your companions are in
Fear, Trauma, & Resistance
When a character fills their fear track and suffers trauma,
Trauma on it. they drop out of the current scene. At the beginning of the
When a character marks their last fear box, they suffer
Reckless: You have little regard for your own safety or next scene they return, forever changed. Ask them one of
a level of trauma. When you take trauma, circle one of
best interests and take unnecessary risks. the following questions, choosing whichever one you feel
your trauma conditions like Angry, Cowering, Shaky, etc.
is most appropriate:
They’re all described on page XX. Shaky: You’re in shock and struggling to deal with it.
You’re cautious and hesitant when you act, convinced that 1. What awful thing did you have to do to get away
When you suffer trauma, you’re out of the current scene.
you’re going to fail at everything you attempt. safely?
You might be left for dead, fail to get away with the others,
2. What did you learn about the place where the
or any other reason why your character might drop off Soft: You lose your edge. You become passive, gentle,
Hunter sleeps?
screen for a moment. This doesn’t last long - you come numb, and lose the drive to survive.
back in the next scene. When you do, clear all your stress. 3. What did the Hunter whisper to you in the dark?
Unstable: Your mood becomes quickly changeable,
The next scene begins with the Guide choosing a Trauma 4. What other danger is out there that the rest of your
swinging from rage to laughter to despair and everything
Question from their sheet for you to answer. companions don’t know about yet?
in between with little warning or cause.
5. Which one of your companions do you blame for
Trauma Conditions Vicious: You lash out at people verbally and seek
what just happened to you?
Trauma conditions are permanent. They have no opportunities to hurt them for no good reason, taking grim
6. What aren’t you afraid of anymore?
mechanical effect in the game. Instead, use your character’s pleasure in their pain.
new personality quirk to exert pressure on the dynamics of
the group as the events of the story begins to weigh on the
characters. Stories are more interesting when the conflict
comes from within as well as from external forces.
Angry: You’re short tempered and irritable, quick to
anger and slow to cool.
Cold: You’re not moved by emotional appeals and are
short on empathy.
Cowering: You’re cautious and afraid, unwilling to take
action or go with the group.
Haunted: You’re stuck in your thoughts, reliving past
horrors and replaying historic trauma over and over again.
Morbid: You’re convinced you’re going to die and only see
darkness and despair in everything, to the extent where it’s
almost funny.
Obsessed: You’re enthralled by one thing - an action, a
person, something you’ve seen, a conspiracy, a theory. 19
 Character Questions Trauma Conditions
Playbooks In Detail

Playbooks - The Jock

Ask 1 to the left and 1 to the right: Angry: You’re short tempered and irritable, quick to

The Jock 1. You’re my oldest friend. When did we meet?

anger and slow to cool.

Sporty, athletic, conventionally attractive. It seems like
you’ve got it made, even if most people treat you like
there’s nothing more to you than that pretty face. You’re
the person everyone wants to be - or, at least, that’s what
you tell yourself.
Starting Actions
◊ 2 Hold
◊ 1 Scrap
Starting Builds
If you want some guidance when you assign your three action
dots and special ability, use one of these templates.
The Leader
Do people look to you for leadership because you’re
confident and charismatic, or is it because you’re an
asshole who scares everybody? Whatever it is, you’re in
charge - for now.
◊ Risk +1, Scout +1, Scrap +1
◊ Special Ability - Natural Leader
The Wild Child
Planning and consequences are for other people. Your
motto is simple - live fast, party hard, and leave a pretty
corpse. Unfortunately, that last part might come into play
sooner than you’d like.
Jock Special Abilities
Natural Leader
When the rest of your group turn to you for leadership or
to make a decision, choose one:
◊ Take +1d to your next action roll
◊ Clear 1 fear
Square Up
When you use intimidation or threats of violence to try to
get what you want, you succeed on a 5 or 6. If your result
is less than 6, anybody who witnesses your actions gains 1
fear.
If You Don’t See Me Again
When you throw yourself into harm’s way to protect your
friends, or take a bold action to help everyone get away,
take +1d on your roll.
Advancement
When you advance, choose one of the following:
◊ Add +1 to two Action Ratings, or +2 to one Action
Rating (Action Ratings can’t go above 3)
◊ Choose another Special Ability from the list above.
2. What have I done to upset you, and why haven’t Reckless: You have little regard for your own safety or
you told me yet? best interests and take unnecessary risks.
3. What secret moment did we share recently? Soft: You lose your edge. You become passive, gentle,
numb, and lose the drive to survive.
4. Why do you look down on me?
5. Why do I make you nervous?
Myth Questions
Whenever you spin a story, choose one from this list and
mark it. (You can mark a story more than once, but the tale you
tell must be different from the first one and the Guide gets an
additional Myth point for each mark against that story.)
Tell a story about:
◊ The name the locals give to the monster that lurks
in the dark places
◊ The awful thing that was found out here recently
◊ The unexplained thing in the footage of the
documentary crew that went missing
◊ The sound you never want to hear in the dead of
night
◊ The deep sickness in the land
◊ [Something of your own invention]

◊ Flee +1, Risk +2

◊ Special Ability - Square Up

20 21

The Outsider
You’ve lived life on the fringes, never quite fitting
in anywhere. People don’t necessarily dislike you, but
they don’t really take a shine to you either - although
they brought you here with them, which must count for
something. What they don’t realise is that you’ve spent all
this time watching them, and you know them better than
they know themselves.
Starting Actions
◊ 1 Still
◊ 2 Study
Starting Builds
If you want some guidance when you assign your three action
dots and special ability, use one of these templates.
The Nerd
You like D&D, Audrey Hepburn, Fangoria, Harry Houdini,
and croquet. You can’t swim, you can’t dance, and you
don’t know karate. Face it, you’re never gonna make it.
◊ Scout +1, Track +1, Flee +1
◊ Special Ability - Hidden Depths
The Stoner
You know you don’t fit in, and you know that the things
you think are deep and important rarely look that way to
the normies who couldn’t tell a haze from a sativa. But you
don’t care. If they saw the world for what it really is like
you do, they’d need an escape as well.
◊ Scavenge +2, Hold +1
◊ Special Ability - Beyond The Fourth Wall
22
Character Questions Trauma Conditions
Playbooks - The Outsider
Ask 1 to the left and 1 to the right: Cold: You’re not moved by emotional appeals and are
Outsider Special Abilities short on empathy.
Hidden Depths 1. You used to treat me cruelly. What changed?
2. When was a time you came to my defence in a Morbid: You’re convinced you’re going to die and only see
You’re braver than anybody - including you - ever
social situation? darkness and despair in everything, to the extent where it’s
expected. When you put yourself in harm’s way to protect
almost funny.
a friend, take +1d to your roll. If you succeed with a 6, clear 3. How did you try to teach me to stand up for myself,
and why didn’t it work? Obsessed: You’re enthralled by one thing - an action, a
one fear.
person, something you’ve seen, a conspiracy, a theory.
4. Why do you secretly admire me?
Beyond The Fourth Wall
5. What secret did we learn together that we can
You know the rules and cliches needed to survive in a
never tell?
horror movie. When you do something that reminds you of
a situation in a film you saw, tell the group what happened
Myth Questions
Whenever you spin a story, choose one from this list and
and how it’s relevant here and take +1d to your roll. If you
mark it. (You can mark a story more than once, but the tale
succeed with a 6, the Guide incorporates what happened in
you tell must be different from the first one and the Guide gets
the film into the narrative. (You don’t need to refer to a real
an additional Myth point for each mark against that story.)
film - make something up!)
Tell a story about:
What Lies Beneath
◊ The low-budget horror film based on stories told
When you take a quiet moment to comfort or support
in this area
someone, make an action roll with Study and tell them
something you’ve noticed about them that they aren’t ◊ The book of occult symbols and signs you read that
aware of. made reference to these woods
On a 6, choose two. On a 4 or 5, choose one. ◊ The reason that electronic devices are unreliable
out here
◊ They clear 1 fear
◊ The strange noises people have said they hear out
◊ You clear 1 fear
here, and the myth that explains them
◊ They take +1d to their next Resistance roll
◊ An old, forgotten name linked to this region, and a
Advancement detail about the person or thing it belongs to
When you advance, choose one of the following:
◊ [Something of your own invention]
◊ Add +1 to two Action Ratings, or +2 to one Action
Rating (Action Ratings can’t go above 3)
◊ Choose another Special Ability from the list above.
23

The Sceptic
You pride yourself on being the sensible one. You don’t
take risks, you don’t get out of control, and you definitely
don’t believe in monsters. But you’d best start believing in
ghost stories fast, because now you’re in one. When people
call you “the sensible one” they somehow make it sound
like an insult, but you’ve no idea why.
Starting Actions
◊ 2 Study
◊ 1 Scout
Starting Builds
If you want some guidance when you assign your three
action dots and special ability, use one of these templates.
The Denier
This can’t be happening. It isn’t possible, isn’t natural,
isn’t real. You know you’re going to wake up from this
eventually - the only question is, when?
Flee +2, Scrap +1
Special Ability - Bait The Hook
The Rationalist
This can’t be happening, because it isn’t physically
possible. There’s a rational explanation for everything that
you’re seeing and hearing - you just need to find it.
Hold +1, Scout +1, Track +1
Special Ability - Stranger Than Fiction
24
Sceptic Special Abilities
Bait The Hook
When you doubt the threat is real and willingly put
yourself in harm’s way or attract attention, you succeed
on a 5 or 6, but if you fail you take an additional fear.
Stranger Than Fiction
When you suffer a consequence from something
unnatural or impossible and you choose to resist it,
describe a possible rational explanation for what you have
just witnessed. Then add +1d to your Resistance roll.
Debunk The Myth
When you and at least one of your companions takes
a moment to rest and recuperate, choose a story that
has been told about the Hunter and explain why it can’t
possibly be true. Mark this ability, and the Guide reduces
their Myth pool by 1. You gain one fear for each mark this
ability has.
Advancement
When you advance, choose one of the following:
◊ Add +1 to two Action Ratings, or +2 to one Action
Rating (Action Ratings can’t go above 3)
◊ Choose another Special Ability from the list above.
Character Questions Trauma Conditions
Playbook - The Sceptic
Ask 1 to the left and 1 to the right: Cowering: You’re cautious and afraid, unwilling to take
action or go with the group.
◊ Why did you come to me for advice recently?
Paranoid: There’s a deeper, hidden meaning to
◊ You think I look down on you. Why?
everything that’s happening, and your companions are in
◊ Why are you intimidated by me?
on it.
◊ Why do I hold a grudge against? Unstable: Your mood becomes quickly changeable,
◊ When did we have an argument because I was swinging from rage to laughter to despair and everything
wrong and refused to admit it? in between with little warning or cause.
Myth Questions
Whenever you spin a story, choose one from this list and
mark it. (You can mark a story more than once, but the tale
you tell must be different from the first one and the Guide gets
an additional Myth point for each mark against that story.)
◊ The historic tragedy that took place on this land
◊ The reason crops planted here wither and die
◊ The thing that fell from the sky a century ago
◊ The abandoned property a few miles from here, and
the people rumoured to have once lived there
◊ A strange cultural tradition in these parts that has
somehow survived over the years
◊ [Something of your own invention]
25

The Resilient
Why do bad things happen to good people? You wish you
knew the answer, but you don’t. All you do know is that
bad things will happen - and you need to be ready to face
them when they do.
Starting Actions
◊ 2 Still
◊ 1 Scavenge
Starting Builds
If you want some guidance when you assign your three
action dots and special ability, use one of these templates.
The Survivor
Your life has been marked by tragedy and trauma - either
long ago, or painfully recently. Whatever it was, you’ve
seen some shit, and as a result you see the world differently
to everyone else. Nobody can understand what it’s been
like for you, and it’s better for them if it stays that way.
◊ Hold +1, Scrap +1, Track +1
◊ Special Ability - Always Prepared
The Fortunate
You’re the epitome of failing upward. Your life has been
a series of seemingly random events, always in the right
place at the right time, always narrowly avoiding disaster.
Some people call it luck, some call it fate. Whatever it is,
you’re just along for the ride.
◊ Flee +1, Risk +2
◊ Special Ability - To Hell With It
26
Resilient Special Abilities
Always Prepared
When you need a specific item, say what it is and roll
Scavenge with +1d. On a 6, you have it already. Tell
everyone why you brought it with you. On a 4 or 5 you can
find it here but something is wrong with it: the Guide will
tell you what. On a miss you have it, but the Guide takes a
Myth point.
To Hell With It
When you try something ridiculous and hope it works,
make a Fortune roll with Luck +1d.
On a 6, it works as you intended. Describe the result.
On a 4 to 5, it works as intended and you describe
the result, but the Guide starts a clock to introduce a
complication as a direct result of this action.
On a 1 to 3, you fail spectacularly and suffer Minor Harm.
My Own Personal Hell
You’ve been here before, and you survived to tell the tale.
Any time you spin a story about the Hunter to gain +1d
you can choose to answer one of the questions on the next
page instead of a normal Myth Question. The Guide doesn’t
take a Myth point, but you and one character who hears
the story each gain a point of fear.
Personal Hell Questions
Whenever you use my own personal hell, choose one from
this list and mark it. If all these stories are marked, you
can’t use this ability again.
◊ Tell a story about:
◊ The strange way the hunter moves
◊ The reason you were here before
◊ The reason you decided to come back
◊ The unbelievable thing you did to get away
◊ The quiet moment where you made the choice to
survive
Character Questions
Ask 1 to the left and 1 to the right:
1. People call me cold and distant, but you know I’m
not. What experience do we share that makes us
close?
2. Why have you been avoiding me recently?
3. What did I say to you that gave you a hint about my
dark past?
4. What was a time you saw me narrowly avoid death?
5. Tell me about a time when you saw me react to a
threat before you knew it was happening.
Myth Questions
Playbook - The Resilient
Whenever you spin a story about the hunter, choose one
from this list and mark it. (You can mark a story more than
once, but the tale you tell must be different from the first
one and the Guide gets an additional Myth point for each
mark against that story.)
Tell a story about:
◊ The unusual tracks that have been found in this
area
◊ A strange ritual observed by local people
◊ A specific sign that tells locals they’ve strayed too
far from the safe places
◊ The weird thing that happens to the weather when
the hunter is near
◊ A detail about the place where the hunter rests
◊ [Something of your own invention]
Trauma Conditions
Haunted: You’re stuck in your thoughts, reliving past
horrors and replaying historic trauma over and over again.
Shaky: You’re in shock and struggling to deal with it.
You’re cautious and hesitant when you act, convinced that
you’re going to fail at everything you attempt.
Vicious: You lash out at people verbally and seek
opportunities to hurt them for no good reason, taking grim
pleasure in their pain.
27
 Actions In Detail
When you Flee, you run for your life.
You might try to evade an attacker. You might make a
desperate bid for freedom. You could try to run across an open
space without being spotted (but Risk might be better).
When you Still, you do your best to remain quiet and
unnoticed.
You might squeeze yourself under a broken bed and lie very
still. You might draw in a big breath and hold it while the hunter
lurks on the other side of the door. You could try to freeze in
place, standing out in the open like a statue and hoping not to
be seen (but Hold might be better).
When you Hold, you stand firm and maintain your
resolve.
You might refuse to back down in the face of a specific and
immediate threat. You might keep a tight grip on an important
item as you leap from a window. You could try to stay very calm
and quiet in your hiding place (but Still might be better).
When you Scout, you hunt for landmarks and know the
right way to go.
You might climb a tree to get a better view of the landscape.
You might spend time orienting yourself with the map. You could
try to follow marks and trails left by others who came before you
(but Track might be better).
When you Study, you scrutinise details and understand
signs and symbols.
You might pore over mouldering journals to find a clue. You
might closely analyse a person to detect lies or their true intent.
You could try to read the landscape and figure out where you
need to go (but Scout might be better).
28
When you Track, you look for clues and follow trails.
You might follow a trail of blood across rocky ground. You
might arrange an ambush. You might try to discern the nature
of signs left by something that came before (but Study might be
better).
When you Scavenge, you search for useful items and
cobble together solutions.
You might scour an abandoned building for a makeshift
weapon. You might try to fashion a raft from bits of driftwood.
You could try to find a way to barricade a door (but Hold might
be better).
When you Risk, you take a chance or do something
foolhardy or desperate.
You might leap from a window to escape a pursuer. You might
enter an underwater passage with no idea if or where it emerges
into air. You could try to crawl past a group of lurking cultists
(but Still might be better).
When you Scrap, you fight for your life or defend yourself.
You might brawl or wrestle with an attacker. You might protect
yourself with the nearest makeshift weapon you can find. You
could try to take the initiative and set an ambush (but Risk
might be better).
The uses for each action are only loosely defined, and
many of them overlap with each other by design. You
always get to choose which action you roll. Think in terms
of what you character would do, then apply an action
to it after you have described it. Let the story guide the
mechanics, not the other way around.
Guidance for the Guide
Guidance for the Guide
Your job as the Guide has two parts. On Character Death
Your main job is to portray the world that the player Characters who gather too much fear, harm, or despair
characters find themselves in. You’ll set the scene for the are in danger of dying. Dead characters are out of the story,
players, describe the things they see and discover, and act and can’t continue.
as any side characters they meet. This isn’t fun for the players who lose their characters.
Your second job is to arbitrate the results of die rolls, Player elimination sucks and nobody likes it.
narrating what happens as a result of the actions the As the Guide, it’s your job to make sure that nobody
characters take and the way the dice fall. dies until the finale. Harm the characters, maim them,
push them to the edges of their fear and endurance - but
How It Plays
don’t kill them. Give them quiet moments between the
This is an improvisational game. It’s also a game that
intense action and horror, safe spaces in which to rest and
places a lot of the burden of creation on the other players,
recuperate and push back those fear and despair scores so
rather than having it all rest solely on your shoulders.
that they can keep trying to survive.
You don’t do any preparation in advance of playing the
The game is more fun when the players think they’re one
game (other than reading through this book). This can
bad roll away from death but keep surviving by the skin
be intimidating at first, but don’t worry about it. As the
of their teeth. Get them there, and then help them to walk
characters move through the world and tell stories about
that knife edge for the rest of the session.
the Hunter, pay attention to the things they focus on and
the details they bring up and feed these back into the
story. At the beginning of play you may have some ideas
about what the Hunter is, but you should be fully prepared
to throw them out in favour of what the players come up
with.
Let the characters do what they want. It’s your
responsibility to make the world and the other people (and
things) in it react to those actions.
If you’re ever in doubt about what to do, throw it open
to the table. Don’t be afraid to let the players know (or
decide) things that their characters couldn’t know. That
kind of dramatic tension only adds to the enjoyment and
the suspense at the table.
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 Being The Guide
While the players are making their characters, take a
moment to prepare yourself mentally to be the Guide.
Review the Guide Agenda and Guide Principles below,
and think about how you can use them to best facilitate
the game.
Guide Agenda
Your Agenda is what you should focus on in play. It’s a set
of broad guidelines that inform everything you do.
Your Agenda is made up of four elements:
◊ Make the world seem real
◊ Play to find out what happens
◊ Be fan of the characters
◊ Make the world dangerous, scary, and actively
hostile to the characters
Guide Principles
The Guide Principles are eight specific ways to apply your
agenda.
1. Address yourself to the characters, not the players
2. Pay attention to the stories the characters tell and
feed them back into the fiction of the game
3. Name everyone the players meet, and make them
seem normal - at first
4. Ask questions and build on the answers
5. Sometimes give the characters what they deserve,
not what they asked for
6. Think about what’s happening off-screen
7. Declaim responsibility for decision making when
you need to - let the players decide what happens
next
8. Threats can come from anywhere
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How To Use The Guide Agenda
Making the world seem real means that you describe
the world in a way that makes sense and is familiar to
the players. Most things will behave in the same way as
they do in our world. It’s the juxtaposition of this with the
strange and unknowable nature of the Hunter that is the
catalyst for horror.
Play to find out what happens means you let the story
develop naturally from the conversation at the table.
Rather than deciding on a story and a sequence of events
in advance like in some other games, your job is to listen
to the story the players are telling you and each other and
make the world react organically to it.
Be a fan of the characters because that’s why we’re
playing the game, and there’s no story without them. Put
them through the ringer and make their lives hell in order
to give them an opportunity to show off their ingenuity
and tenacity.
Make the world dangerous, scary, and actively hostile
to the characters means exactly what it says. If the world
just sits back and lets the characters travel through it
without incident, there’s no conflict and no story. The
characters have strayed into places where they aren’t
welcome. Make them know about it.
Hunter Moves and The Myth Pool
Being The Guide - Hunter Moves & Myth Pool
As the conversation progresses and the story unfolds, Guidance for using these moves is given on the next
you’re going to make decisions that shape the narrative pages, but unlike the character abilities you are not strictly
and force the characters to make decisions and react to the limited in what you can do with these. Interpret them as
world. This is normally very free-form, with both you and you see fit.
the players reacting to each other.
You may be tempted to hoard your myth points until
Sometimes, though, you need to take a firmer hand and the end of the game, but this can lead to a slow, flat story
push the story in a specific direction. This is where Hunter without much sense of real threat. Remember that the
Moves and your Myth Pool comes into play. more points you spend, the more danger you put the
characters in, which in turn forces them to take more risks
The myth pool is an in-game currency that only the
and tell more stories - which gives you more points to
Guide has access to. You start with one point for each
spend.
character in the game. Every time the characters spin a
story you add another point to your pool. Other actions The players are advised to drive their characters like
in the game will make you add or subtract more points - a stolen car, and you should take this to heart when it
these will always be called out specifically in the relevant comes to spending myth points and making full use of the
abilities. Hunter. Everybody has more fun when the stakes are high.
You can spend a myth point to use a Hunter Move at
any time. This allows you to directly affect the game world
without having to wait for an opportunity to respond
to the events in the story. Any time an ability says the
Hunter makes a move you also get to use one of these
moves without losing any myth points.
When you spend a myth point, use one of these moves:
◊ Separate them
◊ Lead them astray
◊ Reveal tracks and signs
◊ Change things off-screen
◊ Display its full might
◊ Appear suddenly
◊ Seize someone or something
◊ Destroy something
◊ Return home
◊ Make a direct attack
◊ Defy the laws of nature
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◊ Come back from the dead
 Hunter Moves in Detail
Separate them
Create a situation that splits up the characters. Part of the
ground collapses, a door between them swings shut and
locks, or they’re caught on opposite sides of a fire.
Lead them astray
Just when the characters are making progress, throw
a spanner in the works. They follow a trail that leads
nowhere, find they’ve been walking in circles, or realise
that they’re hopelessly lost.
Reveal tracks and signs
The physical reality of the Hunter manifests itself. The
characters find tracks in the mud, symbols carved into tree
trunks, or evidence of a recent ritual.
Change things off-screen
Unseen forces are messing with the characters. They
wake to find piles of rocks built around their campsite,
they discover an important piece of gear has vanished, or a
character they’ve previously met turns up dead.
Display its full might
The characters observe the Hunter from a distance. It
uproots trees, descends on a campsite, or hunts large
animals.
Appear suddenly
The characters are confronted by the Hunter without any
warning. They might only catch a glimpse of it as it passes
in front of them, or it may threaten them but be driven
away by something before it can attack.
Seize someone or something
The Hunter or something under its power snatches a
character or an important piece of gear. It might be the
Hunter itself, a trap or feature of the Hunter’s den, or a
32 cultist or minion.
Destroy something
Take away something valuable to the characters,
permanently. Their car rolls off the edge of a cliff, their
tents are destroyed, or their food washes away in a fast
river.
Return home
The Hunter makes an impossible escape, fleeing to its
home or den.
Make a direct attack
The characters are put in direct danger, either by the
Hunter or its agents.
Defy the laws of nature
The Hunter does something magical or otherwise
impossible. It breathes fire, it sprouts roots from its flesh
that it can control like limbs, or it shifts through rocks.
Come back from the dead
The Hunter returns for one final scare after the characters
are sure they have killed it.
Fighting The Hunter
Fighting the Hunter
At some point the characters are probably going to want Whenever the characters succeed at an action that gets
to go toe-to-toe with the Hunter. The ideal way to play is them closer to their goal, tick the clock by filling in one
fiction-first, with characters describing what they want of the segments. If the characters are making a lot of
to do and making an Action roll with the relevant action progress, the clock should be ticked a lot.
rating, then using the results of those rolls to inform what
happens in the fiction.
When you create a clock, make it about the obstacle
and not the method. Don’t make a 4-clock for “Throw
If you’re used to games that make use of combat rounds, the Hunter off the roof ”. Instead, make it “Create an
hit points, and the like, this may seem unusual and hard to opportunity to escape”.
run. If you’d prefer to tweak the game to be a little closer to
When the clock is filled, the characters succeed at what
what you’re used to, you can use progress clocks to do the
they are trying to do.
job of hit points for you.
A progress clock is a circle divided into segments. Draw
a progress clock when you need to track an ongoing effort
against an obstacle. The harder the task, the more segments
you should add to the progress clock. A complex obstacle
is a 4-segment clock. A more complicated or dangerous
obstacle is a 6-clock. A daunting, nigh-insurmountable
obstacle is an 8-clock.
A 4-segment clock. A 6-segment clock. An 8-segment clock.
Two segments have
been ticked,
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