Hunter: The Reckoning 5th Edition drive
Oath
Oath is a drive in Hunter H5: Drive of the hunter bound by a promise that outlived whatever circumstances they made it in.
Last reviewed
Overview
Oath is the Drive of a hunter who gave their word. It might be a vow to a dying friend, a duty inherited from a mentor, or an obligation sworn to an organization that no longer exists to release them from it. Whatever the source, the promise is the reason they keep going out at night. An Oath hunter is the most reliable member of most cells, and that is what the Storyteller will lean on. The Drive shows its teeth when keeping the promise and doing the right thing stop being the same action. Betraying the oath does not cost a scene, it costs the engine that keeps the hunter in the Hunt at all.
How it works
Tested When: Keeping your word means paying a price the cell would rather avoid, when the oath was sworn to someone who no longer deserves it, or when duty and conscience point in different directions. Desperation: Being unable to keep your word is the trigger. Desperation rates 1 to 5 and feeds extra dice into an attribute plus skill pool on ten sided dice, counting 6 and higher as successes. Despair: A 1 on a Desperation die on a failed roll triggers Despair, which cuts off Desperation dice until you redeem yourself through your Drive. Redemption: Oath redeems by honoring the promise when it is expensive, after breaking it would have been easier and nobody would have known.
Tips and playstyle
Best for: Cells that want a member who holds the group together, and Storytellers who enjoy putting a character's word in direct conflict with their conscience. Character concepts: A soldier keeping a promise made to a squadmate, a daughter finishing her father's unfinished hunt, a former member of an order that was wiped out around her. Synergies: The Faithful creed pairs naturally, and Repel the Unnatural fits a hunter whose sworn word is what gives them strength. Willpower, equal to Composure plus Resolve, carries this Drive.
Frequently asked questions
Who do I swear my oath to?
Anyone whose claim on you survives inconvenience: a dead friend, a living dependent, a mentor, a religious order, or your own cell. Pick someone the Storyteller can bring back into play, because an oath nobody can invoke never gets tested.
What happens if my hunter breaks the oath?
Mechanically it is Despair territory, since a broken oath is exactly the crisis that strands you without Desperation dice. Narratively it is the strongest arc this Drive offers, and redemption means keeping the promise the next time it costs you.
Is Oath just Vengeance with better manners?
No. Vengeance aims at a target and ends when the target does, while an oath imposes limits on how you hunt, not only who you hunt. Oath hunters refuse options that Vengeance hunters take.