A Deep Horror Experience - Hunter the Reckoning 5th Edition Review

Hunter the Reckoning 5th Edition is a book about mortals finding the drive to take on supernatural creatures haunting them. Will they survive the hunt? Josh explores the mechanics, story and structure of the new edition of Hunter the Reckoning.
00:00 What is Hunter about?
06:50 New Mechanics
16:14 Monsters (Spoilers!!!)
19:32 Monsters (no spoilers)
21:48 Rival Organisations
26:04 Characters
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[@terrax39]

Coming from Call of Cthuhlu I find it fascinating on how the monsters are more human rather than just unknowable beings from beyond. I like that. I just wish that there was a toolset for making more cause the spc template (that was literally just a sidebar) only helps me so much. Also more information on the various threats. The only one that I have knowledge of is the vampires cause VtM.

[@evilsclone2499]

I know I'm a year late, but there is a channel I would recommend if you still have an interest in this setting. Mainly TheBurgerKrieg who has a side series on his channel that delves into some of the other WOD settings like Wizard and Wraith. He also has video on hunters and vampires with some more in depth exploration of their lore and how to subvert and change the classic monsters.

[@flyingfox369]

Solid and fair overview. Quality video and audio. Keep doing what you're doing.

[@phaedra4479]

Awesome thank you for this. I've been hovering over the preorder button for a while

[@mathewlanders3282]

I agree i would love a 300 page book of just monsters set out like this. :)

[@Retro_Spike]

Been waiting for the review. thank you 😊

[@perrisneuman4896]

I know it's been a year but as someone who loved Orpheus (The stand alone game) this is a great place for them.

[@doozerpindan]

I've already got a campaign idea for this game, and I loved your review. I'm thinking I'll set my campaign in a little British town called Weirgate...

[@megaben99]

Does this book have a weapons section and if it does, does it show what the weapons look like?

[@GodLikeDevil]

I know the contributor who wrote the antagonists from the Philippines. They based the Little Girl from Baguio on an actual IRL crime here that was very sensational in the 90s. The Manila Department of Justice segment is also based on the rumored open secret that those convicted here can be hired out by the rich and powerful for privileges and the like. There was a Filipino movie that dramatized the practice, “On The Job”, where convicts were hired out as hitmen in exchange for money sent to their families as well as brief furloughs outside the jail.

[@cryophile]

Is there any way to actually kill a vamp? I got my clock cleaned by a Lasombra.

[@shiverbane9920]

I loved the hunter the reckoning video games as a kid and have been interested in the pen and paper games since thanks for the video.

[@justinhogan3880]

Long time HTR player here, and I was honestly surprised to see HTR 5th in such an early wave. I love that fact and I still believe HTR is a fantastic way to introduce people to WoD.

[@johncmousley]

Hunters, the best denizens of the WoD. A serious question though; how do you think this compares to Hunter the Vigil 2E over in the CofD?

[@StrangeAdventures]

Yea good question. I think they're both pretty good but the stories they're meant for are very different from the kind of characters that each lets you play. Vigil is much more pulpy imo

[@paulll47]

@@StrangeAdventures Vigil more pulpy than Reckoning?

[@SokK]

Thanks for the review ! I've just finished reading the book twice and I'd like to say that I mostly agree about what you say when it comes down to the content but I also strongly feel like the book is a mess. It is so hard to read because the writing is soooooo needlessly long and finding any information quickly is almost impossible. I had to reread so many chapters trying to understand some rules only to discover that it just wasn't there at all. For the first time I am watching actual plays to try and grab some basic mechanics that I should have no doubts about if the book was well written. That is a real shame. Is it a good game ? I think so. But is it a good RPG book ? I clearly disagree... It is cool looking though haha.

[@dantezarath4274]

Soooo the imbued was changed to kind of the "spark"?

[@chrisw1693]

Could totally do a stranger thing's campaign

[@wyattbranham4919]

Orgs are best used as side characters, or story hooks.

[@Zirbip]

Nice Drac Pack shirt! Is that the same shirt that Max gave to Shaun?

[@StrangeAdventures]

Haha it's as close as I can get. It's actually in the Stitch of Fate merch store!

[@Zirbip]

@@StrangeAdventures I had no idea there even was a Stitch of Fate merch store. I'll have to check it out. I only just finished episode 13 of the podcast.

[@StrangeAdventures]

Awesome! You got a lot of twists and turns to go then :) Enjoy!

[@Velzhaed]

Thanks for the review. I don't love all the VtM decisions (*cough*Sabbat*cough*) but this sounds really good. Gives me more faith in Werewolf/Mage.

[@danb794]

I really did miss being able to play edgy Cam with my Anarch characters.

[@TheRivanKing91]

I think for the Danger meter, it could be a progressive ratcheting of power in the monster's favor. Like penalties for the players, environmental effects, or even if the ST is savvy enough, making a list of abilities/mutations they can "buy" for the monster, etc. This might be a situation where I can actually use my Outbreak: Undead book since that thing is virtually unplayable as is.

[@larsbangjensen5332]

"Looks at the line of Orpheus-books on the shelf" - Ah the Orpheus is back :)

[@StrangeAdventures]

I didn't realise how many Orpheus books there were until after I read this new Hunter book!

[@larsbangjensen5332]

@@StrangeAdventures It's fine :) I just suddenly felt like an old VtM grognard :) The tie-in with the Wraith line and metaplot is great though. Great review Regards from Denmarkia

[@rebeccalovecraft3432]

Wait Orpheus is fucking back???

[@NDR--zt3fx]

Honestly, this just sounds like a lesser version of Hunter: The Vigil.

[@03dashk64]

Yeah. It really does.

[@doublestarships646]

Which not might be a bad thing for casual players.

[@NDR--zt3fx]

@@doublestarships646 I'm not saying its simpler game. I'm saying that it is a game with less content and versatility even when comparing the core books alone. I don't see why would you use H5 over Vigil 2e.

[@julienlesperance2340]

I have HtV 1st edition. How is the second edition different, and how is it better than H5?

[@NDR--zt3fx]

@@julienlesperance2340 2e is not that different from 1e, its just a more polished version with more stuff incorporated as part of the core rules. H5 just doesn't bring anything new to the table or execute its premise better than either version of hunter. the edges are poorly thought out and the way the book insists that you play as a cell just feels like an excuse to not flesh out the organizations as playable factions.

[@mygdrchannel5705]

Oh, so they took off all the religious/angelic stuff? I mean...

[@FMD-FullMetalDragon]

It seems they took out the Imbued part of the original, which is what really defined the original. This new 5e version could be good, but without the Imbued aspect, it's not The Reckoning. This Hunter game is just a WoD Hunter the Vigil.

[@ligerdrag20]

@@FMD-FullMetalDragon I agree mostly but I thought Hunter the Vigil was handled spectacularly, so if they can ground that kind of vibe with fresh 5th edition mechanics I see no down sides. I'm super excited for this.

[@FMD-FullMetalDragon]

@@ligerdrag20 It's just a misleading game. It's a Hunter's Hunted rpg, not a Hunter the Reckoning game. Everything about it sounds really cool, except it's taking a name and using it for something its not.

[@wingnoot338]

I ran HTR as a failed Technocracy experiment, leading to unawakened humans to use their avatars internally, now they pull the strings to crush reality deviants. Honestly, H:TRs ST guide/Manual made shit vague enough that the Messengers and their bosses *could* be angels, but they are just titles the hunters gave them to try and make sense of the world. Raw Canon? Ech, even then, they angels are only the western interpretation, the Imbued in the middle east have their own mythos and abilities

[@dlaserus]

So basically, they decided to bring back hunters hunted, called it Hunter the reckoning, and then modified it to try and justify the name change? Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with a hunters hunted game. But I didn't know you need some kind of special hunter's spark to be able to have access to vehicles. This is like releasing the core book of Vampire the masquerade, but only letting you play ghouls.

[@AlexGreeneHypnotist]

Creeds are not character classes. This is not D&D. Your creed is what motivates your characters to Hunt. It doesn't change your Hunter - only inclines them towards specific ways in which they hunt. A Faithful hairdresser and an Entrrpreneurial hairdresser are still just hairdressers - and a Faithful garage mechanic is only different to the Enterpreneurial hairdresser in that one fixes the hairdresser's car, and the other gives the mechanic a nice hairdo.

[@georgee4810]

So glad they got rid of the Vigil perks. The new approach makes for a grittier and more dangerous/desperate style of stories, and imo it's a welcome return to the spirit of the Reckoning. Vigil was almost an urban superhero game - with some perks even bordering on the ridiculous - and that's a far cry from what the 90s Hunter was all about: a game of horror and desperation against insurmountable odds where the PC's demise is just around the corner.

[@d3feKt0r]

So it seems like they've taken the bones of base World of Darkness and given it a bit of a sprucing up to become this, with plans to reintroduce the religious aspects in a later expansion book I imagine? I'd like it if they stayed away from the Judaeo-Christian flavored stuff in general. WoD is at its best as subversive counter-culture. This book sounds like a much better way to make believable characters. Looking forward to the follow up video!

[@AlexGreeneHypnotist]

They've removed the angelic stuff, but they do have some inexplicable stuff - the Faithful creed, Endowment Edges and Artifacts for instance. But the Faith your Hunters have can be Buddhism or Islam, and you could use rudraksha mala or a chanted Muslim prayer to Thwart the Unnatural. The Endowment Edges can be your Hunter's manifestation of True Faith, but the Faith originates from within the Hunter, rather than be some mechanic imposed on all the Hunters.

[@Midnightv]

There are "angels" in other cultures too. but... im not what u mean:"subversive"

[@anvos658]

I disagree here as V5 already firmly established True Faith isn't tied to a specific religion, so there was really no reason for a Hunter splat game not to expand upon True Faith and a special true faith ability path would make more sense than edges that are functionally resource and/or contact dots.

[@thesmilyguyguy9799]

:D

[@synthastro]

This product was named poorly or cynically. It really isnt the old HtR rebooted, its Hunters Hunted given the corebook treatment. Fair enough if you dont like that kind of hunter game, but HtR is about supernaturally imbued humans. Its disingenuous to call this game HtR, and was probably just named that way to fit in with the intention of releasing new editions of the classic games. HtV 2nd does this way better and with much less wooliness.

[@BlackRazor54]

I hate 5E, it blows!

[@nooey4416]

“They were originally released in the 90’s so they have a very long history” Millennials: 👵🏻🧓🏻👴🏻

[@StrangeAdventures]

VtM is as old as I am :(