You can't just pick up and go hunting monsters, that's a surefire way to get your guts ripped out. As they say, the game's not won on the field, it's won in the preparation. Nowhere is this more true than in the Life. A prepared Hunter is a successful Hunter. Here is a basic overview of the gear you'll either need or want to have handy. These do not include special tools or weapons like Palo Santo, Ruby's Knife or The Colt.
Anti-Possession Charm: One of the nastiest things that can happen to anyone is to be worn as a demon's meat suit. This is a simple small charm or amulet that wards off possession. Some clever folks even have it tattooed on their bodies.
Backpack: A good backpack holds 25-50 pounds of gear. A modern military backpack (such as the CFP-90 ACU) holds four times that. Get one with all the little zip pockets, so you can stya organized. Nothing says "About to get his ass handed to him by a demon" like a backpack stuffed full of crap.
Binoculars: A pair of these allows you to see things at a great distance, sometimes even with night vision packaged in. Really good for keeping watch on a sorority house for, you know...vampire pledge sisters, or something like that. Yeah, that's it.
Briefcases and Satchels: IF you're not into backpacks, try one of these. They're all about the same shape and size, so choice is mostly about material. They can be made of canvas, worked leather, even bullet-resistant metals and polymers, and usually hold up to 10 pounds of stuff.
Camera: When you want to take a picture of something, you have a choice these days between digital and your classic film-loaded camera. Digital is quick and easy, but you can't get some of the weirder effects in this business - ghosts showing up on the negatives or Kirlian auras - unless there's film involved.
Camping/Climbing Gear: I hope you like the great outdoors because chances are, you're going to be spending a lot of time in Middle-Of-Freaking-Nowhere, USA hunting things like Wendigos who prefer to keep to the deep woods snacking on campers and hikers. Even if your jobs don't take you that far from civilization, better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it, right?
Canteen: Canteens hold enough water to keep a single person hydrated for one day and are carried in a pounch on a belt or in a pack. A full canteen also makes a good improvised weapon.
Computer: Computers are scaled in three sizes. Desktop, Laptop and Handheld (although lately the latter two are getting closer and closer to being the same). Most laptops and handhelds come equipped with some form of wireless networking, so you can poke around on the intenet in coffee shops and even McBurger joints. Trust me, at least it beats a trip to the library.
EMF Meter: EMF stands for Electro-Magnetic Field. This gadget can be used to detect active electrical current or fluctuations in magnetic fields. Useful for detecting demons, ghosts and ghost activity. It is a basic component of any hunter's arsenal. You can make them out of any electronic device, from a cell phone to a Game Boy an old walkman. It's not 100 percent reliable, however. If power lines are nearby there will be too much electromagnetic interference for it to be useful.
Fake IDs/Fake Credentials: Not just for buying beer while underage. In your cross-country travels, you're probably going to be using a lot of aliases, many of which you'll be asked to prove, and your jobs will probably require you to impersonate cops and federal agents to examine the bodies of the supernatural attack victims to help determine whether or not what you're dealing with is really a "wild Dog" as the authorities say.
First Aid Kit: I don't think we need to really explain why you need this, do I? You're probably gonna get hurt. A lot.
Flares: Set a flare alight and you shed intense light and heat without an explosion. Flares are most often used for signals or flooding an area with light. A flare generally lasts for five to 15 minutes and lights up anywhere from a 10-15 foot square area. Touching a flare to something can set it on fire. Useful for signaling for help or screwing up the night vision of a hungry nocturnal beastie with a craving for you.
Flashlight: Look. The trouble with being a Hunter is that monsters have no respect for your schedule. Hunters work mainly at night and most of the places you'll go will either be at night, dark as crap or both. Either way you're going to need a flashlight. Anything from a little pen light to one of those enormous, heavy steel-cased flashlights used by security guards.
Flask: A small container that can hold booze, or maybe holy water. Could range from a cheap plastic jug to a fancy engraved beauty.
Gasmask: Protects you from tear gas, thick smoke and other toxic conditions. The really big ones from World War II and fire departments cover your features in case you want to go all Wesley Dodds and keep people from picking you out of a lineup.
Glow Stick: Snap a glow stick in half and you get wierd yellow, green or pink light for about a half hour. They're disposable, one-use-only. They're safe to use in the rain and you don't need fuel or batteries, which makes them a good thing to keep packed in your bag or glovebox when hunting in the middle of a rainstorm.
Holy Water: Pretty much useless against vampires, but against demons there's nothing that hurts them more. Holy Water doesn't stop demons, but it burns them like a mofo and is a surefire way to expose somebody that's been possessed. The best part is you don't need a priest to make holy water. You can (and probably often will) bless any water yourself if you have a rosary and a blessing in latin.
Iron: Iron is a versatile material that can be used against ghosts, demons or any monsters that can be killed by it. Ghosts and demons cannot pass over it, you can forge it into weapons and ammunition. Really the only thing you can't do with iron is eat it.
Lantern: Some lanterns are oil-based, others take batteries and work on fluorescent filaments or LEDs. A lanterns' not like a flashlight, which sheds a beam of light. Lanterns and other lamps fill an area, making them good for camping and setting up shop in a haunted basement.
Lighters and Matches: You smoke? Then you know what a lighter is. Hell, you know what a lighter is even if you don't smoke. Same applies to matches. You can get some matches that work even when they're wet, but for the most part you want to keep them somewhere out of the rain. An essential tool for a salt n' burn. Light those ghosts up nice and toasty.
Lockpicks: The downside of being a hunter is that you don't get much consideration. You're going to run into places you need to get into that are locked and you won't be able to go find someone to let you in and even if you do, chances are about 99 percent they're not going to let you in "just because". This is where the lockpicks come in. Tools - little metal picks, hence the name. Used to open a locked door, container or storage unit.
Mobile Phone: One of the best ways to keep in touch with your buddies or call for help is to pick up a mobile phone (or cell phone). Most cellphones need a subscriber service, though you can also buy the prepaid type that lets you put money on the account in return for a set number of minutes. Always-on-the-go Hunters generally prefer the latter. Portable phones come with all kinds of features - digital cameras, GPS, little video games, music players, that kind of thing. The more of these you have, the more they cost.
MRE: MREs stand for Meal, Ready to Eat - have a reputation for bieng edible, but not particularly tasty. Most contain an entree, a side dish, dessert, cracker or bread, a spread, powdered beverage, utensil and a couple of other accessories such as matches, gum or toilet paper. Useful for when you're stuck roughing it in the backwoods and you're a hundred miles from the nearest Biggerson's and you absolutely, positively HAVE to eat something.
Multi-Tool: Small enough to be carried in a pocket or clipped to your belt, a multi-tool is always handy. Any multi-purpose, compact and easily portable device that tackles an assorted amount of tasks is a multi-tool. One of the more popular is the Swiss Army Knife. Cutting blades, nail files, tweezers, scissors, toothpick, magnifying flass, screwdriver, all hinged and ready to use.
Media Players: They're the new century's replacement for the Walkman or portable radio. Most of these just play digital songs, but some of them have internet access or a dozen little games or applications you can waste time with.
Night Vision Gear: Anything equipped with Night Vision qualities intensifies the light of a given area beyond what would be normal. Some include an infrared spectrum filter, which lets you track heat sources even in pitch blackness.
Recorder: The mini-cassette recorders of the 90's have given way to completely digital recorders. A built-in microphone lets you record interviews, make notes to be reviewed later or attempt to catch EVP on a hunt.
Restraints: Anything from handcuffs and chains to zip-ties and straitjackets. The quality of the restraint depends on how easy it is to break out of them.
Rope: Rope is for more than just climbing. It can bind objects, help move objects and aid in exploration and seafaring. Rope is made from natural materials like hemp, silk, hair, wool, linen, cotton and sisal - or synthetic materials like nylon, polyesters, and the like. Serious ropes are even made out of braided metal. Coils of rope can be secured with a grappling hook on one end to ease climbing.
Salt: To anyone else, salt is a table condiment. To a Hunter, it's an essential tool that can very well save your life. In folklore, salt is a symbol of purity and wards off evil spirits. Useful against ghosts and demons, a salt barrier will keep any ghost and almost any demon from getting in, as long as the barrier remains unbroken. Salt comes in table or rock variety. While both are effective at keeping ghosts and demons at bay, rock salt may be used in shotguns and are as useful at dissipating spirits as iron. Never hunt without it.
Silver: To your mom, it's the "good" dinnerware, to a Hunter, Silver is probably the most versatile of all monster-killing implements. Many monsters have a weakness to silver and can be hurt and/or killed by them which makes it a handy "when in doubt" weapon. These are including but not limited to: Werewolves, Shapeshifters, Skinwalkers, Wraiths and Djinn.
Sleeping Bag: D&D geeks call this a "Bedroll". It protects you from the elements when you're crashing in the back eat of your car or sleeping in the woods. The more you spend on a leeping bag, the more fancy stuff it comes with. Want a sleeping bag with an MP3 player? I bet they have one of those now too, if you're willing to shell out the cash.
Spraypaint/Chalk: For creating Devil's Traps. A Devil's Trap is an occult symbol you can draw on floors, ceilings, the undersides of rugs, basically anywhere there's a surface. If a demon steps inside, they cannot escape unless the trap is broken. It makes them ripe for exorcism.
Suits: Hunters may be masters of BS, but you can only go so far on BS alone. If you flash an FBI badge to a coroner or try to pass yourself off as a professional while wearing jeans and a T-Shirt, I can pretty much guarantee you that the ruse isn't going to hold up, even if you explain to them that it's Casual Friday at the Bureau. If you want to pass yourself off as a Fed, you'll need to look the part.
Surveillance Gear: USe these tools to spy on other people - video cameras and monitors, listening bugs, parabolic microphones, fiberscopes, thermal imagers, telephone taps, cellular interceptors, and more. Makes you feel like James Bond, if you can afford it.
Tent: Any temporary shelter that can be broken down and carried. Simple tents protect one or two people from the weather, while the expensive ones can be the size of a house, even having separate rooms inside.
Tools: Basic tools used for construction or to repair and maintain automobiles. Includes hammers, nail guns, saws, crowbars, files, ladders, pliers, razors, shovels, sledgehammers, tongs, wrenches and so forth. You'll need it especially for upkeep on your ride.
Toolkits, Specialty: Many things get done better when you have the right tool kit. Gunsmith kits include the tools needed to clean, maintain and repair firearms from derringers to SAWs (Squad Automatic Weapons). Mechanical kits contain the tools needed to maintain and repair complex machines like geneators, AC unites and car engines.
Transportation: This one's a no brainer. To do your job, you WILL need to roll. Most Hunters prefer classic muscle cars. You might think it's a macho thing, but they have advantages. They're fast so you can get from job to job quickly, they're simple to maintain, that means they don't have all that fancy electronic crap all the modern cars have these days ESPECIALLY GPS, which allows the cops to track you (probably a bad idea if you're on the law's bad side), and probably most importantly, they have a lot of trunk space. Whatever kind of vehicle you choose, any Hunter will tell you - when it comes to trunk space, the bigger the better .You're going to need it for all the crap you're going to be lugging around back there. Basically any inconspicuous vehicle with ample space in the back for a cache of weapons and supplies will do the job just as well, if you're not into muscle.
Watch: Always useful when you're keen to know what time it is. Isn't used as much these days because of cell phones, but if there's no reception in the god-forsaken backwoods you're hunting in, you'll be glad you went old school. If you're going diving, make sure the watch is water-resistant and pressure-resistant.
MELEE WEAPONSAxes, machetes, swords, baseball bats. If it's hand-held or designed for close combat and either cuts or bludgeons the other guy, it counts.
Axe: This is the long-handled axe you'd associate with lumberjacks, chopping firewood and serial killers. Also very useful against mindless zombies and anything else you'd like to chop into bloody chunks.
Baseball Bat: Baseball's a beautiful game, and it gives us a damned useful weapon that won't get the cops in an uproar if they find you toting it around in your trunk. Comes in wood or aluminum.
Bayonet: A bayonet's a knife-blade that attaches to the muzzle of a rifle, turning the gun into something you can stab with when you're out of ammo. When not attached to a gun, this is basically a knife.
Brass Knuckles: Brass Knuckles turn a good left hook into a great left hook. They're pretty much metal bars with loops to slip your fingers through. Some knives, especially the big ones used by SWAT, have brass knuckles built right into them.
Chain: A simple length of chain, like the kind you'd secure a fence with or haul up an engine in an auto shop. Iron ones are useful against ghosts.
Chainsaw: Conveniently placed in toolsheds, basements and out back of a cabin in the woods, your average chainsaw is powered by gasoline and can mess up pretty much anything you swing at it. Also a necessary prop if you're pretending to be a tree surgeon when you're on a hunt. Most chainsaws count as improvised weapons since they weren't designed for combat. Groovy.
Hatchet: Hatchets are mostly used for cutting tree limbs and performing light work in the woods out back, but they're sometimes found in the trunk of an axe-murderer's car. Not accusing you of anything...just saying.
Knife: Any single or double-edged blade less than 12 inches long counts as a knife. Some even come with badass rock n' roll artwork on the handle, but you're more likely to get good mileage out of a big butcher's knife. Also available in silver and iron varieties.
Machete: You probably won't be hacking your way through the jungle, but you WILL probably be coming up against vampires, and there's nothing cheaper or more easily available for cutting off the head of a Fang. You'll need at least one or two of these if you expect to run into vamps on your hunts.
Nightstick: The trusted weapon of a nighttime security guard or beat cop.
Staff: A staff is a long wooden pole used to trip people up and smack them about the head. Martial artists and Little John use these all the time. If you're skilled with a staff, you can improvise with any long pole-like object like a pool cue or a length of PVC.
Stungun, Contact: This is a handheld device that sends a powerful charge into the target. It's the melee version of a ranged stungun.
Sword: Your basic sword, the kind that knights and RenFaire freaks usually swing about.
Sword, Dueling: These are the kind of weapons you'd see in the hands of a guy carrying a perfumed hankie, or maybe someone who went to private school and was on the fencing team. Includes rapiers, epees, foils - the kind with a long, thin flexible blade.
Sword, Really Big: The two-handed sword, or Greatsword, is a big-ass blade, usually seen in the hands of big barbarian-types on the cover of fantasy novels.
RANGED WEAPONSStuff you pick up and throw or use to send something dangerous at your target. Doesn't include guns, because those have their own section.
Bow: Sometimes you just want to Oliver Queen some supernatural son of a bitch, and when that happens you'll need a compound bow and a bunch of arrows. Arrows are great because they can be dipped in various poisons, oils and custom-made elixirs to put an end to whatever nasty thing you're hunting.
Crossbow: A crossbow covers the same basic ground as a standard bow except you don't need to be as strong and you can carry it around ready to go for longer. Other pluses? some supernatural creatures specify a crossbow bolt as their weakness, rather than an arrow from a bow, and it's a bit easier to point and shoot.
Hatchet, thrown: A really well balanced hatchet can be hurled into somebody...or something. It'll do the same damage as its Melee counterpart.
Knife, thrown: Many knives are designed for you to throw across a room into a target. They're otherwise identical to the knives described under Melee weapons.
Mace/Pepper Spray: This stuff usually comes in a can, easy to stow in a backpack, pocket or purse. Spraying somebody with mace can take them down depending on the toxicity of the spray.
Stungun, ranged: Stunguns zap the nervous system and leave people twitching on the floor. Some stunguns are hand-held and need to make contact with the target. The rest look gun-shaped and shoot out electrodes on wire.
FIREARMSEven though they're worthless against some critters, it's best to keep a few handy anyway. Lots of nasties drop once they're full of holes, and rock salt shotgun rounds and silver bullets help with the rest. Some really big guns require a little more effort and training, you can't just grab a vehicle-mounted machine gun and pull the trigger. For some of the bigger bang, please consult with the GM. After all, military-grade hardware is neither cheap nor practical for Hunting.
Pistol, antique: This group of pistols includes flintlocks, matchlocks, wheellocks and all kinds of old fashioned antiques.
Pistol, light: Handarms with a .22 caliber, .32 ACP or .38 caliber.
Pistol, heavy: If it's got a .357, .44, .50 or 5.57 mm caliber, it's a heavy pistol. Expect to see these in the hands of Special Forces ex-military guys or Hunters looking to compensate for something.
Pistol, medium: The most common handgun used by police and folks with a concealed firearms license, this group includes those with a 9mm, 10mm or .45 caliber.
Rifle, antique: Muzzle-loaded rifle weapons like a Kentucky rifle or old-fashioned blunderbuss fits the bill.
Rifle, assault: An assault rifle is the standard weapon of the world's military forces. They're usually magazine fed, fairly light and highly accurate with a high rate of fire. Assault rifles are capable of autofire and burst fire.
Rifle, hunting: The most common rifle for sporting or hunting use, these bolt-action weapons don't automatically chamber the next round once a shot is fired. You have to draw back a lever between shots. Although slower than automatic or semi-automatic rifles, some people fiture that bolt-action rifles are more accurate.
Rifle, sniper: Sniper weapons fire a heavier caliber round and are designed to be used while tsationary. They can be automatic or bolt-action; doesn't really matter to a pro.
Shotgun, break-loading: These boomsticks are the kind of shotguns that you "break" in half and load manually. Many have two barrels and are called double-barreled shotguns. In that case, you can fire both barrels at once as a single action.
Shotgun, pump action: Pump-action, or lever-action shotguns need to be "pumped" in order to eject the spent cartridge and load the next one.
Shotgun, sawed-off: This shotgun has a cut down barrel - it's easier to hide under a coat and the shot spreads more widely. The downside is a much shorter range.
Submachine Gun: A submachine gun uses the same rounds as a pistol, but has a much higher rate of fire. Submachine guns came of age back in the days of Elliot Ness, and they're still pretty popular today. The Uzi or MAC-11 best represents them.
HEAVY WEAPONS AND EXPLOSIVESIf you need heavy weapons and explosives on a hunt, you're in a world of trouble. Good chance you can take out the monster, but the authorities are gonna be all over you like Paparazzi on Paris Hilton. If you absolutely, POSITIVELY have no other choice, you'd better be trained to use them...and then afterward get the hell out of there - fast. For hunting, they're completely impractical. If you want your character to use heavy weapons, ask the GM but you'd better have a good reason (and no, "Because the monster can only be killed by a bazooka" is not a good reason.
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C-4: When it comes to stability, C-4 is the way to go. Of course, getting a hold of any amount of plastic explosive is pretty much impossible...legally.
Dynamite: Dynamite is much less stable than plastic explosive, but it is cheaper and easier to find. If the stuff you find is old, though, watch out. Even a couple of eight inch sticks can bring down a mine tunnel, level a tool shed or blow up a small car.
Flamethrower: Mac wants the WHAT??? For the Hunter who doesn't know the meaning of the word "overkill". These weapons stream flaming propellant into a given area. If you're hit by a flamethrower, you catch fire until you die or manage to put the flames out. (Ok, technically if you die you're still on fire but it's not like you care anymore). A flamethrower's fuel is kept in a canister and holds about eight doses of propellant. Flamethrowers can be mounted on vehicles, in which case they're Large scale and take out other vehicles handily. Otherwise they're just a backpack canister connected to a hand-held nozzle and work on personal scale. Either way, the canister holding the propellant is vulnerable to attack. If you can deliver enough damage to a canister, it explodes. This is treated like a grenade or explosive.
Grenades: Grenades can be thrown or fired from launchers. If they're thrown, they'll have a pin or something else that activates the charge. A launcher pulls this pin for you and has the added bonus of getting the grenade the hell away from you. Grenades come with a number of payloads.
Flash-Bang: These grenades use intense light and noise to stun targets. If you're caught in the blast radius of a flash-bang, you're temporarily stunned.
Fragmentation: In addition to creating an explosion, these grenades fill the blast radius with red-hot metal fragments. Because screw subtlety!
Riot: Police use gas grenades for controlling large crowds. The gas irritates the skin, eyes, nose and throat, and incapacitates anybody who's exposed for longer than a few seconds. The cloud of gas sticks around for about five minutes.
Grenade Launcher: Grenade launchers can be stand-alone units or slung under an assault rifle's barrel. Grenades fired from a grenade launcher are designed specifically for that purpose; standard grenades aren't gonna fit. A grenade launcher can deliver any of the various tipes listed above.
Machine Gun, light: These heavy weapons are designed to spray large areas with hundreds of bullets and still be more or less portable. You mount them on a tripod or on a vehicle - unless you've got them proplerly braced, you'll end up shooting up a lot of dirt or knocking yourself over. Machine guns, like automatic weapons can fire in bursts, full auto and spray.
Machine gun, heavy: Even bigger than light machine guns, these bad boys must be mounted on a vehicle or a fixed location. Machien guns, like automatic weapons can fire in bursts, full auto and spray.
Mortar: These ground-fired rockets are designed for indirect bombing. In other words, you don't point and shoot it. A mortar delivers an explosive payload, just like a rocket launcher, complete with blast radius.
Rocket Launcher, portable: For the Hunter that thinks the phrase "Are you freakin' kidding me?" is a challenge. These launchers are small enough to be used by a person. You see them in the movies all the time; they're supposed to rest on one shoulder when you launch the rocket. Then cars, trucks, etc. blow up. The rocket's the real explosive, and is obviously large scale.
AMMUNITIONAmmo is essential. You can pick up the standard slugs and rounds from a discount super-mart in most parts of the country. The more high-powered or specialized ammo is illegal or expensive. You'll want to keep any boxes of shells or bullets away from an open flame.
Using any standard round as a miniature explosive or a component of some kind of trap (taping a bunch together and hooking them up to a detonator, for instance) gives you some pretty good boom. Yeah, I figured you had something whacko in mind like that.
Standard Rounds: The typical bullet or round used in a firearm. You can get these just about anywhere.
Shotgun Shells: Filled with little ball bearings or other material, this ammo is designed to spread out when fired.
Shotgun slugs: These solid rounds don't have the benefits or the drawbacks of shot. They function more or less like standard rounds.
Armor-Piercing Rounds: These rounds punch through most kinds of armor fairly easily. On the downside, the bullet usually goes right through the target's body (called "over-penetration").
Hollow-Point Rounds: These rounds create big holes in soft target (otherwise known as people). Problem is, armor's more effective against it.
Non-Lethal Rounds: These bullets are made of wood or rubber. They still hurt like hell, and a shot in the head might kill you, but non-lethal rounds usually live up to their name.
Rock Salt: You can load a shotgun with this, making it very useful against ghosts. Unfortunately it only stuns, just like non-lethal rounds.
Silver Bullets: Ammo designed to hurt certain critters, like werewolves. You're probably going to need to make them yourself, and that means melting down silver and setting it into a mold, then you need to turn that into a bullet. At the end of that, it may still not work. That's why it pays to find somebody who'll make these for you and then just buy them in bulk.
SCOPES, SIGHTS AND ATTACHMENTSScopes make it easier to hit something. while they are designed for firearms, they could be added to crossbows and possibly even bows. Please clear it with the GM if you wish to use anything but the standard scope.
Day/Night System: This scope system accommodates two uses, one for day and the other for nighttime.
Laser: A laser pointer is considered more accurate than a standard sight. Basically where the dot is, you're going to hit.
Night Vision: This sight allows for shooting in dim or dark conditions.
Telescopic: This attachment allows the firer to shoot from a much longer range. Pistols can't support this scope.
Thermal Scope: This lets you find a target in poor lighting conditions or smoke by using his body temperature. It's not flawless. If there's a lot of ambient heat or if the target's wearing clothing that reduces their body temp, it won't help. Pistols cannot support this.
Illuminator: This small, standard flashlight is mounted on a firearm. THat frees a hand up for other stuff like say...firing the weapon.
Silencer: Silencers don't eliminate the sound of a firearm completely, but they do make a difference. It is hard to detect the sounds of a silenced firearm firing more than ten yards away, and they are illegal in most states. STill, if you're in Kansas and looking to buy one, you're out of luck.
ARMORMost Hunters don't wear body armor. It's expensive, bulky and most of the things they deal with ignore it. That doesn't mean it's not a good thing to keep around, especially if you're going up against people instead of ghosts and demons and such.
Helmet, ballistic: Standard-issue head protection for most modern military ground forces, but it doesn't shield the face or eyes, leaving them open.
Helmet, riot: Based with a ballistic helmet, the riot helmet also provides a face shield and neck guard ofr added close combat protction.
Shield, riot: Modern police shields are used for riot control to protect against low velocity or "soft weaponry". They are also bullet resistant if not bulletproof. A modern riot shield is also effective against high speed ballistics and serves as light cover in such cases.
Vest, ballistic: Your standard Kevlar vest. WOrn by modern law enforcement personnel.
Vest, tactical deployment: A light ballistic vest that has a large number of pouches and pockets on it where additional or essential gear may be stored.
Vest, undercover: A protective vest worn by those seeking discreet added security.
Fri Apr 06, 2012 5:52 am