Atonement

Overview

Atonement belongs to a hunter with a past. They fed a creature, covered for one, worked for one, or looked away while something happened that they could have stopped. People died because of that, and hunting is how they pay it back, knowing the balance never reaches zero. This is the Drive that makes a hunter useful and fragile at once. An Atonement hunter knows things a normal recruit never would, having been inside it, and that knowledge is the cell's biggest asset until someone asks how they came by it. The Drive tests hardest when the old connection resurfaces and the hunter must choose between the truth and years of rebuilt trust.

How it works

Tested When: The past comes back in person, when confessing would cost you the cell, or when saving someone now means letting something you owe go free. Desperation: Failing someone the way you failed before is the trigger. Desperation rates 1 to 5 and adds dice to attribute plus skill pools on ten sided dice, where 6 or higher is a success. Despair: A 1 on a Desperation die on a failed roll triggers Despair, and Desperation dice stay unavailable until you redeem yourself through your Drive. Redemption: Atonement redeems directly through the ledger: saving a life you could not have saved before, or destroying something you once protected.

Tips and playstyle

Best for: Chronicles with a long memory, players who want their backstory to keep generating scenes, and cells that can survive a secret coming out. Character concepts: A ghoul who broke free of a vampire, a lawyer who filed paperwork for a client he never met in daylight, a nurse who signed off on bodies she knew were wrong. Synergies: The Faithful creed frames atonement as penance and the Inquisitive creed makes use of what you already know. Sense the Unnatural fits a hunter whose exposure left them able to feel what is in the room.

Frequently asked questions