Here There Be Monsters

Professional Origin

Some players might have the preconception that in a setting with Supernaturals in it a mere "mundane" is not worth playing. Nothing could be further from the truth. Professionals are the most flexible, least limited Origin. Professionals practically never need to worry about hiding their abilities to avoid Sanctioning, and with the use of some of the custom Talents and Super Skills available in Here There Be Monsters settings they can be incredibly competent.

Characters that are not themselves Supernatural and rely upon special gear and / or extreme "skill" should choose the Professional Origin, which unlocks the Professional Special Resource Pool for free.

PROFESSIONS

Professionals can come from any "mundane" background, have any set of skills, and any sort of justification for how they became aware of the Supernatural World and got involved in it as a Hunter. Revenge is a common theme with Professional Hunters, but so is greed (monster bounties are quite lucrative...assuming you survive to collect), and thrillseeking (taking on a hostile and capable Supernatural is an extreme adrenaline rush).

Some Professionals are full time Hunters, making their living entirely off of bounties or personal investments and wealth, but others still have a "day job" and labor in the mundane world in between Hunts.

ABILITIES

Professionals can use their Professional Pool for special gear, signature abilities (Super Skills), martial arts styles, and combat skills.

Overall Skill Levels

Overal Skill Levels purchased in a Professional Pool benefit from a 2 point price discount. Thus in 5e they cost 8 points each, and in 6e they cost 10 points each.

Signature Abilities (Super Skills)

Some professionals have developed signature abilities, also known as "super skills", which mark them out as more competent than the average person.

All signature abilties have the special effect (SFX) of extreme but mundane competence. The Professional is doing something that a sufficiently well-trained and capable normal person could theoretically do under ideal conditions, but very reliably, or to an unusual level, while in difficult circumstances, etc. This is the stuff of action movie stars and pulp heroes.

All signature abilties (Super Skills) should comply with at least one of the following:
- Have a Real Cost of 10 points or less
- Require a Skill Roll (Limitation)
- Be constructed as a Skill or Skill Level
- Have at least -1/2 in total Limitations
- Represent a common trope of the action-adventure genre or "heroic cinema"

Some example signature abilities are included below for reference, but Professionals that are considering one or more such abilities are encouraged to make custom "super skills" to personalize themselves.

Martial Arts and Combat Skills

While characters of all Origins can buy martial art manuevers and combat skills in the normal fashion, a Professional can also opt to purchase some or all of their martial arts manuevers and combat skills via their Professional Pool.

This allows a Professional character to use some or all of their 25 free Resource Points at Character Creation to offset the cost of martial arts manuevers and combat skills.

High End Gear

In the Here There Be Monsters setting, Military grade or equivalent gear can only be taken in a Professional Pool (rather than the price-discounted Equipment Pool).

Such rare (perhaps even unique) gear is part of the character's identity. Professionals that have invested in such items can reasonably expect to be able to replace them with same or equivalent items via in-game means should theirs be lost or broken.

With GM's permission a Professional can also occasionally swap out such items for other high-end gear, though not with the same ease and frequency as gear can be swapped in and out of the Equipment Pool. This allows a Professional to occasionally "upgrade" their stuff or just decide to change their focus.

NOTE: While advanced body armor, grenades, customized firearms, and similar high end combat oriented gear is taken in a character's Professional Pool, a player still must justify such items via their character's concept and backstory.

Deadly Blow and Weapon Master Talents

NOTE: this one is kind of a big deal...

In the Here There Be Monsters setting, the Deadly Blow and Weapon Master Talents can only be taken in a Professional Pool.

This allows Professionals to remain competitively lethal in the company of supernatural Hunters with strange powers, spells, innate abilities, and so forth.

Professional Edge Talent

In the Here There Be Monsters setting, the following custom Talent can only be taken in a Professional Pool

1 / level	Professional Edge: a character with this ability can force a re-roll once per session per level per segment. This can affect one of their own rolls, or the roll of an opponent in the same scene that would negatively impact the character. Any kind of dice roll, including 3d6 resolutions, damage, and effect rolls can be selected.
	If an opponent being forced to re-roll also has a level of Professional Edge available, they can expend a level to cancel the affect and thus avoid having to re-roll.

ARCHETYPES

Former Miltary: (JB Rochefort) a seemingly disproportionate number of Hunters have a military background; whether because they deliberately became involved in Hunting during or after their military service, of if they just happened to get attacked and survived thanks to their training varies.
Ex-Cop: (Jake Donaldson) Cops are more likely than just about any "mundane" career to come face to face with monsters, and some of them drop out of the thin blue line to become Hunters after being exposed to something far worse than a merely human mugger or murder.
Occult Investigator: (Alyssa Meeks) some Hunters have the sleuthy detective skills and detailed esoteric knowledges to allow them to detect the handiwork of monsters, follow the clues, nail the bastards down, and solve crimes of a Supernatural nature.
Cryptozooligist: (Miriam Warren) some Hunters were once fringe-scientists whose hunts for cryptids and other odd creatures led them into the dark world of monsters and Hunting.
Slayer: (Antony Scantanelli) some Hunters are specifically bent on Hunting and being a general nemesis to a particular type of monster; Vampires most commonly. They may or may not bother with other types of targets along the way.
Martial Artist: (Jimmy Chen) some Hunters are world-class martial artists, fighters, and scrappers, who dare to pit their hand to hand expertise against monsters.
Survivor: (Killroy) some Hunters were once normal folks from just about any walk of life, whose safe little world was shattered by some kind of contact with a monster. They survived and somehow became involved in Hunting monsters down...maybe for revenge, maybe just because its more exciting than being a CPA or a cubicle-dwelling wage slave.
Mercenary: (Trey Halford) some Hunters are just in it for the money. Guns for hire, or big bounty chasers, for them Hunting is simply a business. And business is good!
Big Game Hunter: (Clark Dugard) some Hunters started out as simple mundane hunters of deer and such, and had a brush with the supernatural while pursuing their hobby out in the wilderlands and got a taste for a new kind of prey.
Legacy: (Amanda Knox) some Hunters are raised to "the life" by Hunter parents. For them, Hunting is normal. They often have deep practical knowledge regarding Hunting, and sometimes have access to information or family contacts. A few even inherit "family reputations"; and enemies to go with them.

Example Signature Abilities

Defensive Attack (Ranged)

When making a Multiple / Autofire Attack (APG 38), the character suffers -2 DCV penalty instead of the normal 1/2 DCV penalty (10 Active Points); Ranged (-1)

Real Cost: 5 points

Defensive Gunfighting

+1 DCV (5 Active Points); Only versus ranged combat (-1)

Real Cost: 2 points

Excellent Climber

Clinging (normal STR) (10 Active Points); Requires A Roll (Skill roll; Climbing; -1/2)

7 points

Good Balance

Knockback Resistance -1m

Real Cost: 1

Good Shooting Technique

Area Of Effect Accurate (1m Radius; +1/2) for up to 40 Active Points of RKA (20 Active Points); OIF (Pistol of Opportunity; -1/2), Extra Time (Full Phase, -1/2), Only While Using Brace Maneuver (-1/4)

2 END

Real Cost: 9 points

Hail Of Gunfire

Autofire (3 shots; +1/4) for up to 50 Active Points of Ranged Killing Attack (12 Active Points); OAF (Requires two pistols of opportunity; Requires Multiple Foci or functions at reduced effectiveness; -3/4)

1 END

Real Cost: 7 points

Heavy Hitter

Hand-To-Hand Attack +2d6, Penetrating (+1/2) (15 Active Points); Extra Time (Full Phase, -1/2), Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/4)

1 END

Real Cost: 8 points

Heroic Healing Rate

Regeneration (1 BODY per Day)

Real Cost: 4 points

Intense Resilience

Resistant Protection (8 PD), Hardened (+1/4) (15 Active Points); Restrainable (-1/2), Nonpersistent (-1/4)

Real Cost: 8 points

Melee Awareness

+2 DCV; HtH (-1)

Real Cost: 5 points

Only a Flesh Wound

Resistant Protection (8 PD/8 ED) (24 Active Points); Does not protect from first point of BODY (-1/2)

Real Cost: 16 points

Roll With It

Physical Damage Reduction, Resistant, 50% (30 Active Points); Requires A Roll (Skill roll, -1 per 20 Active Points modifier; Must be made each Phase/use; Breakfall; -3/4)

Real Cost: 17 points

Trained Senses

+2 PER with all Sense Groups

Real Cost: 6 points