Van Richten's Monster Hunter's.pdf - Askadesign.com

i3efore e7 came io ihic hi1 yiacr, this land ca//cd ;%arovia, e7 con tidrred mydf a ski//ed
hunfrr. c7n ihr hilic ~rurroundinq my home, have ~ci~ccessfu//y huntrd a// of ihr
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nahrallq occurrinq yredaiorc-karr of variour si&,and ferocity. dire wolvrr who.rr packs
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ierroriAihr /oca/ theyherdc' fiochs, even ihr reat wyvrrn ihai winqc over 4 /he yrahs.
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c Yet, 27 considrrrd mysdf we// vrrced in ihe ari of /he l~uni. LThrrr w0.c no kasi ihai
'odd ei ihr ktirr of me.
Or c7 ihoiyhi unhlc7 wa~r rnp& io had ihai i//-siarred huniinq i triy.
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(Kkr ihere an14 '/up, any omen. khat shouid have warned mr hat what e7 hunted
wa( no ordinarij kar? ~710, loohinq back on ihr evrn1.r e7 have io say ihrre was no
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indicahon~ ,7Zone, /hat is, until ihe memkn of fbe yariy kgan c io dir. and e7 redid fhaf
e7 wm not /he hunker. hut ihr p y!
nowing the mind of the
werebeast is the first rule
~: '1 of the hunt. Both forms of
the lycanthrope-true and
, .. .i infected-are equally
c.'..i:: ever, each has its own
mindset, its own view toward mankind.
Hence, recognizing which is which can
be crucially important.
Pursuit of a true lycanthrope is as
much a battle of strategies as it is a
contest of blood; the true werebeast
has lived with its mutable nature all its
life, is accustomed to its predatory
nature (if not comfortable with it), and
remains ever cognizant of its nature. In
contrast, tracking the infected
lycanthrope is far more subtle, more
cerebral on the hunter's part. The
infected creature is either unaware of
its bestial aspects or desperately
concealing its murderous double life.
As a result, seeking one of these
pitiable creatures may seem like
hunting two separate prey at the same
time. To complicate matters, this lethal
creature is curable.
If the two, contrasting mindsets of
-From the journal of Darzin Morcantha
these monsters were not enough to
muddle the hunter's strategy, I must
pause and re-emphasize the fact that
werebeasts are no more "typical" than
vampires or ghosts or liches. Each
lycanthrope has its own strengths and
weaknesses, both of which are often
quite subtle. Hence I return to the
axiom by which I began this chapter:
Knowing the mind of the werebeast is
the first rule of the hunt. If this treatise
can be of service to that end, so much
the better, but the study of my work is
not nearly sufficient to arm even the
doughtiest enemy of darkness against
the task at hand. Those who hope to
survive such a quest must search out
every report of the creature and follow
up every clue. Werebeasts are some of
the most violent and ruthless beasts to
prowl the land of the Mists. No matter
how powerful you are, and no matter
how typical the werebeast may seem,
failure to seek at least some inkling of
the monster's strengths and
weaknesses will deprive you of your
throat and quite possibly your very
humanity!
Enough said; on to observations
regarding the two basic stages of a
successful hunt: identification and
entrapment.