by Jonathan Lang (Hunter: The Reckoning | Lock ‘n Load | Columns)
NOTE: It's so very early in the history of Hunter: the Reckoning that it's difficult to comment on it. Hardly anyone has had a chance to try out the material, so most commentary is based on initial impressions of the game rather than first-hand experience. As such, I will refrain from commentary on the mechanics presented until such time as I have had a chance to try them out in a practical game setting. Instead, I will focus on a Creed mentioned in the book but neglected for the most part, and will attempt to describe them as a playable option in the game.
You have a lot in common with the other imbued. Maybe you believe in protecting the innocent, or perhaps you're more concerned with vengeance. You could easily be any one of the others: an innocent, a judge, a martyr, a redeemer, and a visionary. Who knows? Our kind is of a diverse nature. There's really only one commonality amongst us; when push came to shove, we failed.
At the time of your imbuing, you received a warning of supernatural danger nearby as all of us do; but when the monster was revealed to you, you froze. Instead of taking action to stop it, you merely stood there and watched. And you have paid for your inaction; the others consider you to be a failure, and look at you with varying degrees of pity and contempt. The conviction, which has filled the hearts of your comrades, has sifted through your fingers, and you have been denied the edges that they have earned.
Paradoxically, however, this is a boon of sorts; the others tend to think of themselves as almost more than human, but you know better. Your failure has taught you a lesson in humility which your comrades would do well to learn, and your lack of the supernatural edge which the others seem to have keeps you more grounded in your essential humanity.
You have found that the conviction that you felt at the imbuing isn't entirely gone, though; you just have to work harder to maintain it than the others do. You know that there are real monsters in the world, and that something must be done about them. And when next you meet one, you will not fail; you must not.
Having already failed once, you are very aware of your flaws; sometimes, too much so. Bystanders tend to second-guess themselves, or to develop an obsession with setting things right. Both of these can get you killed. In many cases, the bystander watched as the monster that he was supposed to stop performed atrocities on the people around him; he has to live with consequences far more severe than simple knowledge of the monsters' existence. Nightmares and guilt are not uncommon.
Due to their diverse nature, bystanders have a wide variety of opinions of the Messengers; literally the entire range of the other creeds is spanned. The one thing that most of them agree on is that the Messengers no longer support them; they are on their own in a world that is dying.
As mentioned above, the common thread in all of the bystanders is that they did nothing with the warning that they received, and have paid for it ever since.
Unlike other Hunters, bystanders get no Edges. They get Virtues and Conviction like any of the others, but beyond that there's no telling what they're like.
Starting Conviction: 0
A.K.A.: wimps, losers
Bystanders offer a more human alternative to the other creeds; as "failed" Hunters, they have no Edges to fall back on. In contrast to the book (Hunter: The Reckoning, page 229), they do potentially have Conviction and everything that goes with it, but it is a very rare resource, leading to the common belief amongst Hunters that it is something Bystanders lack.
Players who find the existing Hunters to be too supernatural for their tastes will be likely to find the Bystanders to be more palatable.
