Willpower Is One Of The Most Important Resources in Hunter: The Vigil

The darkness encroaches on the edges of the world, but there are some who are willing to take up the sword and the flame to hold the line. People who will look the monsters of the world in the eye, and refuse to back down. Hunters of the Vigil have many resources to call on in this fight, but one of the most important things they need to hold the line is sheer Willpower... and it's a resource that both players and Storytellers occasionally overlook.

Also, if you want to add a double-edged sword or two into your game for Hunter, consider picking up a copy of The Blade Itself: Corrupt Equipment For Hunter: The Vigil.

No... you move.

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Hunters Are Creatures of Focus... Of Sheer Will

Your Willpower in the Chronicles of Darkness is the combination of your Resolve and Composure. This gives you a minimum of 2 dots of Willpower (for the exceptionally weak-willed) and a maximum of 10 Willpower (for the absolutely iron-willed). Hunters can spend a point of Willpower (usually as a Reflexive action) to do one of the following:

- Gain a 3-die bonus on a single roll

- Gain +2 to resistance against a single action

- Activate miscellaneous powers (Endowments, psychic/supernatural merits, etc.)

And hunters can typically regain Willpower by:

- Getting a full night's sleep (1 Willpower)

- Meaningfully act in accordance with their Virtue (twice per chapter for full Willpower recovery)

- Meaningfully act in accordance with their Vice (once per scene for 1 Willpower)

- Defending a relationship with one of their Touchstones (1 or full, depending on the gravity and risk)

- Risking Willpower (gain 1 point on success)

It's quite a game of math.

As a side note, Risking Willpower is something hunters have access to, and mortals don't. When a hunter is acting in pursuit of the Vigil (according to page 135 of Hunter: The Vigil), they can choose to risk a Willpower instead of just spending one. When they risk a Willpower it allows them to gain 2 benefits off the list on page 135, and if they succeed they keep the point of Willpower they risked, and they gain another point (up to their maximum).

Now, I front-loaded all of that information to explain how important Willpower is. It is a way for hunters to give themselves the necessary edge over the monsters of the world, and to activate the various powers from the different Conspiracies. It's also a necessity for activating many supernatural and psychic merits. Hence why it is important for a hunter to build up their Willpower as high as possible.

The key, if you are a player, is to juggle/cycle your Willpower use. Whether it's by regularly indulging in their vices, risking their Willpower in calculated ways to never use too much at once, or using merits like the Harvest Psyche ability in Psychokinetic Combat merit, players should be regularly spending/risking their Willpower in order to get the most bang for their buck.

From Behind The Storyteller's Screen

If you're a Storyteller, you've got a lot of things coming your way from a cell of hunters. Whether it's hellfire and castigations, psychic fury, or just a barrage of slings and arrows, it's a miracle any of your monsters make it out alive.

However, when it comes to Willpower, you need to think of it like bullets in a gun. This resource is potent, but it isn't bottomless. So make sure you're keeping track of it, and throwing a couple of spanners into the works so your players have to think about what they're blowing their chips on.

How are they going to spend these points?

Because on the one hand, hunters are using their Willpower to give themselves that necessary edge to resist dangerous powers, activate their own supernatural abilities, or just to give themselves a better shot at slaying the monster of the week. However, if your hunters are constantly topping themselves off on Willpower (especially if you've implemented the Beats as Bennies rule that was suggested in Deviant: The Renegades), then it might feel like they have a bottomless fuel tank.

Remember that anyone who receives a single point of lethal damage, or has all their Health boxes filled in with bashing damage, gains the Beaten Down tilt (which means they have to spend a point of Willpower every time they want to take a violent action in the current combat). Ask yourself if monsters whose Dread Powers siphon off Willpower are an appropriate threat. And, above all, remember that the number of enemies, and the number of encounters, can make a huge difference.

If a cell of hunters can just kick in the door and fight a single vampire, or a gigantic spider, or a werewolf, then they can probably go all-out and win. But if they first have to slog through layers of ghoul security, or a brood of lesser spiders, or they have to deal with the werewolf's mate and kin, then suddenly a battle that was quite winnable is looking like a dangerous, resource-intensive slog.

Hunters travel in packs... but keep in mind that monsters are rarely lone wolves.

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If You Haven't Tried a Bennies System, You Should Give It a Shot

As folks round here know, Pathfinder is my game of choice. But as I keep mentioning, it's far from the only game I've played, or run. I have a fondness for the Chronicles of Darkness, for example, I deeply enjoy Spycraft (with the right group, of course), and I've had my share of fun with Call of Cthulhu in its many different forms. But a game that holds a special place in my heart is Savage Worlds, and if I were to recommend one thing from that game that DMs should try at their tables, it's the bennies system.

Risky plan, guys. Sure you don't want to push fate your way a little bit?

What Are Bennies, And How Do They Work?

For those who are unfamiliar with the term, I'll give you a brief rundown. The short version is that, in a bennies system, the DM gives players certain token (typically poker chips, but colored stones or vibrant-looking plastic crystals work just as well). These tokens may come in different colors, each denoting a level of power or importance. Players can earn these tokens through epic deeds, cool roleplay, or just those moments where you make the DM snort Coke out their nose with an unexpected joke. It's up to the DM's discretion.

Then players can spend these bennies in order to get certain benefits.

For example, a player might be able to spend a bennie in order to re-roll a failed check. Or, if they spend the bennie before they roll, they may be able to add a bonus to their check. In some systems, like Savage Worlds or even Pugmire (a game I gave my recommendation to a bit ago in my post Is Pugmire Worth Playing?) you can spend these bennies to activate certain powers, regain resources, or even prevent NPC bad guys from using bennies against you. You could even make a case that hero points from Pathfinder are just an optional bennies system.

Oh no you don't. You want to stave off death, roll your dice and take the chance.

Why Should I Use Them?

Judging from a lot of the opinions I've seen other writers and gamers post, bennies are only acceptable if they're already a part of the core rules of the game you're playing. Otherwise it's just a DM coddling their players.

I disagree with this sentiment for two major reasons.

First is that, as someone who struggles with a dice curse, sometimes the ability to get a re-roll at a critical moment is really handy. And if your players are trying to do something that you really want to succeed, but you don't want to be seen as giving them pity re-rolls for coolness, this is an ideal system for putting that mechanic in place.

Secondly, a bennies system rewards players who keep their heads in the game, and who do cool stuff. While good roleplaying is often thought of as its own reward, it's nice to know that if you put in the effort to come up with a prayer for your PC, if you go through a whole, heartfelt dialogue with a side character, or if you toss off a great one-liner before delivering a death blow that you could be rewarded for that. And if you've already removed experience points from your game (something I recommended a while back in Run Smoother, More Enjoyable Games [By Removing XP]), then a bennies-style system gives you a way to toss out rewards to players who did cool stuff, who make the game better, or who just do something you personally thought stood out.

And, best of all, you get to feel like a king tossing out gold necklaces to the winner of a skalding. Everyone wins!

With that said, a bennies system isn't going to fit every game, or every DM style. You might find that, upon trying it out, that you just don't like the flavor, or that you feel like you're pulling your own threats' teeth. That's a perfectly okay opinion to have... but as all of our parents' said when we were kids, how do you know you won't like it if you've never even tried it?

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday! If you've instituted your own bennies system at your table, tell us how it went in the comments below. If you'd like to see more from me, check out my Vocal archive... or just click my Gamers page to see only my tabletop stuff. Or you could head over to the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio, where I help out from time to time. If you want to stay on top of all my latest releases, then follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter! Lastly, if you'd like to help support me and my work, then you can leave me a tip by Buyng Me A Ko-Fi. Alternatively, if you want to become a regular supporter, go to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a patron! Either way, there's a boat load of gaming swag in it for you.

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