Hunter H5 Combat cheat sheet
Turn order, actions, and reminders. At-the-table reference for Hunter: The Reckoning 5th Edition.
Hunter H5 combat: d10 dice pools, Desperation-powered Edges, and mortal fragility against supernatural threats.
Initiative
- Pool
- Wits + Awareness (flat value, no roll)
- Ties
- Higher Composure goes first
Action economy
- 1 major action per turn: attack, use an Edge, interact, take cover.
- 1 minor action: move, speak, draw a weapon.
- Split your dice pool to attack two targets (divide before rolling).
Attack roll
- Melee
- Strength + Melee vs defender's pool
- Ranged
- Composure + Firearms vs difficulty (usually 2-3)
- Success
- Each die showing 6+ = 1 success
- Critical
- Two 10s = critical success (extra successes)
Desperation dice
- Added on top of the normal pool when Desperation is spent, not swapped in for regular dice.
- Desperation rises as the hunt escalates and the cell faces worse odds.
- Desperation dice count toward an ordinary critical (paired 10s) like any other die; there's no separate 'Desperation critical'.
- Any 1 on a Desperation die, whether the roll succeeds or fails, forces a choice: Overreach (Danger +1) or Despair.
Damage
- Damage = weapon damage + net successes (margin of victory).
- Superficial damage: mortal hunters don't halve it at all (that halving is a vampire-only mechanic). Aggravated: full.
- Firearms deal aggravated to mortals.
- Hunters are mortal: no regeneration, no supernatural soak.
Health tracker
- Track superficial and aggravated on the same tracker.
- All boxes filled with superficial: impaired (-2 dice).
- Any aggravated past full: unconscious, then dead.
- Mortal healing is slow: days for superficial, weeks for aggravated.
Edges
- Supernatural-adjacent abilities, some of which draw on Desperation dice rather than costing Desperation to use.
- Each Creed grants access to different Edge categories (Arsenal, Fleet, Endurance, etc.).
- Edges don't cost Desperation to activate; using one may add Desperation dice to the roll instead.
- Some Edges work passively; others require an action.
Common mistakes
- Hunters are mortal: no regeneration, no Blood Surge, no supernatural soak. Every wound counts.
- Desperation dice add to the pool, they do not replace regular dice.
- A 1 on a Desperation die forces a choice, Overreach or Despair, regardless of whether the roll succeeded or failed; either can end a scene or a character.
- Splitting dice pools halves your effectiveness: only split when both targets are weak.
- Firearms deal aggravated to mortals but only superficial to vampires.