I'm going on the record right now that I went into reading Hunter-Book Martyr prepared to be disappointed. The reason for this is because of all the Creeds, Martyrs are the ones who I most identify with. The concept of sacrificing for others, whether they are aware of your efforts or not, is something I believe deeply in, and an ideal I've done my best to live my life by since I was seventeen. I was prepared to find Martyr a waste of money, written by people who had no understanding of the concept of sacrifice and who had run with the idea that all Martyrs were pain junkies. Instead I found Martyr to be a an exquisite book written by people who understand the mindset of someone who accepts regular sacrifices as something that must be done, and who have written a book that explains such a mindset to those unfamiliar with them and allow them to play such a character. Without a doubt Martyr is my favorite White Wolf book of all time.
The book starts out with journal entries a Martyr has written to himself. In just a few short pages the reader gets an understanding that the writer does what he does not out of some perceived duty to someone, but because he cares about people, even those he doesn't know. He wants to make the world a better place, even though the only way to do so is to do things that not only risk the few things he has in his life, but also make him do things that make him hate himself. There's a real beautiful part in here where the Martyr argues with a vampire over what they are doing, and I recommend showing it to any Vampire player who has trouble understanding why Hunters would be willing to throw themselves against the undead hordes. As this section ends we find that the Martyr's problems are just starting, and we'll be hearing more from him later in the book. Just an excellent read here.
The prologue fiction, entitled "Welcome Back," is my least favorite portion of the book. It's not bad, by any means, being well written and concise. It's just that the villain of the piece is of a type that I'm sick of seeing in Hunter products. I don't want to spoil it for anyone, so I'll just let it go at that.
The Introduction is the usual bit found in every Creedbook. The only noteworthy thing here is that there is a small section here on how Avengers differ from Martyrs. While there was nothing here that I needed to read, I wish the author(s) of the FAQ found in the Hunter Storyteller Handbook had read through it before writing their commentary on Avengers in that work.
Chapter One starts off with a Martyr's Death Row writings mysteriously finding its way into the hands of fellow Hunters, a trick not fully explained until the Hermit Creedbook. In these writings were introduced to a Martyr who's suffering the ultimate mundane fate that his crusade against the supernatural can give him. It's nice to note that the individual is not a "nice" person before his imbuing, but when the time came he stood up for what was right, regardless of the consequences. Of course, as we later learn, he didn't instantly become a saint after he heard the call, but it was great to see a Hunter who after being imbued was like "Now that I know what's going on I must do what's right" rather than "Oh, okay, I'll deal with it after work," like some Hunters that have come before. The writings of this Hunter and the others in this book put forth some very interesting and unique interpretations of monsters, Hunters, and the Hunter Code, and even if a Storyteller reading it knows that the characters are wrong about some things, he finds himself saying "You know, it makes perfect sense that the character would think that way, given what we know about him, and his idea isn't that far-fetched."
The other two Martyrs who we follow throughout this book are introduced in this chapter, and they are anon52 and joan296. Those who have visited the Hunter.net website setup at White Wolf's website are familiar with the name anon52, as that's the name they're given to sign in to the pseudo-Hunter.net. Well, in this book anon52 is the Hunter whose journal opens the book, picking up only a day or so since the end of his last entry. Anon give some good guesses about Hunters and monsters, though his views do tend to offend other Hunters throughout the book, since he doesn't see much distinction between Hunters and the beings they hunt.
Joan296 is a very interesting characters as well. Starting out as a bad teenager stereotype, much like Justme did in the Judge Creedbook, joan (yes, it's lowercase in the book) quickly becomes the bad stereotypical kid who found God, but as time goes by proves to be much more. As she starts out she seems very intelligent, though wrapped up in her newfound faith, and presents some ideas of Hunter accepting fellow Hunters and views on what are going on that are fresh, friendly, and all around nice. But as the book progresses we find that joan's take on things has a darker side, and this change in personality (or perhaps revelation of the true joan is a better choice of words) comes gradually and makes sense, so it doesn't seem like the writer just suddenly switched gears and decided on an abrupt personality shift. She's quite a unique character, reminding me of some tales I've heard about the leader of the Inquisition as presented in Vampire books.
Chapter Two has various tales from the trio of Hunters the book focuses on, involving how they take on monsters and their beliefs on how other Hunters should do so. It's impressive that even as some of the sections detail the extreme steps Martyrs sometimes have to take against monsters, the authors still remember that at the base of it a Martyrs believes in the Mercy Virtue, and includes it in the writings. Better yet, they do it in such a way that it doesn't feel like it's an afterthought or thrown in because their editor told them to. It's just wonderful to read.
Chapter Three covers Martyr views on other Hunters. Very well-done. Chapter Four sums things up, with the Death Row Martyr having compounded his crimes, joan on the run from the law for doing what she thinks is right, and anon giving some interesting views of the future as he awaits his encounter with his son. Another bit of perfection.
Chapter Five begins the rules section of the book. I can't explain to you how impressed by how great a take the authors have on those people who have a Martyr mindset. Many times throughout my life people have talked to me about the way I live my life and why I do so, and many of those occasions I'm afraid to admit I couldn't express myself clearly enough to make them understand. If I'd had a copy of Martyr then I probably could have just photocopied a few pages of this book and highlighted the pertinent sections to give them an idea of how I see the world. I was very impressed with the insight the authors had here.
There are also rules here for "minor" Derangements, Martyrs being one of the few Creeds where optional rules are given for them to develop mental instability long before most other Creeds do. While I hate the idea of Martyrs or any other Creed being singled out for extra screwing, I must say that I've seen the behavior described as minor Derangements in myself on many occasions, so again the authors have hit the nail on the head. The new Edges introduced here for Martyrs are very good, and I was amused by the Level One Edge, which allows a Hunter to have his features radiate a sort of rage to supernaturals, causing them to be afraid; for many years I was told I had the look of being angry all the time, even when I was in the best of moods. Unfortunately, the Level Five Edge needs some major revision. Basically, the new Level Five Edge allows a Hunter to have a chance of destroying certain supernaturals or removing all their supernatural powers from them, but each use of this power results in the Hunter having a 1 Difficulty to all rolls for the rest of the character's life, or results in instant death. That I have no problem with. What I do have a problem with is that to use this power the Hunter must be touching the target, spend 10 Conviction, then win an opposed Willpower roll with the creature while holding onto it for three consecutive turns. Only problem is that there's no indication that the monster being affected is prevented from defending itself! I can't see any monster not being able to break off contact with the Hunter before either the three turns were up or the Willpower rolls were over. I think there should be a rule included that the affected monster is just as unable to do anything as the Hunter affecting him.
The Martyr special power is very cool, allowing a Hunter to enter a bond with someone else, Hunter or regular human, and under certain situations the person that is bonded to the Martyr may take a Conviction point from the Hunter and use it either as a Conviction point of their own or as a Willpower point. It is a very cool idea, with good mechanics and presentation.
I should note that I was a little disappointed that, like Visionaries were in their own Creedbook, the book sort of urges Martyrs to take a specific cause and rally around it, rather than just be willing to sacrifice yourself against any supernatural at any time it is necessary. It's not really a bad thing, but it's possible that a strict Storyteller might hose you on the Conviction-gaining rules introduced in this book otherwise.
Chapter Six has some pregenerated characters, including one almost exactly like joan296 and one that several of my players have noted bears an uncanny resemblance to myself in terms of the character portrait. Coverage of some prominent Hunters rounds out the book, though sadly not all have stats provided for them, and one may not even be a Martyr.
Finally, there is the art of this book. It's top-notch all around, with even the artist whose work in previous Hunter books I found lacking somehow finding the skill to produce some quality work. My only real complaint is that there's one picture which would have been more appropriate for the Innocent Creedbook, and another that seems to be based on text from the Justme portion of the Judge Creedbook. Still, the artists do a great job catching the tone and mood of the book, and I'm especially impressed by the illustration on page 73, the look on the woman's face in the picture the perfect of the Reckless Goods minor Derangement introduced on the following page.
Well, I can't recommend this one enough. I realize that to most people it won't have the draw or entertainment value that it did for me, but I think you'll still find it highly enjoyable. I'd really love to see the individuals who worked on this book team up for another Hunter book.
Go to forum!
(Due to spamming, old forum discussions are no linked.)