Bestiary

These Inquisitors are deeply concerned with ghosts and demonic spirits. The Sons are a throwback to the earlier days of the Inquisition; they believe that anyone

who speaks against the Word of God must be possessed, so they have a more strident concern for orthodoxy. They have come to resort to the occasional use of torture when dealing with individuals that they believe are possessed. The Sons tend to be skilled exorcists.

The Sect of Saint James is an even more radical subgroup of the Sons of Tertullian. Amazingly, considering the Sons” concern for orthodoxy, the Sect follows the words of a Gnostic treatise which advocates suicide as a means for entering Heaven. Rumor has it that many crossed over in 2012 and continue to shamble in some monastery basement, while the living sect members wait patiently for their rotting fellows to regain the power of speech and speak of what they have seen.

In addition to the Backgrounds available to hunters generally, Inquisitors can also purchase the Mob, Reliquary, and Status Backgrounds.

The media and social networks of the information age offer a crafty Inquisitor new and innovative tools for organizing congregations into witch-hunting mobs. Zealotry surges through the new vectors of status updates. Fiery sermons sound from home to home via video chat. General Inquisitor Bauer personally instructs her subordinates in these techniques, and you have learned well. These folk are not as educated in the ways of the Enemy as you, and they do not command miracle-working faith or occult power. But they are angry. They are armed. And they are not going to take it anymore. You will find that a mob is much like weaponized fire: a destructive force that puts the fear of God in the hearts of monsters, but one that easily spreads out of control.

• You command a mob of two people.

•• You command a mob of four people.

••• You command a mob of seven people.

•••• You command a mob of fifteen people.

••••• You command a mob of twenty-five people.

You have been granted access to the reliquary of the Church. The vaults of the Vatican are ancient, dark, and deep, and many are the occulted secrets within — from holy relics to the terrible devices of witchery that the Church locks away to keep from blasphemous hands. This Background allows you to possess such a supernatural artifact and represents

both a privilege and a responsibility, as you are the keeper of the relic. The loss or destruction of the item consumes any Background points spent, and the Society may think twice before opening the reliquary to you in the future. The Storyteller has the final say on a relic’s value and powers. Some example relics can be found on pp. 157-158.

Players may opt to pool Background points for a shared relic. See pp. 118-119 of V20 for more information on pooled Backgrounds.

• You possess a minor relic.

•• You possess a useful relic.

••• You possess a relic of significant power.

•••• You possess a relic of incredible power.

••••• You possess a relic mentioned in many legends.

You are an Inquisitor of status in the Society of Leopold. Such distinction might come from a reputation of dedicated work, the slaying of a particularly powerful servant of the Devil, the performing of a holy miracle, the gathering of esoteric knowledge, or even simple longevity, a rarity in witch-hunters. As with any institution, having friends in high places helps as well. Regardless of status, a Society member is always called an Inquisitor. An Inquisitor without a Status rating begins as a novice.

When dealing with Inquisitors of lower Status, apply the difference in Status as a bonus to any Social dice pools.

• Tertiary

•• Councilor

••• Abbé

•••• Censor

••••• Provincial

The following Merits and Flaws represent traits or situations that may occur with hunter characters serving the Society of Leopold. All Merits and Flaws are subject to Storyteller approval.

You were raised by the Society of Leopold, either born to an Inquisitor or adopted by the Society at an early age. The Inquisition is all you know. The sanctity of your holy

work is honed by a purity of skill, unclouded by distraction. Unfortunately, you have a limited understanding of the outside world. When in a non-Society setting, subtract one die from all Social dice pools. When field work takes you beyond the Inquisition’s walls, how will you react to all the new people, stimuli, and fellow hunters who are not so cloistered?