Hunter: The Reckoning vs The Whispering Vault
Compare Hunter: The Reckoning and The Whispering Vault side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Hunter: The Reckoning | The Whispering Vault | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Horror, Modern | Horror |
| Tags | Investigation, Mystery, Character-Driven, Gritty, Deadly, Atmospheric, Social Combat, Strong GM Support, Lore-Heavy, Urban Fantasy | Mission-Based, Mystery, Investigation, Superpowers, High-Power, Character-Driven, Atmospheric, Weird, One-Shot Friendly, Strong GM Support |
| Core Mechanic | Roll a pool of d10s, usually an Attribute plus a Skill. Each 6 or higher is a success. Meeting the Storyteller's Difficulty wins. Each pair of 10s counts as four successes. On tests within their creed's Field, Hunters may choose to add Desperation Dice equal to the cell's shared Desperation rating. A 1 on any Desperation Die turns a win into a choice: keep it and raise the cell's Danger, or fail and enter Despair. A failed test with a Desperation 1 always causes Despair. | Roll a number of d6s equal to the relevant Attribute. Take the highest single die or the largest sum of matching dice, then add the applicable Skill Bonus. Meet or exceed the GM's Difficulty to succeed. Spend one Karma to reroll any chosen dice while keeping the others. |
| Dice | d10 dice pool | d6 dice pool |
| Complexity | Medium | High |
| Availability | Paid | Paid |
| Runnability | 5 of 5 book tools | 3 of 5 book tools |
| License | All Rights Reserved | All Rights Reserved |
| Third-Party Publishing | Commercial publishing allowed — Storytellers Vault | No verified route found |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Publisher | Renegade Game Studios | Philip Reed Games |
| Year | 2022 | 2003 |
| Languages | English, French, German, Italian, Spanish | English |
| Best For | Groups who want investigation-heavy modern horror in which a cell of ordinary people researches, plans, and confronts a monster at real personal risk. | Groups who want supernatural horror investigations with powerful, inhuman protagonists. It suits episodic hunts across different eras or campaigns protecting one recurring location. |
| Highlights | Desperation rises after the cell's setbacks, so mounting trouble adds both dice and risk to later Field tests. Overreach lets a player keep a win by raising the cell's Danger, which escalates the quarry's response against the whole cell. Monsters have weaknesses Hunters can discover, so research pays off as concrete advantages in the final confrontation. | Each Hunt gives the group a concrete objective of investigating and repairing a breach in reality. Mastered powers allow improvised effects paid for with Karma. Consistent portrayal of the Keys that preserve a Stalker's human identity earns one part of the Experience award. |
| Considerations | Desperation Dice apply only to tests within a Hunter's creed Field, so a character's signature boost sits idle outside that specialty. The book recommends ending most conflicts after about three turns, which leaves little room for extended tactical combat. The content warning covers themes such as sexual violence and torture, so groups should calibrate boundaries before play. | The Forbiddance punishes interference with unrelated mortals or major historical events. Supernatural abilities can consume the same Vitality used to withstand injury. Power interpretations and unusual combat situations depend on GM judgment rather than detailed rules for every case. |