Hunter: The Reckoning – Deathwish will let players build a vampire hunter whose abilities are offset by personal weaknesses. During character creation, Advantages and Flaws must be balanced on a scale before the character can enter the game.
The available Advantages include Warrior, which increases the chance of landing a critical hit by 15%, and Charmer, which provides a +1 bonus to Persuasion skill checks. Flaws include clumsiness, a bad reputation, fear of darkness, hypochondria and claustrophobia.
That combination could result in an unusually vulnerable protagonist: a hunter prepared to face vampires and other supernatural creatures while struggling with shadows, disease or confined spaces. The system appears designed to make character choices meaningful rather than allowing players to simply overpower every threat.
Developer Teyon has said that Deathwish will focus more heavily on story and investigation than RoboCop: Rogue City. Narrative designer Mateusz Działowski described the shift as moving from “action with RPG elements” to “RPG with action elements.”
Players will also assemble a team of fellow would-be hunters, each carrying their own secrets and traumas. The group will investigate clues and determine the best tactics while exploring the game's condensed version of New York City.
Sources: Rock Paper Shotgun.