Vadász

Esoteric hunters who use b'qar to make themselves better at stalking their prey. Plural: vadászok.

The Hunt

Most mortal socieities once depended upon hunting for their survival. Many still do. Hunting is a sacred rite for many because it represents survival. The Hunt is an ancient conflict, therefore, and one of the most powerful in the world. Those who engage in the Hunt are part of an ongoing, worldwide ritual that generates b'qar constantly. To become part of it is to move with the flow of the Hunt, to become part of the Hunt. And it means to become one with the beasts who hunt.

In order to become part of the Hunt, every vadász must go through a ritual Hunt to gain its power. For the original vadász, this is a cultural ceremony that takes place when the hunters are 12 years old. The child is trained from a young age to be a hunter, guided usually by their parents or close family, taught everything they can learn about hunting. When they are 10 years old, they are left overnight alone in the deep woods, and retrieved in the morning. Every month, they repeat this, often with fewer and fewer resources each time, until they are 12 and can survive a night alone, naked, with nothing.

First Hunt

Once they can do this, they are taken out to a clearing specially set up for a ceremony. A circle is marked with the forest's detritus (leaves, twigs, stones, etc.). In the middle of the circle, every potential vadász stands, naked, and is coated in the fat of a boar, the blood of a stag, and the spit of an adult vadász. They are then cut across the forehead, palm, lower leg, upper arm, chest, or hip, depending on the town, the child, and the vadász. Their own blood mingles with the other fluids. Then, they are given a sip of wine or spirits from a horn, handed a knife and a piece of string (to cut wood and form a bow and arrows), and told to wait for the full moon(s) to rise. The circle is set ablaze, the vadászok dance around it, and all of them sing ancient songs. The vadászok wear special headdresses adorned with stag's antlers (the antlers of the largest stag they have killed) if they do not have antlers of their own or of wolf or bear or some large predator if they do (i.e., if they are deer folk or cocidians).

When they full moon is at its height, the fires will spontaneously vanish. Each potential vadász will see the image of their prey for the night - a stag, a boar, a rabbit, some difficult prey - and they will rush into the forest as if racers from a starting line. They will then hunt through the night and rest by day. They will have seven nights to complete the hunt. If they fail, they do not get to be vadász, but there is usually no other penalty - there is no shame in not being a vadász, for it is an elite thing. If they succeed in catching and killing their indicated prey (and not other prey, though they are free to catch other beasts to sustain themselves through the seven days), they gain a title based on their prey.

During the hunt, they are expected to make their own bow and arrows, clothing, and other necessities from what they catch.

Running With the Prey

What prey a vadász first hunts tells of their skills and role as a hunter. It takes a cunning and swift hunter to kill a rabbit. It takes a noble and strong one to kill a stag. It takes a brave and fierce one to kill a boar.

• Beaver: clever and good with traps.
• Boar: fierce, strong, and brave.
• Duck: patient, happy, and unpredictable.
• Goose: brave, stubborn, and strong.
• Hare: swift, cunning, and aware.
• Muskrat: resourceful, stealthy, and curious.
• Moose: strong, determined, and resistant to cold.
• Partridge: careful, compassionate, and low to the ground (meaning "humble" and/or "aware of the ground").
• Pheasant: attentive to colors and forms, fast, and guided by one's stomach (meaning "more alert when hungry" or "trusts instincts").
• Porcupine: tenacious, skilled in attack, and practical.
• Rabbit: swift, alert, and kind.
• Squirrel: fast, light, and alert.
• Stag: noble, strong, and respectful.

Before the next full moon, they must use every part of what they catch. If they do this, the next full moon will bring the new vadász out again for a second ritual. Once more, the circle is formed, but without flame. They will have only what they made from the first hunt. No adult vadász will be there to sing or dance for them, so they must sing and dance for themselves. They must use the fat, blood, and spit of their own kills and one another (for the spit). They re-open their original wounds, dance and sing, and when the moon(s) reach the highest point of the night, the prey animals arrive. These will be images of the prey they killed. If they were properly honored, the prey animals will dance with the vadászok. If they were not, the vadász who failed must pay a price of blood. Depending on the transgression this can be as light as a small drop or as horrific as their death. Usually, as these are children, it is just that they forgot some small step and are required to pay a few drops. Once they are paid up, all will dance, and then all will run through the forests, not stopping the entire night, until dawn fades the prey animal, and the vadász bond with them.

Áldozat

Some rare vadász have a vision of a girlchild during their initial hunt. This child is always one of the other members of the community of that vadász. She is always a girl who is part of a ritual of witches in that community, and she is chosen as a sacrifice for the Hunt. She will be brought forth for the Hunt and hunted as a prey animal, and her death will give the vadász such honor and power that she (the vadász will always be a vadásznő, a huntress) is honored above all other vadászok in that community. The following full moon, during the running with the prey, the girlchild will return alive as an áldozat, and she will be a maiden-witch of great power over the Hunt.

She will be able to speak to prey animals. She will perform rituals honoring all prey animals in the community after each hunt, and she will be able to sense poisons, diseases, and blights in any range of her community's hunters. She will be able to heal wounded animals, naturally know the herbalist uses of all plants and fungi of all ranges in her community, and will be able to summon the spirits of ancient predators to protect the community when in need.

When she comes of age, these powers will fade somewhat, though any knowledge she gained will remain, regarding herbs and fungi, and she will still have some veterinary skill. And she will always be allowed to lead ceremonies and be a witch of the community.

Honoring the Prey

To honor one's prey, one must use every part of it. For clothing, food, medicine, tools, weapons, anything that is of use either by practical means or cultural means. They can honor the prey by using anything "unusable" in rituals or ceremonies. But it all must be used. Nothing can be wasted, or the spirit of the animal will reject the vadász, and they will lose all their powers. This goes for every animal they kill.

Becoming the Predator

Every hunter is a predator, one who seeks, slays, and devours the meat of their prey. When one joins the Hunt and the flow of b'qar as it pulses, scatters, waits, and stalks the world, one hunts alongside the other predators. For every mortal hunter there is a beast that flows through them as they hunt. For some mortals, such as animal folk or zoanthropes, these beasts are consistent, but for others, the beast may change from hunt to hunt or season to season.

After the initial ritual in which the vadász bonds with their permanent prey, they may sense other predators as they hunt. While it is not forbidden to hunt other predators (in fact, it is encouraged), it is forbidden to hunt the predator one senses during the hunt. This predator is one's guide, and one must take cues from them as they hunt. If they do this, they will potentially gain attributes of the predator, sometimes permanently, but usually just for the duration of the hunt or at most the season.

Eventually, after many seasons, a veteran vadász will be hunting alone. They will be up against a prey that they realize they cannot catch, kill, trap, or otherwise bring down. They will sense a predator hunting alongside them, though they cannot see it, and they will realize the time has come to become the predator. Making an offering of their own blood, they will mark every tree or rock near them, then meditate until they sense a beast nearby. When they open their eyes, an actual predator animal will be there before them, and it will guide them in the hunt. If they catch their prey before the next dawn or dusk (depending when they start - at least eight hours must pass), their predator friend will grant them a permanent feature (usually a stat or sense bonus), give them a mark on their face or upper arms, and grant them the ability to call upon them for help. They keep these features until they fail to honor their prey properly, until they use the calling ability, or until the next full moon. However, after they have had this experience, they will be able to make a blood offering with or without the other conditions that led to this in order to call upon a new predator friend.

If they get the same predator friend seven times in a row, they will be permanently marked and will gain a new title based on the predator. If they have seven different predators in a row, they gain a new title based on this. Other patterns may also gain them a title or a mark, but always in series of seven.

Hunting Range

Each vadász has a specific range they are allowed to hunt. This range is based on their culture, home, and so on, usually, but also on the power of the Hunt. Some rare vadász realize their range is far away, and they must journey out to find it. Most are close to home. Regardless, they all have a bond to their range and have heightened senses within it. It is their duty to care for their range, and thus, they must keep it clear of poachers, fires, and pollution. They must tend the animals and plants there, and they must keep an eye on the signs within it. They may allow others to hunt their range, but only respectfully, and if they seek to hunt another range, they must make offering and get permission from the vadász there. If they hunt a place with no vadász or other ranger, they must make offering.

Powers

All vadászok have these powers:

• Camouflage: a vadász can blend in with their range at will. If they are in wilderness elsewhere, they still have a stealth bonus so long as they are not (a) in violation of the will of another ranger and (b) too contrasting with the environment in their clothing colors.
• Patience: a vadász will have extreme patience compared even to other hunters. They will be able to survive longer without food or water than others, better able to ignore other bodily needs (even sleep) for longer periods, if and only if they are actively hunting something.
• Stalking: if a vadász has a prey sensed in any way, they gain power to stalk them. They gain stealth bonuses, bonuses to senses, and bonuses to use their bow and arrows.
• Smell: a vadász always has a heightened sense of smell, no matter what.
• Blood: the blood of a vadász is a sacred offering to the Hunt. If spilled in combat or by accident, that blood will have b'qar in it tha can be wielded by any. If the vadász collects their own blood and smears their arrows, knife, or other tools with it, those tools will gain bonuses. If they intentionally spill blood, it must be left where it falls for the Hunt, unless used in a ceremony of some kind.

Companion Animal

A vadász will sometimes have a predator friend join them, and they always have the spirit of their first prey with them, though it will not be visible to others. They can communicate with them, use their senses, and call upon them for aid in the hunt.

Range

A vadász has bonuses to all stats within their own range, slightly lower bonuses in ranges similar to their original range if they have permission to be there and have made an offering, and penalties within a settled area. They are always able to sense the path back to their range when they are not in it.

Inventory

All important tools and clothes a vadász has are made from their prey or by their own hands.

• Bow and arrow: the first bow and arrow a vadász makes is when they are on their first hunt at age 12. It is almost always a flawed weapon, but it will have special powers for them. As they age and hunt more, they will make better and better bows, decorating them with feathers or hides, adding bone and gutstring, and so on. Their bow will always give them at least +1 to killing their prey if they are not in violation of honoring their prey, but it can go as high as +12 for very powerful vadászok.
• Antlers: the first stag a vadász kills, they will make a headdress from the antlers. They may update these if and only if they kill a bigger, older, more powerful stag. Their antlers give them speed, strength, and presence bonuses as long as they have honored their prey. If they belong to a species that has antlers already, they either adorn their antlers with the hide of the stag, or they wear a headdress of a predator such as a bear or wolf instead.
• Tunic and leggings: the fur, hide, and skin of their prey is made into a tunic and leggings. Usually, it is made from soft fur. If they have honored their prey, their tunic and leggings will be warm in the winter and cool in the summer. It will give them no penalties to stealth in any setting, and it will protect them from the forest's thorns, nettles, and burrs.
• Belt: their belt will be hide tanned from one of their kills. Sometimes they will have a bone buckle. If they have honored their prey, the belt will help them fend off hunger and other bodily needs. Some vadászok will have someone else forged a special metal buckle (wolfram or lupispuma) for them that gives them esoteric bonuses, but this is usually done by the richer and more privileged vadászok.
• Footwear: their boots or shoes will be made from hide, usually softer with hard soles, made to be stealthy and to always take them home.
• Knife: their knife is the one given them when they first start hunting. Unless it is irrevocably broken or otherwise damaged, they will never get rid of this knife. It will be made of bone or antler by an older vadász who taught them. It will allow them to gut and clean an animal better than any other knife. It will not dull when used to cut wood to make bows (though it will dull when used for other purposes). And it will return to them if thrown or otherwise set aside. If they are in their range, their knife will appear on their belt when they wish it.
• Traps: some vadászok are trappers. They build their traps from the bounty of their range and their prey. Traps made from these materials will have bonuses within the range.
• Lures: every prey animal can be lured with different materials, such as duck calls, salt licks, plant material, and so on. Few vadászok use these, though it is not frowned upon. They simply do not have the need. However, those who do use them make them from the bounty of their range and their prey, and thus have bonuses using them within their range.
• Furs or feathers: all vadászok wear the furs or feathers of their prey if they have no other uses. Each season, they make a special ceremonial suit out of the excess fur or feathers (or scales, etc.). This suit is worn during full moon ceremonies or special ceremonial hunts. At the end of the season, the suit is dissassembled and given to the children are presents.

Variations

There are many variations on vadászok around the world, as the above-described is local to Idangar, where they are the original vadászok. Different cultures, different terrains, different prey all mean variations.

• Berezia ehiztari: a vadász from the mountains of western Jesenya who favor the chamois as their most honored prey.
• Haassa shikaaraveriekeve: a a vadász from the subcontinent of Dabusen who favors gaur as their most honored prey.
• Ispisyala chacha warmi: a vadász from eastern Palhur who hunts on the high plateaus. Their favored prey is the pudu or deer of the mountains.
• Kaiwhaiwhai motuhake: a vadász from the southern Island Bridge who hunts wallabies and chamois as their favored prey. They use spears instead of bows and arrows.
• Người thổi kèn: a vadász from Denao in northeastern Dabusen who uses a special trumpet made of the horn of water buffalos to call upon other hunters or predators to join them. They hunt the rain forests.
• Sayaad al-tuqus: a vadász from Mahad who hunts in desert, mountain, and xeric lands. Rather than stags as their noble target, they honor highest the Mahadi gazelle.
• Tèshū lièrén: a vadász from Unbul in Dabusen who prefer the muntjac or serow as their primary prey. They are known for using shorter bows.
• Tuvaak: a vadász of southern Palhur who hunt moose primarily and range the tundras. They use spears
• Umzingeli okhethekileyo: a vadász from southern Taggarus who prefer Taggaran buffalo and rhinos as their primary prey. They hunt the veldt.
• WaókA: a vadász from western Palhur who prefers bison as their primary prey. They are rare, as hunting bison is part of many other ceremonies, but they exist especially when there is a need for hunting for survival. Usually they hunt the plains.

Specializations

Some vadászok specialize in specific kinds of hunting or related tasks:

• Betörő: an urban vadász whose hunting is robbing houses or cutting purses and whose range is a few city blocks. They are burglars who call upon the powers of the Hunt, and their prey are people's money and goods. These are rare and frowned upon by actual vadászok, but such is the need for survival.
• Ellenőr: a vadász whose range is indistinct but who has a specific prey they must track around the world. Their range then becomes anywhere where they are actively hunting this special prey, which is usually supernatural. They are often tied to some family tradition, curse, or story.
• Szarvaslovas: a vadász who does not kill their prey, but captures it and uses it as a steed. Their prey is always a deer, usually a doe, which is the sign needed for the vadász to know they cannot kill their prey. These deer riders are special protectors of ranges, for they do not kill, but rather go feral and kill intruders. This happens when a range is especially threatened by poachers.
• Szűcs: a vadász who specializes in furs and being a furrier. They are skilled craftsfolk with fur.
• Taxidermist: a vadász not necessarily from Idangar who honors their prey through taxidermy.

Solymár

A vadász who hunts with a falcon, a falconer who is empowered by the Hunt. Because they are using the falcon to hunt with, rituals are a little different, with bonding with the falcon via blood rite during the initial hunt. Instead of having a predator friend, they form stronger and closer bonds with their falcon (or hawk, or other raptor). They have special gloves and hoods and so on made from their prey's hide. A powerful solymár can see through the eyes of their falcon, call them from anywhere, and speak to them over vast distances.

Vadásznő

Women who become a vadász are called vadásznő, but sometimes there is a special one. As mentioned above, sometimes a vadásznő is chosen to hunt a girlchild and becomes a special and powerful form of a vadász. These women (or sometimes simply non-men) are always among the best hunters in the group. Their ranges are normal, but they extend to protecting all women and non-men within the community, providing for them first. If a rape is committed within the community, the vadásznő hunts the perpetrator and kills them, and if other violence against women is committed, they mete out justice through the hunt there as well, though not always killing them (that is reserved for cases of rape or murder). The vadásznők are legendarily feared by evil men.

Related Occupations

• Betyár: vadászok who resort to banditry to survive or bandits who learn to wield b'qar in Idangar.
• Sea Hawk: reivers who use b'qar to track targets on the high seas for survival, so-named for their usage of hawks in this process.
• Slayer: an assassin who uses b'qar to target a specific kind of prey, often specialized as dragonslayers, giantslayers, demonslayers, etc. They are known to mix energies.
• Slmid: a shreyber who uses b'qar to hunt for information and research.
• Swarler: one who makes traps using the powers of the Hunt, but is not a vadász.
• Szarvasharcos: a zoanthrope warrior who uses b'qar and can turn into a stag. Usually a former vadász who turns to warfare out of necessity and who has a permanent predator-friend so close to them that they bond and can take the form thereof.
• Táltos: a shaman of Idangar and the cocidians who uses b'qar to honor their ancestors' prey.
• Verselő: an aqyn who sings the praises of great hunters.

The Wild Hunt

The Wild Hunt is a powerful force throughout Jesenranu, and all users of b'qar are subject to be swept up in it. When the Wild Hunt calls, many, many vadászok answer the call. If they are not careful, they can be trapped within it. However, most are bound to their range so powerfully that they can escape. However, it is often troubling to them to be swept up at all, and it is known among the vadászok as a szörnyű éjszakákat (the dire nights). If a vadásznő or áldozat is present in the community, the Wild Hunt will bow to them and take no hunters.

Societal Role

The vadász is always a special part of their home culture and honored as great hunters who provide for the community. Many of these cultures are subject to national oppression. However, if they leave their culture, they will often find themselves seen as either threats to industry, relics of old ways, or brutes who murder animals. In some places, like Mwyr Aeld, they are criminalized, and in other places, like Lyrilla, the association with the Wild Hunt makes them figures of danger.

Skills

• Hunting
• Trapping
• Furring
• Cleaning and gutting
• Tanning
• Bone crafting
• Sewing
• Wilderness survival
• Herbalism

Stats

Modifiers from base of species/nation:

PRO +4
ATH +4
STR +2
AWA +4
WIL +4
STH +4
PRS +1