Predator: The Hunt

By Charles W. Plemons III (nosferatu@premiernet.net)

Version 1.0 September 28, 1997
Version 2.0 December 5, 1997
Version 2.1 March 16, 1998
Version 2.2 May 9, 1998

Author's Note

This work is based on the films Predator and Predator II and the novels by Dark Horse Science Fiction. No doubt, those who have only seen the films will find differences in what is stated here. Also, this work is designed to work with one of my previous projects, Aliens: The Breeding. To understand the Predators, one must also understand the Aliens, as the two are greatly intertwined. Please visit my web page (http://www.wku.edu/~charles/) for updates of this and other World of Darkness projects.

This may be freely distributed by anyone in any format as long as credit is given to the author but cannot be distributed for profit for any reason.

Known History

Central America, 1987, an American Special Forces unit encountered a large bipedal alien. This alien hunted down and killed most of the SpecWar unit, before being killed by Major Schaefer. The Major and a female hostage were the only survivors of the rampage. Before dying, the creature activated an explosive that destroyed around 200 acres of rain forest. Maj. Schaefer reported that the creature had advanced technology, with the ability to bend light so as to appear translucent. It was armed with laser weaponry and knives. The predator seemed to ignore those it did not unperceived as a threat, such as the unarmed female.

Los Angeles, 1997, a second predator began hunting the armed elements of the L.A. society: gangs, police, armed subway passengers, etc. This alien used spears, nets, and boomerang-like blades, somewhat different weaponry than used in Central America. This predator was destroyed by a police officer, Mike Harrigan. It tried to activate an explosive device like the one used in 1987, but Officer Harrigan stopped it. He chased the alien to its ship and killed it. However, the ship contained a dozen more aliens. Instead of killing him, they gave him a trophy: a flintlock pistol of Earth origin, marked 1750.

After the great war against the Xenomorphs (see Aliens: The Breeding), man once again encountered the predator aliens. These aliens were spreading the infestation of Xenomorphs, and then hunting them for sport. When things got out of hand, they were aided by a human named Machiko Noguchi, who was accepted into the predator society due to her fighting prowess.

The Predators

The aliens, called Predators, are known in their own tongue as Yautja, a reptilian race whose entire society revolves around hunting and combat. They also have a bizarre sense of honor, and anyone who defeats one of them is greatly respected.

Physically, the Yautja are larger and taller than adult humans, standing at least seven feet tall but often much taller. Females, who have not been seen by man, are even larger; the female Yautja are known to occasionally throw their mates during moments of passion. Yautja have a reptilian skin of mottled red, green and yellow patterns. Like humans, they have two arms, two legs, and two eyes. Their mouths have four mandibles around them, much like a set of lips. Children are smaller versions of the adult, and a male will typically father seventy or more "suckers" in his lifetime. Yautja have long hair that is braided into dreadlocks in an extremely painful ritual that takes months to perform, and any Yautja exhibiting pain during the process is forced to endure it again.

Yautja young are trained by the elder warriors known as Leaders and travel in packs with one until they become Blooded. A Blooded warrior is one who has survived a Hunt against the Kainde Amedha (their name for the Xenomorphs, literally translated: Hard Meat). After such a Hunt, the survivors have the emblem of their Leader etched into their forehead and skulls with Xenomorph thwei (blood). They are then adults in society and are allowed to Hunt on their own.

Ships of Blooded warriors travel the galaxy in search of the ultimate sport. They will Hunt anything that will fight for survival, and thus, their favorite prey is Kainde Amedha and Oomans, as they call them. Oomans, or Soft Meat, are the most challenging of their prey, for they are clever and shoot back.

The Hunt

Life consists of two things for the Yautja, hunting and breeding. The Hunt is sacred. In fact, the methods of Hunting and combat are known as the Path, and it has very specific rules to be followed. It is dishonorable to Hunt something that is not a threat. The Yautja will generally ignore unarmed Oomans, especially women. If a person is skilled enough to be dangerous without weapons, the Yautja will be more than happy to fight. Of course, they consider a Kainde Amedha dangerous anytime.

The older the predator, the less likely it is to use firearms. Any Yautja can shoot something to death, but it takes a real warrior to kill with knives and bare hands. For the same reason, not all Yautja use their stealth suits. The truly brave (stupid?) Hunt the Xenomorphs with only their bladed gauntlet.

Yautja will make good Hunting by stocking an area. They will capture a Xenomorph Queen (no easy feat) and harvest the eggs. These eggs are then scattered in an area with suitable hosts. After a few days, the Yautja will come in and Hunt the bugs. With the bugs' known penchant for survival, this results in the inevitable spread of aliens around the galaxy.

Beings of other races who prove worthy on a Hunt may well be accepted into the Yautja society. Such adopted beings are Blooded like a normal warrior. Of course, many Yautja, especially the young, resent the fact that a non-Yautja runs with them. Prepare to be challenged . . . often.

A Yautja's status and pride is measured by the power of the creatures it Hunts. The Yautja claim the skulls of their prey as trophies. Such trophies are treated with great honor, and they are polished and displayed at home. The trophy skull of an Ooman is the centerpiece of any collection. The highest insult in Yautja society is to be killed by another Yautja who then smashes your skull rather than claim it as a trophy. It is a way of saying you were not worthy. This is a tremendous dishonor to the family and Leader of the Yautja thus killed. On the converse, it is a great honor to have your skull displayed by your killer, as it shows he considered you a noble conquest.

Abilities and Characteristics

Neutralizing Blood: The thwei (blood) of the Yautja is a natural neutralizer to the thwei of the Kainde Amedha. Instead of the normal 5 points of acid damage inflicted by the Xenomorph ichor, Yautja take only 2 (which can be soaked as normal). They take no damage from the thwei of an alien crossbreed (see Aliens: The Breeding).

Pain Threshold: Due to their vicious upbringing, the Yautja are better able to handle pain than many other creatures. Thus, they have Health Levels as such: OK, OK, OK, OK, -1, -1, -2, -2, Incapacitated. They heal at the same rate as a human being.

Temperature Resilience: The Yautja only show up on Earth during extreme heat waves and seem to prefer temperatures of 100 degrees or more. To what extremes they are capable of surviving is unknown. However, when a Yautja ship crashed in Siberia, the warriors functioned in temperatures of -60 degrees F without any problems.

Thermovision: The Yautja see in patterns of heat. Living beings are seen as bright yellow and red objects. If a being can hide its heat signature, it becomes invisible to the Yautja.

Thick Skin: The Yautja in Predator II takes a couple of shotgun blasts at point-blank range. This seems to indicate a thick resilient flesh. Assume they have a natural armor rating of 2.

Yautja Technology

The Yautja are technologically years beyond 20th century man. Whether they made this technology themselves or stole it is unknown. Most of their developments are designed for war, but they do have space ships capable of interstellar travel. Most of their weaponry is made of a strange, unearthly material they call dlex which is lighter and tougher than steel. Please note that dlex does not inflict aggravated damage.

Weapon	Difficulty	Damage
Blade Gauntlet	6	Strength + 2
Telescoping Spear	7	Strength + 3
Smart Disc	6	Strength + 3
Razor Net	8	Special
Shoulder Cannon	6	8
Burner	7	Special

Blade Gauntlet: The Yautja have a retractable dual-bladed gauntlet much like the claws of Wolverine. This gauntlet is grooved to allow the thwei of the Kainde Amedha to flow away from the hand.

Telescoping Spear: This is a two foot tube that telescopes outward to seven feet and is tipped with deadly barbs. This spear is used in melee combat, and may be thrown as well. When thrown, it accelerates itself towards its target.

Smart Disc: Like a razor-edged frisbee, this hand-held blade may be thrown or used to slash. Much like a boomerang, it returns loyally to the hand of the thrower.

Razor Net: This hand-held device fires a wire net at its target. The net is razor sharp and inflicts damage upon those pinned beneath it. It inflicts three points of damage upon impact (soakable). For every turn that an entrapped being struggles, it takes damage equal to its Strength + 2. The net is only large enough to entrap one creature roughly man-sized, but it fires with enough force to pin a creature against a wall or thick column.

Shoulder Cannon: A shoulder mounted laser cannon with a red beam targeting system, this weapon is often discarded by older warriors. For those who choose to use it, it can fire 30 blasts before having to recharge. This laser cuts through kevlar and similar types of armor with ease. Ignore armors of this type.

Burner: A weapon never used in the movies, this is often carried by Yautja on bug Hunts. It is a hand-held flame thrower which can fire five times before being reloaded. Each blast is equivalent to a blast of napalm.

War Helmet: The great masks of the of Yautja enhance their vision, allowing them to see in other spectrums such as infrared. Although this takes time to adjust, it can present a harsh surprise to those who believe themselves invisible to the predator (as demonstrated in Predator II).

Shift Suit: Known as 'awu'asa' to the Yautja, the shift suit allows the wearer to bend rays of light, in effect becoming translucent. Add 5 to the Stealth dice pool of any wearer of an active shift suit. This only affects vision, in no way dampening sound or reducing the smell of the predator. Creatures whose "sight" is not based on reflected light will not suffer this penalty (i.e. the Kainde Amedha have no eyes).

Mass Explosive: Worn by both Yautja in the films, this device can destroy everything in a 200 acre radius. Anyone in the blast radius will take 27 points of soakable fire damage. This is not worn in the novels.

Medical Kit: Vital to anyone who lives on combat, the medical kits of the Yautja include bladed instruments, fire sources, drugs, powders, and various other disgusting items. With these, they are able to cauterize wounds and stop bleeding. They can even extract bullets from their own bodies, albeit painfully. A Yautja with a med kit and a little time can stop the most serious aspects of their wounds. In Predator II, the Yautja used his kit to stop the bleeding from the stump of his severed arm. The process, though agonizing, allowed him to continue. Using a med kit, a Yautja may heal a single Health Level of wounds (Medicine roll, difficulty 7).

Combat

Maneuvers	Difficulty	Damage
Bite	5	Strength + 1
Claw	6	Strength + 1
Kick	7	Strength + 2
Grapple	6	Strength

Please note that the Yautja have no natural aggravated attack.

Use in the World of Darkness

The movies take place here in the 20th century, while the novels take place far in the future. Thus, a modern predator chronicle is highly possible. As much as the Yautja enjoy hunting humans, imagine their ecstasy in fighting the supernatural.

Kindred: Vampires would be prime targets for the Hunters, as they are tougher than most humans. Ghouls are in the same boat. A vampire who does not have a full blood pool will be quite cooler than most people, thus harder for the Yautja to see. Impose a one point penalty to the Yautja trying to fight such a hard to see target.

Changing Breeds: I can hardly imagine a better foe for a Yautja than a crinos werewolf!

Wraiths: The wraiths are beyond the ministrations of the Yautja.

Fomori: The Wyrmspawn are prime targets for the Hunters, as they are beyond human.

Immortals: Immortals have much to fear from the Yautja. The fact that immortals carry swords and are experts with them makes them prime targets. Keep in mind that the Yautja take skulls as trophies, so an Immortal killed by a Yautja will be decapitated!

Xenomorphs: The Yautja could make an unexpected ally in a war against the bugs. It may even result in some characters becoming Blooded. Regardless of the the fact that the Yautja are probably the ones who started the alien infestation!

Mages, Changeling, Mummies and Gypsies: They are seen as normal humans. If perceived as a threat, they will be killed. If not, they will be ignored.

Player Character Yautja

No doubt, somebody is reading this and wanting to play one of the predators. This can be done, but there are some inherent problems in doing so. Yautja do not speak any human languages. They are great mimics, but cannot duplicate all sounds produced by the human mouth. Thus, chronicles using Yautja and earthlings will be awkward as far as communication goes. However, if this does not dissuade you, here are the rules.

Yautja physical attributes are naturally much higher than humans. Thus, their initial point allotments reflect this. A male Yautja's maximum Strength and Stamina is 8. All other attributes have a maximum of 5, except for Appearance, which is automatically 0. Build a Yautja character with a 15/7/4 attribute allotment.

A male's upbringing and training is combat based, thus Primary abilities must be either Talents or Skills. Their ability allotment is 22/20/6. They also have 20 Freebie Points.

They also have 5 points to distribute among Backgrounds. Appropriate backgrounds include Fame, Contacts, Allies, and Leader (treat just like Mentor).

These point values seem high at first glance, but keep in mind that the Yautja have no supernatural powers. Their danger comes from their natural attributes and physical training. This keeps them more equal to the supernaturals in the World of Darkness.

The Yautja are not human, and thus they do not have a Humanity rating. Instead, they have a rating in Path which is their dedication to their hunter society and code of ethics. There are rumors of a renegade Yautja clan that do not follow this code.

Hierarchy of Sins

10	Using anything other than one's bare hands in a Hunt unless training the Young Yautja.
9	Using firearms or burners during a Hunt unless training the Young Yautja.
8	Failing to practice combat skills on a daily basis.
7	Passing up the chance to Hunt extremely dangerous prey (i.e. Kainde Amedha or Oomans).
6	Showing cowardice, fear, or pain.
5	Passing up the chance to Hunt moderately dangerous prey.
4	Accepting one less powerful than oneself as a leader.
3	Hunting those unworthy or non-threatening.
2	Backing down from a fight.
1	Losing face in Yautja society.

Statistics for NPC Yautja

Attributes: Strength 7, Dexterity 4, Stamina 8, Charisma 2, Manipulation 2, Appearance 0, Perception 4, Intelligence 3, Wits 4

Talents: Alertness 4, Athletics 4, Dodge 3, Mimicry 3, Throwing 2, Intimidation 5 (Physical), Brawl 6 (Street Fighting)

Skills: Survival 4 (Tropical), Stealth 3, Blind Fighting 2, Hunting 4, Tracking 4, Melee 6 (Spear, Gauntlet, or Disc), Firearms 4 (Shoulder Cannon, Razor Net, or Burner)

Knowledges: Yautja Language 5, Medicine 1, Science 1, Military Tactics 3

Willpower: 8

Path: 7

Attributes: Strength 7, Dexterity 4, Stamina 8, Charisma 2, Manipulation 2, Appearance 0, Perception 4, Intelligence 3 , Wits 2

Talents: Alertness 3, Athletics 4, Dodge 3, Mimicry 3, Throwing 2, Intimidation 5 (Physical), Brawl 5 (Street Fighting)

Skills: Survival 4 (Tropical), Stealth 3, Blind Fighting 2, Hunting 4, Tracking 4, Melee 6 (Spear, Gauntlet, or Disc), Firearms 4 (Shoulder Cannon, Razor Net, or Burner)

Knowledges: Yautja Language 5, Medicine 1, Science 1, Military Tactics 2

Willpower: 8

Path: 6

Attributes: Strength 7, Dexterity 4, Stamina 8, Charisma 2, Manipulation 2, Appearance 0, Perception 4, Intelligence 4 , Wits 5

Talents: Alertness 4, Athletics 4, Dodge 3, Mimicry 3, Throwing 3, Intimidation 5 (Physical), Brawl 7 (Street Fighting)

Skills: Survival 4 (Tropical), Stealth 3, Blind Fighting 3, Hunting 4 (Kainde Amedha, Ooman, or other favored prey), Tracking 4, Melee 7 (Spear, Gauntlet, or Disc), Firearms 3

Knowledges: Yautja Language 5, Medicine 2, Science 1, Military Tactics 3

Willpower: 9

Path: 10

Attributes: Strength 10, Dexterity 4, Stamina 8, Manipulation 3, Charisma 2, Appearance 0, Perception 3, Intelligence 3 , Wits 3

Talents: Alertness 3, Athletics 2, Intimidation 5 (Physical), Brawl 3, Dodge 1, Mimicry 3

Skills: Survival 3, Stealth 2

Knowledges: Yautja Language 5, Science 1, Medicine 2

Willpower: 8

Path: Females do not follow the Path