Inquisitive Creed

The Inquisitive creed is one of the five creeds practiced by mortal Hunters. Not all Hunters are new to the mysteries of the occult. Some already know something of the secret world around them and seek to gain ever-deeper understanding of the metaphysics of the supernatural. Those of the Inquisitive creed are less likely to destroy their prey outright, instead opting to garner occult knowledge from them or even arrange risky appeasements in the hope that information gathered now will yield greater protections in the future. For many Inquisitives, knowledge is its own reward.

Overview

Inquisitive Hunters perceive a world shrouded in supernatural darkness and seek to push back that shadow by shining the light of knowledge upon it. Discovering the extent and function of the secret world and the creatures that occupy it is the focus of Inquisitive efforts. They may be tech-savvy information-raiders, skilled on-site infiltrators, or introverted archivists, but all believe and share a desire to know more.

Inquisitive Hunters might expect to research the history of their city with regard to unspeakable cults, discover the location of the quarry’s lair through indexing arcane telemetry data, infiltrate a shell company used to hide a mysterious individual’s assets, record the salient details of entering a fiend’s lair, and archive the methods and results of a successful Hunt.

Backgrounds

Many Inquisitives take a very pragmatic approach to the Hunt, and their personality is marked by a desire to know more about a problem before attempting to solve it. They’re the type of people who take apart clocks, learn languages to read untranslated books, or sneak into the lab after it’s closed. Show them a lock and they’ll demand the key; show them a wall with a missing brick and they’ll find something to poke into the hole.

Individually, the motives and methods of Inquisitives vary greatly. Some are clever, and take personal satisfaction in outwitting not only the monsters but also the orgs (or even the less subtle Hunters). Or they may be fearless information-gatherers, perhaps with military reconnaissance backgrounds, espionage training, or raw charisma that allows them to move among any number of subcultures, all of which might be hiding supernatural intrusions. Still others see themselves as masters of secrets, organizers of knowledge, or even more prosaic fact-finders in a world that protects itself by not knowing what they discover.

Some Inquisitives grow frustrated with the seemingly limitless timetable of the learning effort that can be the trademark of the creed. Many observers of the occult seem to exhibit no urgency — monsters are preying on people, and, guess what, the Hunters already know that, so at some point, the impetus to actually do something about it may come to the fore. Unsurprisingly, these latter individuals are the most likely to ignite a Drive and take up the Inquisitive cause, even if the creed itself has the most removed, bookworm-ish reputation.

Tactics

The stereotype of the Inquisitive Hunter is the bespectacled intellectual, greatly outmatched by brawnier or better-equipped Hunters. Inquisitives know this, of course, and are therefore among the most knowledgeable and prepared Hunter creeds. Taking to heart the wisdom that understanding one’s enemy is the best weapon to wield against them, Inquisitives are often the best-informed about what they’re getting into, or at least knowing the “known unknowns.” Let the hooahs kick down the doors and open fire — the wise Inquisitive will already have come in and exited through the basement window, taking the quarry’s journals and the most revealing trinkets from its lair.

This stands in complement to Inquisitives’ motives. Actually destroying monsters is often far down the list of priorities — the most important thing is to learn, and the best way to pass on that learning is to be able to share it with someone else. No surprise, then, that Inquisitive Hunters favor survival tactics over engagement tactics. This also means that most Inquisitive Hunts are focused more on reconnaissance than target neutralization, and therefore, comparatively lightly armed. The occult nature of the supernatural means that Inquisitives know well how uninformed they are about their targets, so withdrawal almost always makes more sense than a sustained conflict.

In general, this extends to the sorts of Hunts Inquisitives generally undertake against supernatural foes. Inquisitives are much more likely to rescue a victim, recover some sort of insight-yielding artifact, collect a “sample” from an inert or incapacitated target, or confirm previously observed data about a greater supernatural-creature type than they are to exterminate a werewolf den with extreme prejudice.

Complicating things is that Inquisitives often prepare in broad strokes, but may find themselves unprepared for specific eventualities. An Inquisitive-led cell may know that they’re up against a vampire, and that garlic and crosses don’t work against vampires but fire does — and then the cell would be completely unprepared as the vampire steps out of a shadowy alcove behind them, because who knew that vampires could walk through shadows? The impractical Inquisitive often ends up being their own inadvertent foil.

Creed Field

When driven further to success by Desperation, Inquisitive Hunters excel at gaining information while on the Hunt, such as research, breaking and entering, and interrogation.

Gallery

An Inquisitive Hunter

References

• HTR: 5th Edition Core Book, p. 39-41