The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Demon Hunter X is the second SB for Kindred of the East (or, if you look at it the other way, is the third sourcebook in the Year of the Lotus series).

It's the Hunters book for KotE, portraying the two types of hunters that operate in the mysterious East.

There's two different types: the Shih, who are like park rangers for shen; and Strike Force Zero, a high tech monster hunting team based in Japan that wanders Asia, looking for monster butt to toast.

The book is chock full of new background and source material. The introductory comic (done as in the Werewolf Tribebooks) is a story of a botched ZF0 raid, saved by a wandering Shih. Aside from suffering from the unappealing art of Leif Jones (although the attention to detail is impressive), it's a nice story, and a nice alternative to the standard short story to be found at the beginning of most WW sourcebooks.

The histories of the Shih and SF0 are detailed for players in the early part of the book, and for GM's in the latter parts. The Shih are an ancient force, solitary wanderers whose purpose is to keep the Kuei-Jin under control. They're people who have suffered at the hands of shen and who have spent years training to destroy the monsters. They fight monsters through a combination of martial arts training (at least four dots in MA, Occult, Melee, and Dodge and a passel of neato combat maneuvers) and mystical powers.

The agents of SF0, on the other hand, are people with a lose association with reality, and who don't really fit in with society (similar, as the author points out, to many gamers). They fight the beasts of the night with super-tech and detective work (and, should the situation require, high explosives and lasers).

The supplement was mostly enjoyable to me, until I reached the very end. And then, I realized the enormous depths of Anime influence in this SB. I mean, the GM section includes "the World of Darkness, Anime Style!" And then they tell you to structure your SF0 teams like the team from Battle of the Planets. I mean, sure I like Mark n' Jason and all, but I don't want to play them while in a vampire game.

The toys in this book are pretty good. For the Shih there's a ton of stuff to play with. They can use their chi (that's Chinese for "super-power") to whup some serious ass. They can strike their opponents with prayer (not making this up), or heal the mind or body. They can focus their chi as a destructive force, or defend themselves from the powers of the shen. They can also gouge out someone's entrails with their fingers.

SF0, on the other hand, doesn't get handy dandy super-powers (well, some of them will have the always-well-explained-and-not-useless -at-low-levels Numina), but they DO get cyberware. Neat little techno-toys that let them fight the evils of the East. They're quite cool, actually. You can get a holster in your thigh for your uber-gun, gills to let you breath underwater, or night vision eyes.

Anime influence aside, I liked DHX. It's not quite as engaging a look into hunters as The Inquisition or Project: Twilight, but is easily as good as Hunter's Hunted was.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Demon Hunter X<
Author: Jim Moore Category: game Company/Publisher: White Wolf Cost: $15.00 Page count: 112 ISBN: 1-56504-202-6 Capsule Review by Justin Mohareb on 05/22/98. Genre tags: none	Demon Hunter X is the second SB for Kindred of the East (or, if you look at it the other way, is the third sourcebook in the Year of the Lotus series). It's the Hunters book for KotE, portraying the two types of hunters that operate in the mysterious East. There's two different types: the Shih, who are like park rangers for shen; and Strike Force Zero, a high tech monster hunting team based in Japan that wanders Asia, looking for monster butt to toast. The book is chock full of new background and source material. The introductory comic (done as in the Werewolf Tribebooks) is a story of a botched ZF0 raid, saved by a wandering Shih. Aside from suffering from the unappealing art of Leif Jones (although the attention to detail is impressive), it's a nice story, and a nice alternative to the standard short story to be found at the beginning of most WW sourcebooks. The histories of the Shih and SF0 are detailed for players in the early part of the book, and for GM's in the latter parts. The Shih are an ancient force, solitary wanderers whose purpose is to keep the Kuei-Jin under control. They're people who have suffered at the hands of shen and who have spent years training to destroy the monsters. They fight monsters through a combination of martial arts training (at least four dots in MA, Occult, Melee, and Dodge and a passel of neato combat maneuvers) and mystical powers. The agents of SF0, on the other hand, are people with a lose association with reality, and who don't really fit in with society (similar, as the author points out, to many gamers). They fight the beasts of the night with super-tech and detective work (and, should the situation require, high explosives and lasers). The supplement was mostly enjoyable to me, until I reached the very end. And then, I realized the enormous depths of Anime influence in this SB. I mean, the GM section includes "the World of Darkness, Anime Style!" And then they tell you to structure your SF0 teams like the team from Battle of the Planets. I mean, sure I like Mark n' Jason and all, but I don't want to play them while in a vampire game. The toys in this book are pretty good. For the Shih there's a ton of stuff to play with. They can use their chi (that's Chinese for "super-power") to whup some serious ass. They can strike their opponents with prayer (not making this up), or heal the mind or body. They can focus their chi as a destructive force, or defend themselves from the powers of the shen. They can also gouge out someone's entrails with their fingers. SF0, on the other hand, doesn't get handy dandy super-powers (well, some of them will have the always-well-explained-and-not-useless -at-low-levels Numina), but they DO get cyberware. Neat little techno-toys that let them fight the evils of the East. They're quite cool, actually. You can get a holster in your thigh for your uber-gun, gills to let you breath underwater, or night vision eyes. Anime influence aside, I liked DHX. It's not quite as engaging a look into hunters as The Inquisition or Project: Twilight, but is easily as good as Hunter's Hunted was. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Demon Hunter X<