From: [d s homshak] at [aol.com] (DShomshak)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.super-heroes
Subject: USM Outtake:  Hunter's Moon, pt. 1
Date: 17 Sep 1996 15:13:55 -0400

Here we go!  Let's see if AOHell will post these without chopping off the
ends...
Any technical references you don't understand are explained in USM.

THE HUNTER'S MOON

        "O friend and companion of night, thou who rejoices in 
the baying of dogs and spilt blood, who wanderest in the 
midst of shades among the tombs, who longest for blood and 
bringest terror to mortals, Gorgo, Mormo, thousand-faced 
moon, look favorably on our sacrifices!"
        -- H. P. Lovecraft, "The Horror at Red Hook"

        Background:  The Hunter's Moon worships Hecate, the 
Greek goddess of night and witchcraft -- the most sinister 
aspect of the lunar Triple Goddess of ancient Europe.  
Although small and secretive, the cult is quite powerful.  
First, their high priestess Selene has magic powers.  Second, their deity
actually shows up regularly.  Finally and most importantly, members become
werewolves on their initiation.  These are _not_ your average neo-Pagans.
        The story of the Hunter's Moon is the story of its 
leader and founder, Selene.  When the goddess Hecate accepted Selene as
her priestess in 1991, she commanded Selene to seek out other people who
would accept the old ways, the ways of terror and bloody sacrifice. 
Selene found her recruits in the more radical wings of the neo pagan and
environmentalist communities.  They were Wiccans who craved a closer union
to the Goddess, New Agers who wanted a taste of real power, ecoterrorists
who were ready to go from spiking trees to shooting loggers, and the like.
 One by one, Selene introduced her recruits to Hecate.  One by one, they
pledged themselves to the Goddess and took her gift of power...or they
died.
        Doctrines and Goals:  While the Hunter's Moon has a 
political aspect, it is chiefly a pietistic and libertine 
cult.  The cultists get an unbelievably intense religious and sensuous
experience.  The cult ceremonies combine the drama of sacrifice with the
thrill of the hunt, the frenzy of animal abandon and the awe of meeting a
god, all filtered 
through the sharpened perception of a wolf.  No one has ever 
defected from the Hunter's Moon.  No one has even tried.
        Monthly Sabbats are held out in the woods on the night 
of the full Moon.  Special Sabbats are held if the dark of 
the Moon falls on a solstice, equinox or the cross-quarter 
days of Imbolc (February 1 or 2, a.k.a. Candlemas), Beltane 
(May Day or the preceding Walpurgis Night), Lammas (August 1) or Samhain
(Halloween or November 1).  New members are only initiated in Sabbats that
fall on one of these eight holy days.  Each Sabbat involves kidnapping a
person who's not likely to be missed, hunting him through the forest and 
finally herding the exhausted victim to the altar in the 
sacred grove, where he is torn to bits and eaten.
        At present the Hunter's Moon only has about 30 members, 
living in and around one set of neighboring towns and cities; no member is
more than an hour and a half's drive away from each other or their sacred
grove in the woods.  This is just enough that a sweep against the cult,
even aided by the membership list Selene keeps hidden in her home, could
never get all of them before some of them learned what was going on and
escaped.
        The Hunter's Moon is strongly oriented to Nature, of 
course.  The cultists want to "save the Earth from humanity," although so
far they haven't thought of a way to do this.  They content themselves
with massacring the occasional logging camp or real estate development
crew.  Most of their energy goes into procuring sacrifices and maintaining
their secrecy.
        That, however, may change soon.  Most of the cultists 
have been distinctly leftist types.  With the recent tsunami 
of conservatism in government threatening to wash away 
environmental laws and liberal social programs, Selene sees 
an opportunity for vast expansion.  Hecate approves:  she has long been
the patron of outsiders, those who could not get their way by socially
approved methods.
        Group Organization:  Since the Hunter's Moon is so 
small, its organization is very simple.  Hecate has given 
Selene total control of the cult.  Her lieutenants are three 
werewolves with superior combat abilities, called the 
Cerberi.  She has also started training three junior 
priestesses to lead offshoot cult groups someday.  Then there are the rank
and file members.  That's it.  there are no other special offices.
        Magic and Equipment:  Most of the members have no magic 
except the lycanthropy received either directly from Hecate 
or from a senior member.  That's quite enough to make them 
some of the toughest cultists around.
        Only Selene has any major spellcasting powers.  Even 
those can only be cast on ground consecrated to Hecate, such 
as the sacred grove or Selene's house (by special 
dispensation from Hecate), or on the full or dark of the 
Moon.  Some of the spells Selene gained from Hecate, however, are curses
which can be cast in advance and used later at any time.  The junior
priestesses have less powerful versions of a few of Selene's spells.
        The cultist's altar is a slab of rough-hewn stone 
perched on four natural boulders.  It has no innate magic 
powers.  Above it, a sconce screwed into a tree trunk holds a silver torch
with a top shaped like a pomegranate, the fruit the Greeks especially
associated with both fertility and the Underworld.  This torch is magical,
and can be used as a weapon by Selene or the junior priestesses.  Of
course, it's only present at Sabbats.  Finally, one of Selene's curses
relies on water from the River Styx in the Greek section of the
Netherworld.  Hecate supplies this water as needed; one small flask is
enough for a dozen curses.
        Costumes:  Only Selene has anything like a special 
costume.  The others wear nothing but their fur.  (So does 
Selene, much of the time.)
        Tactics:  As yet the Hunter's Moon prefers to avoid 
open, intense confrontations.  If the cult is disturbed in their Sabbat,
first Selene tries to deal with the intruders via Mind Control.  This will
suffice to render normal 
humans helpless.  Once captured, Selene interrogates the 
intruders through Mind Control, seeking information about 
where they live, what they know and who knows where they are.  If the
captives seem unlikely to be missed soon or traced to the cult, then the
werewolves have more victims to sacrifice.  If the captives' disappearance
seems likely to set people snooping around, Selene uses Mind Control to
erase the intruders' memories of what really happened and make them
remember a false experience.
        If the intruders are too numerous or too powerful to 
quickly capture, Selene uses Mind Control on as many as she 
can to make them flee or surrender to her.  With the 
intruders in confusion, the werewolf cultists attack.
        In combat, cultist strategy is limited to preferentially attacking
disadvantaged opponents, such as foes who've been knocked down or Stunned.
 Only the Cerberi ever cooperate in their attacks.
        Outside the Sabbats, the scattered cultists' chief 
concern is to stay secret.  Curses may be prepared and 
triggered on nosy characters, for instance by slipping cursed pomegranate
seeds into someone's fruit salad to inflict the Living Death, or paying a
kid to squirt a character with Styx Water.  The cultists are pretty good
at finding ways to get close to their enemies unobtrusively.  If the first
few attempts fail or the investigating characters prove too hard to
approach, the cultists will not hesitate to take more drastic steps, such
as murdering the service staff at the PCs' hotel and taking their place. 
They will certainly try to separate the PCs so they can be picked off one
by one by gangs of werewolves.
        Relations with Other Agencies:  As yet the Hunter's Moon has no
connections with any other cults or organizations with real magic.  It's
only a matter of time, though, before the Hunter's Moon encounters other
cults and sorcerers.  The Hunter's Moon is strongly oriented to Nature,
leans toward Chaos, and must be considered Evil.  Only other evil groups
and sorcerers will ever ally with them, and groups with strong allegiance
to Order or Chaos are unlikely to find much common ground.  Persons
strongly tied to Art will oppose the Hunter's Moon, evil or not.  It
should be noted that the Hunter's Moon environmentalism makes them
unfriendly to technology, and that makes them natural allies for the
Devil's Advocates.
        Many members came out of Wicca and other neo-pagan 
groups in the outer layer of the Occult World, and maintain 
connections with the neo pagan community.  Of course no one 
talks about lycanthropy or human sacrifice, but hints have 
been dropped that the Hunter's Moon has real power, _dangerous_ power. 
Dangerous, that is, to enemies of the Earth and the Goddess.



CULTIST WEREWOLF

Val     Char  Cost               Combat Stats
28*     STR   14     OCV:6
18*     DEX   19     DCV:6
20*     CON   16     ECV:5
10      BODY   0       Phases:4,8,12
9*      INT    -1
14      EGO    8         Costs
20*     PRE   8
8*      COM    -1       Char:        76       Base:   50
14*     PD    6
13*     ED    7         Powers:       109     Disads:       135
3*      SPD    2
10*     REC   0       Totals:      185         185
40*     END   0
34*     STUN  0     *Only in Were Form (-1/4)

   Cost Powers                                 END
10      EC -- Therianthrope Powers
a-12    Claw/Bite: 1 1/2d6 (3d6+1 w/STR) PHKA, * [25]2
b-7     Armor (10 PD, 6 ED), Not vs. Silver/Fire (-3/4), * [24]
c-8     +8" Running [14" total], 1/2 END, * [20]      1/10"
d-8     Shape Shift: Full Wolf Form, Persistent, * [20]
e-8     Super Regeneration: 1d6 STUN Aid + 1d6 BODY Aid, Continuous,
Persistent, Self Only (-1/2), Only to Restore (-1/2), Not vs. Disabling
Wounds from Silver Weapons (-1/4), Only When Under 0 BODY If In Human Form
(-1/4) [30]

14      Contagion: 1/2d6 Transform to Latent Werewolf, Cumulative, NND:
Nonhuman Physiology (+1), Uncontrolled Continuous 0 END, Invisible vs.
Sight/Hearing (+3/4), Hard to Dispel (+1/4), 0 Range, Linked to Bite, Must
Use w/Bite (-1/2), Only if Bite does BODY (-1/2), Acts 12- (-3/4), *
2       Invisible Power Effects on Aid (+1/2), Only in Human ID Under 0
BODY (-1 1/2)
3       Damage Resistance (3 PD, 3 ED)
19      Tracking Scent, UV Vision, Ultrasonic Hearing, +2 All PER, *

        Skills
3       Breakfall 13-
3       Stealth 13-
3       Tracking 11-
2       KS: Cult Lore 11-
1       Initiate: Hunter's Moon
6       +2 Levels Claw/Bite

50+     Disadvantages
10      Accidental Change in Extreme Emotion, 8-
10      Phys: Must Assume Were Form During Nights of Full Moon
15      DF: Werewolf (Hard to Conceal, Cause Fear)
20      Berserk if Take BODY (c), 11-, 11-
20      Religious Fanatic (c, total)
15      Murderous (vc)
20      Rep:  Werewolves as Vicious Killers, 14 , extreme
15      Secret ID
10      Watched by Selene, 11- (More Pow)

        These cultists come from many backgrounds, but all of 
them felt themselves dispossessed in some way.  Most of them 
came from the neo-pagan community or the radical wing of the 
environmental movement.  When they felt the power of Hecate 
move through them, though, their old lives and selves dropped away and
they were born again as children of the Hunter's Moon.  They lost their
humanity, but gained power, community, a meaning for their lives and the
ecstasy of total release from inhibitions.  None of them regret the choice
they made.  They're willing to die for their religion, and even more
willing to kill for it.
        For most of the month, the cultists live outwardly 
normal lives.  Perhaps they are a bit standoffish -- don't 
talk about themselves much, don't make any close friends at 
work.  They might be married, to another cultist of course, 
perhaps with children whom they will introduce to the cult 
when they're older.  They don't join the PTA.  Inwardly 
contemptuous of the mere humans -- the _prey_ -- around them, they live
for the night when they drive out of town to the old campground to shed
first their clothes, then their human form.  They taste the air, howl a
greeting to the Moon.
        Church is about to start.

THE CERBERI

Val     Char  Cost               Combat Stats
30*     STR   16     OCV:8
23*     DEX   31     DCV:8
23*     CON   21     ECV:6
12*     BODY  3     Phases:3,5,8,10,12
13      INT    3
18      EGO    16       Costs
25*     PRE   12
8*      COM    -1       Char:        128      Base:  100
15*     PD    7
15*     ED    8         Powers:       162     Disads:       190
5*      SPD    14
10*     REC   2       Totals:      290               290
46*     END   0
39*     STUN  0     *Only in Were Form (-1/4)

Cost    Powers                              END
10      EC -- Therianthrope Powers
a-22    Claw/Bite: 2d6 (4d6 w/STR) PHKA, 1/2 END, * [37]2
b-8     Armor (11 PD, 7 ED), Not vs. Silver/Fire (-3/4), * [24]
c-8     +8" Running [14" total], 1/2 END, * [20]      1/10"
d-8     Shape Shift: Full Wolf Form, Persistent, * [20]
e-14    Super-Regeneration: 2d6 STUN Aid + 1d6 BODY Aid, Continuous,
Persistent, Self Only (-1/2), Only to Restore (-1/2), Not vs. Disabling
Wounds from Silver Weapons (-1/4), Only When Under 0 BODY If In Human Form
(-1/4) [45]

14      Contagion: 1/2d6 Transform to Latent Werewolf, Cumulative, NND:
Nonhuman Physiology (+1), Uncontrolled Continuous 0 END, Invisible vs.
Sight/Hearing (+3/4), Hard to Dispel (+1/4), 0 Range, Linked to Bite, Must
Use w/Bite (-1/2), Only if Bite does BODY (-1/2), Acts 12- (-3/4), *
3       Invisible Power Effects on Aid (+1/2), Only in Human ID Under 0
BODY (-1 1/2)

11      Martial Arts: Dogfighting
        Maneuver   OCV        DCV      Notes
        Takedown +2        +1       6d6, Both Fall
        Flying Tackle    +0   -1  6d6+V/5, FMove, Both Fall
        Escape       +0   +0  45 STR vs. Grabs
        Use in Humanoid or Full Wolf Form

3       Damage Resistance (3 PD, 3 ED)
17      Tracking Scent, UV Vision, Ultrasonic hearing, +1 All PER, *
6       Magic Sight: Detect Supernatural, Ranged, 
Discriminatory, Costs END, Concentrate 1/2 DCV Constant (-1/2)     1
5       Mind Link x1 to Other Cerberi or Selene, Target Has Mind Link (-1)

        Skills
3       Breakfall 14-
3       Stealth 14-
3       Tracking 12-
1       KS/PS from Human Life, 11- (adds to Everyman 8-)
2       KS: Cult Lore 11-
2       Initiate:  Cult Lieutenant
10      +2 Levels Melee Combat

100+    Disadvantages
10      Accidental Change in Extreme Emotion, 8-
10      Phys: Must Assume Were Form During Nights of Full Moon
15      DF: Werewolf (Hard to Conceal, Cause Fear)
20      Berserk if Take BODY (c), 11-, 11-
20      Religious Fanatic (c, total)
20      Relentless in Attack (vc, strong)
20      Rep:  Werewolves as Vicious Killers, 14-, extreme
15      Secret ID
10      Watched by Selene & Hecate, 11- (More Pow)
50      Villain Bonus

        The three Cerberi, two men and one woman, have been 
chosen by Hecate as the cult's enforcers.  They were the 
fiercest and most physically competent of the cultists.  
Hecate strengthened the enchantment on them, and they have 
trained to further develop their abilities.  In a fight, the 
Cerberi take point.
        The Cerberi have fighting techniques the other cultists 
lack.  Cerberi combat strategy is based on these techniques:  
they try to knock opponents down so the other Cerberi and 
cultists can pile on and bite a helpless foe.  The Cerberi 
are also especially skilled at wriggling loose if anyone 
grabs them.  (The Cerberi learned these maneuvers from 
studying a manual for training police dogs.  Each one of them has a copy
of the manual at home, even though none of them own dogs.)
        The Cerberi are visibly stronger than the other 
werewolves and are obviously quite fit in their human forms 
as well.  One has black fur, one reddish brown and one 
golden.  They are further distinguished by a white streak on 
their foreheads (actually it represents Hecate's torch) which becomes a
white forelock in their human form.


HIGH PRIESTESS SELENE

Val     Char  Cost               Combat Stats
10/30*  STR        16               OCV:6
18      DEX    24       DCV:6
20      CON    20       ECV:6
10      BODY   0       Phases:3,6,9,12
18      INT    8
18      EGO    16       Costs
25      PRE    15
18      COM    4         Char: 137       Base:   100
13/17*  PD 11
15      ED     11         Powers:       212     Disads:       249
4       SPD     12
 6/10*  REC        0         Totals:   349   349
40      END    0
25/35*  STUN       0               *Only in Were Form (-1/4)

Cost    Powers                              END
26      Magic Multipower (66 pt pool), Only in Ritual Conditions (-1),
Only in Human ID (-1/2)
2u      Hecate's Command: 13d6 Mind Control, Only for Fear or Lust (-1/4)
[65]                                                            6
2u      Contact Hecate: 7d6 Mind Scanning, Transdimensional: Netherworld
(+1/2), +7 ECV, Only Targets Hecate (-1) [66]            
                                      5
2u      Moonlight Journey: 30" Teleport, 1 Fixed Pt, 1 Floating Pt, No
Combat Teleport (-1/2) [66]                  1/5"
1u      Curse of Living Death: 1d6 Transform to Cataleptic, Cumulative,
NND: LS: Sleep (+1), Invisible vs. All Senses (+1), Use by 1 Other (+1/4),
Trigger: Victim Eats Pomegranate Seed/Juice (+1/4), Hard to Dispel (+1/4),
1 Charge of 1 Minute (-1), IAF Pomegranate, Initial 1 Turn Extra Time
(-1/2) [64]                                [1c]
2u      Styx Water Curse: 4d6 Suppress, vs. Any 1 Char (+1/4),
Uncontrolled, Invisible vs. Sight/Hearing (+3/4), Use by 1 Other (+1/4),
Trigger: Victim Touches Styx Water (+1/4), 1 Charge of 1 Week (+1/4), 0
Range, IAF Styx Water, Initial 1 Turn Extra Time (-1/2) [65]    
                 [1c]
1u      Love Charm: 7d6 Mind Control, Nonverbal (+1/4), Use by 1 Other
(+1/4), Trigger: Target Touches Charm (+1/4), 1 Charge, IAF Charm, 0
Range, Fixed Command: Lust (-1/2) [61]              
        [1c]
1u      Scrying: 10d6 Mind Scanning, +8 ECV, OAF Silver Bowl, 1 Turn Extra
Time (-1) [66]                    5
1u      Scrying: Clairsentience: Vision, Sense Magic, x32 
Range (10 miles), 1/2 END, OAF Silver Bowl, constant Concentrate 0 DCV
(-1) [62]                         3

18      Hecate's Torch: 3d6 HA (4d6 w/STR), AVLD: Power 
Defense (+1 1/2), AP, Affects Desolid (+1/2), Uncontrolled, 8 Chgs of 1
Turn (-0), OAF Silver Torch

10      EC -- Therianthrope Powers
a-12    Claw/Bite: 1 1/2d6 (3d6+1 w/STR) PHKA, * [25]2
b-7     Armor (10 PD, 6 ED), Not vs. Silver/Fire (-3/4), * [24]
c-8     +8" Running (14" total), 1/2 END, * [20]      1/10"
d-8     Shape Shift: Full Wolf Form, Persistent, * [20]
e-8     Super Regeneration: 1d6 STUN Aid + 1d6 BODY Aid, 
Continuous, Persistent, Self Only (-1/2), Only to Restore (-1/2), Not vs.
Disabling Wounds from Silver Weapons (-1/4), Only When Under 0 BODY If In
Human Form (-1/4) [30]

14      Contagion: 1/2d6 Transform to Latent Werewolf, Cumulative, NND:
Nonhuman Physiology (+1), Uncontrolled Continuous 0 END, Invisible vs.
Sight/Hearing (+3/4), Hard to Dispel (+1/4), 0 Range, Linked to Bite, Must
Use w/Bite (-1/2), Only if Bite does BODY (-1/2), Acts 12  (-3/4), *
2       Invisible Power Effects on Aid (+1/2), Only in Human ID Under 0
BODY (-1 1/2)

3       Damage Resistance (3 PD, 3 ED)
6       Mental Defense (10 pts)
17      Tracking Scent, UV Vision, Ultrasonic Hearing, +1 All PER, *
10      Sense Supernatural, Ranged, Discriminatory, Concentrate 1/2 DCV
Constant (-1/2)
5       Mind Link x1 to Cerberi or Hecate, Target Has Mind Link (-1)

        Skills
3       Breakfall 13-
3       Oratory 14-
3       Seduction 14-
3       Sleight of Hand 13-
3       Tracking 13-
2       L: Fluent Classical Greek (English is native)
3       Scholar
2       KS: Witchcraft 13- (INT Based)
1       KS: Greek Myth 13-
1       KS: Celtic Myth 13-
1       KS: Occult World 11-
1       KS: Herbalism 11-
3       PS: Cult Leader 12-
5       Initiate: Cult Leader
10      +2 Levels Melee Combat

100+    Disadvantages
10      Accidental Change in Extreme Emotion, 8-
15      DF: Werewolf (Hard to Conceal, Cause Fear)
20      Berserk if Take BODY (c), 11-, 11-
20      Religious Fanatic (c, total)
15      Vengeful (vc)
10      Fear of Silver Weapons (c)
20      Rep: Werewolves as Vicious Killers, 14-, extreme
15      Secret ID
10      Watched by Hecate, 11- (More Pow)
10      Watched by Police (for disappearances), 11- (As Pow, NCI)
104     Villain Bonus

        Background:  _"Not_ Lori.  _Selene._  Got it?"
        As far as Selene was concerned, Lori Beaner was dead.  
Lori Beaner had parents who thought voting Democrat exempted 
them from guilt.  When she told them how they were the dupes 
of a patriarchalist system of capitalist oppression that was 
destroying the Earth, they threw her out of the house and cut off her
tuition.  Well, what did they expect?  College was supposed to broaden the
mind.  That's where she'd learned about feminism (_real_ feminism, not the
limp pretense of her mother), ecology and the Goddess whom men had tried
to suppress for 3000 years.
        So Lori had to leave college.  She made a meager living 
through a series of short-lived, low-paying jobs, with a little help
(okay, a lot of help) from her fellow Goddess worshippers.  She wasn't the
only neo pagan who recognized 
that the Goddess was the fount of all that was good and men 
were basically good for nothing but sex and heavy lifting.  A lot of
neo-pagans disagreed with her, insisting the God and Goddess were equals,
but _they_ were guilty of false consciousness.  It was in this period that
Lori took to 
calling herself Selene and consecrated her first sacred grove outside
town.
        One of her friends had a problem.  She'd been raped on a date. 
She wanted to go to the police, but Selene talked her out of it.  The
police (the police _men,_ she pointed out) wouldn't do a thing, and even
if they did arrest the guy the judge (another man) would see that the case
failed, while the newspapers (run by more men) would drag her own
reputation though the mud.  Selene said she'd deal with it herself.
        Which she did.  She found the young man and showed her 
interest in him.  He responded.  She talked him into driving 
out of town with her that evening, to a special romantic 
place she had.  And so she took him to her grove.
        Selene had planned to get him hot and bothered and then 
knock him out, tie him to a tree and bring her coven out to 
throw a scare in him.  But her body betrayed her.  Despite 
all her strident, oft-expressed contempt for men, she still 
liked them.  A lot.  Her seduction went considerably further 
than she'd planned and she enjoyed it.  A lot.  And as the 
man lay beside her afterward on the improvised altar she had 
built, she hated him for it.  Selene reached into her clothes for her cosh
-- and instead found the knife she carried for protection.  She stabbed
the man to death as the full Moon beamed down.  "Damn you!" she panted. 
"Goddess damn you!"
        Then she realized what she'd done and dropped the knife.  Staring
at the blood on her hands, she didn't notice the moonlight thickening in
the grove.
        "Daughter."  An old woman in a black, black robe stood 
before her.  "You have called; for the first time in fourteen hundred
years, someone has called.  I have come."  Selene saw the torch in the
woman's hand, and knew her.  She dropped to her knees.  The old woman
smiled.  Selene felt the Goddess looking through her mind and memories. 
The old woman stood taller.  She was not old, but ageless.  For a moment
she had not one head, but three:  a dog, a mare and a lioness.
        Hecate held out her hand to Selene.  "This once you have served
Me, Selene.  Serve Me all your days and nights and no man will master you
again."  Trembling with awe, Selene took Hecate's hand and felt the power
of the Goddess move through her.  Fur sprouted on her body as her bones
shifted and her nails and teeth became claws and fangs.  The pain was
intense, but the pleasure even stronger.  "You will be my priestess,
Selene, and my hunter.  A hunter for the Moon."
        All too soon, Hecate was gone.  So was the corpse on the altar. 
Selene howled a hymn of praise to the Moon, then 
loped into the woods to test her new body.  She remembered 
Hecate's commands and promises.  She must bring other people 
to the grove, people ready to accept Hecate's power and will.  Selene
herself would receive further powers.  She would be only the first of the
hunters for the Moon -- but she would always be the most favored.
        Quote:  "The Moon shall be fed well.  Blessed be!"
        Personality:  Selene sets the tone for the whole cult of the
Hunter's Moon.  Pleasing Hecate is the most important thing in her life,
with pleasing herself a distant second.  She appears far more socially
well-adjusted now than she did 
before meeting Hecate, because now her devotion gives her the strength to
pretend to be normal.  She doesn't have to rant about capitalism or
patriarchy or environmental degradation any more.  She can even stand
using her legal name, Lori Beaner, in her Secret ID.  When the Hunter's
Moon is strong enough, Hecate will send them forth to sweep away the Man's
World and restore the old ways and the Old Religion.  Until that day
comes, Selene doesn't care.  It's all in the hands of the Goddess.
        Even her contempt for men softened, once Hecate told her that the
Goddess can't keep the cycle of life turning without a consort, and the
same goes for Her priestesses.  Men are fine, as long as they serve the
Goddess in some fashion.  The men don't even have to know that they serve.
 Of course, at the end of his reign the Sacred King always ends up on the
altar...
        Powers/Tactics:  Selene is both a werewolf and a 
priestess.  She has great confidence in her werewolf form's 
lethal power and invulnerability.  Despite this, she is not 
rash.  An open brawl, she thinks, is a man's way of fighting.  As a woman
and a witch, she prefers stealth and terror.  She doesn't want to conquer
the cult's enemies, just to neutralize them -- whether by fear, deception
or 
assassination matters little.  Since she can have cultists or ignorant
dupes deliver curses, and she can keep track of 
enemies through scrying, she can do quite a lot of harm while staying
hidden.
        If she is forced into open combat, Selene's tactics 
depend on her circumstance.  If she has both magic and other 
cultists available, she will try using her Mind Control, Styx Water Curse
(she always keeps 1 prepared dose on her person) and magic torch to hinder
the foe while the cultists claw and bite.  If she can't use magic, Selene
changes into her were form and attacks.  If she can't kill her enemies
quickly, she tries to flee.
        Selene can only cast spells under the light of the full 
Moon, or on ground consecrated to Hecate. This means her 
current sacred grove or in her house:  Hecate has graciously 
consecrated the grounds.  Her two curses and love charm, 
however, can be cast, stored and used later.  The cult 
typically only has 1 Charge of each curse in stock, aside 
from the Charge of Styx Water Curse that Selene carries 
personally.  If the full Moon isn't in the sky, the Teleport 
spell can only be used to move about the sacred ground, or to leave it in
one jump.
        The spell's Fixed Point is a small underground chamber 
about 40 meters (20") from the sacred grove and 2 meters 
underground.  The narrow, bending tunnel to the surface is 
concealed by a log and some bushes.  If the cult is losing 
and her own precious life is in danger, Selene will teleport 
away to the cave.  This is a signal for the cult to scatter.  
Selene will grab a backpack full of money stashed in the 
chamber before fleeing herself, teleporting 30" a Phase under the
moonlight.
        Appearance:  Selene is a strikingly beautiful, reddish 
blonde haired woman who looks like she's in her early 20s, 
although she's actually 29.  She chiefly dresses in black, 
although not to the point of obsession, with discreet silver 
jewelry (nothing about wolves or the Moon).  In her Secret ID she runs the
Silverhorn Herbal Tea Company which has had some local success.  (The most
popular recipe came from Hecate, although Selene had to remove one herb
that was 
hallucinogenic and illegal.)  Her three employees are all cultists and one
is a Cerberus.
        During ceremonies, Selene wears nothing but a crown of 
vervain and a long, capelike shawl of silver-spangled, 
transparent black gauze which of course she discards when she assumes her
were form.  As a werewolf she has reddish blonde fur.  In either form she
has leaf-green eyes.

HECATE

Val     Char  Cost               Combat Stats
13/25*  STR        3         OCV: 6/7*
17/21*  DEX        21               DCV: 6/7*
18/24*  CON        16               ECV: 6
10/16*  BODY       0               Phases: 3,5,8,10,12*
18      INT    8
18      EGO    16       Costs
23      PRE    13
10      COM    0         Char: 103       Base:   100
 9/15*  PD 6
 9/15*  ED 5   Powers:    222  Disads:    225
  4/5*  SPD        13
 7/13*  REC        0         Totals:   325   325
36/60*  END        0
28/40*  STUN       2               *Aid Bonuses Added In

Cost    Powers                              END
15      EC -- God Powers
a-17    Divine Enhancement: 2d6 Aid, vs. All Phys Chars (+2), 
Continuous, 0 END Persistent, Self Only (-1/2), Acts Once/Turn (-1/2) [50]
b-15    Armor (10 PD, 10 ED) [30]
c-15    LS: Total [30]
d-11    Sense Magic, Targeting, +3 PER [31]

50      Multipower (75 pt pool), -1 Var Lim: OAF  Torch/Concentrate 0
DCV/Acts 14-/x2 END (-1/2)
5u      15d6 Mind Control [75]               7
5u      15d6 Mental Illusions [75]                           7
5u      15d6 Telepathy [75]                              7
5u      Magic Torch: 5d6 AVLD: Power Defense (+1 1/2), AP [75]   7
5u      Magic Torch: 5d6 AVLD: Power Defense (+1 1/2), Affects Desolid
(+1/2) [75]                                
        7
5u      Lethal Bad Luck: 2d6 RKA, Var Sp FX: Anything in Surroundings
(+1/2), Indirect (+1/2), +1 STUN Mult (+1/2) [75]                7
3u      Styx Water Curse: 8d6 Suppress, vs. Any 1 Char (+1/4),
Uncontrolled, 6 Chgs of 5 Minutes (-0), Costs END [70]     7
3u      Dark Gift: 2 1/2d6 Transform, Confer Lycanthropy/Witch Power
Packages or Turn Into Cult animal (+1/4), Cumulative, 0 Range [70]
                 7
2u      Invisibility vs. Sense Magic, All Vision, 1/2 END [37]   2
2u      14" Flight, x8 NCM [38]                  1/5"
2u      14" Teleport, x8 NCM [38]                      
1/5"
2u      EDM: Astral Worlds/Earth, x2 Mass [35]      3
2u      Shape Shift to Lion/Dog/Wolf/Horse, 0 END [30]
1u      Terrifying Howl: +37 PRE, Incantation, Only to Cause Fear (-3/4)
[37]
1u      Mind Link x1 to Transformed Worshippers, Any Distance or Dimension
[20]

11      Mental Defense (15 pts total)
10      Power Defense (10 pts)
5       UV Vision
2       Great Goddess Form: +6 COM, Linked to Shape Shift (-1/2)
-2      Hag Form: -4 COM, Whenever Not Shapeshifted (-0)

        Skills
3       Interrogation 14-
3       Oratory 14-
3       Scholar
2       KS: Netherworld 13- (INT Based)
2       KS: Pagan Witchcraft 13-
2       KS: Greek Mythic World 13-
2       KS: Herbalism 13-
3       L: Accented English (Ancient Greek is native)
5       +1 Level, Multipower

100+    Disadvantages
15      Susc: 1d6 STUN/Turn, Disbelief & Ridicule (c)
15      Susc: 1d6 STUN/Turn, Holy Symbol/Exorcism (c)
15      Susc: 2d6 Drain/Turn vs. All Multipower, Ground Consecrate to
Ethical Religion (u)
10      DF: Infernal Yet Divine Aura (Few Detect, Scary)
20      Vengeful (vc, strong)
10      Promotes Witchcraft, Seeks Followers (c)
10      Dislikes Ethical Religions, Esp. Christianity (c)
10      Protective of Hunter's Moon (c)
10      Rep: Grim Goddess of Witches, 8-, Extreme
15      Hunted by Magical Heroes, 11- (As Pow)
10      Hunted by Demon Lords, 8- (As Pow)
10      Watched by Greek Pantheon, 11- (More Pow)
75      Villain Bonus

        Background:  Hecate is one of the more mysterious of the Greek
gods.  She was never part of the Olympian group; she was a goddess of the
Underworld and the dead, patroness of night and sorcery, companion of the
Furies.  Despite her obscurity, though, Hecate was a powerful goddess: 
even Zeus never challenged her ancient prerogative to grant or withhold
from mortals their heart's desire.  She was of an older generation of
gods, the destructive crone aspect of the lunar Triple Goddess who ruled
Heaven, Earth and Hell.
        Not that this saved her from the coming of Christianity.  The new
religion banished Hecate from Earth along with the other Greek gods. 
Hecate made her residence in the Netherworld, however, with only
occasional visits to the other Greek gods in the Land of Legends.  Since
the Netherworld maintained better connections with Earth than did the
Greek pantheon, Hecate quickly learned about the ending of the Ban and
returned to Earth to restore her cult.  She found the Neo-Pagan movement
had already started the job.
        To her disgust, the Wiccans and other Neo-Pagans were a bunch of
wimps.  Where was the blood and terror?  Eventually, though, Hecate found
a few radicals willing to serve her in the old ways.  Hecate still has few
worshippers, but her werewolf minions in the Hunter's Moon feed her power
through human sacrifice.  The quantity of worship is low, but the
intensity is extreme.  She is now probably as powerful as any other Greek
god, with the possible exception of Zeus himself.  And she's still looking
for more worshippers.  She's put the word out on the Neo-Pagan grapevine
that if a coven is in trouble, she'll help them -- for a price.
        Quote:  "You would set yourself against a god?  That is hubris --
and hubris is punished by death and worse."
        Personality:  Hecate is ruthless even by the standards of gods,
which is saying something.  Her more mystical aspects of fertility and
secret wisdom have been submerged under her patronage of black magic and
its corollaries of domination, revenge and murder.  Since the most intense
source of energy for a god is human sacrifice, Hecate gives the Hunter's
Moon her full support.  Although her powers are not especially lethal,
Hecate fully intends to kill anyone she fights -- unless they surrender
and dedicate themselves to her, body and soul.
        Unlike the demons, however, Hecate is no blind force of evil.  She
can listen to reason; she can apply her power to good endeavors if she
thinks it's in her interest.  Indeed, she does care about the underdog (no
pun intended) in her own vicious way.  She despises the modern world for
what she sees as its hubris -- overweening pride -- in turning away from
the old gods of the natural world.  She sees herself not as a destroyer or
corrupter, but as a supernatural vigilante punishing an entire society for
its crimes.  Hecate will always be a fearsome goddess, but it's not
impossible that in the right circumstances she could be an ally to the
heroes.
        (Incidentally, Hecate's dislike of the ethical religions is
slightly ironic:  she herself almost became a leading figure in an ethical
religion.  The Neoplatonists of the 2nd-5th centuries AD claimed Hecate as
a cosmic principle of divine revelation.  They said she was a good goddess
-- one of the best and wisest.  Neoplatonism, however, never became a very
popular cult.)
        Powers/Tactics:  The worship Hecate receives from the Hunter's
Moon gives her exceptional power, represented by the Continuous Aid on
herself.  If cut off from worship, by the dispersal of the Hunter's Moon,
their loss of faith, or active disbelief and ridicule from a large group
of people, the Aid stops.  While she retains all her other Powers, Hecate
then becomes much more vulnerable and she lacks the END to keep fighting
for long.
        Hecate is a cautious fighter, trying to gain every advantage she
can.  For instance, she tries to get behind an opponent invisibly, so her
subsequent attack comes from surprise; she uses her terrifying howl to
paralyze opponents and make them lose DCV and action Phases; she makes the
environment itself attack through her "Lethal Bad Luck" power, which can
take the form of a stab from a broken tree branch, a gopher hole to twist
and break an ankle, or anything else appropriate to the surroundings.  She
can also weaken opponents by splashing them with cursed Styx Water to
strip away important Characteristics such as DEX, SPD, STR or END.  Best
of all -- for her, anyway -- is if she can trap a foe in a terrifying,
total-immersion Mental Illusion.  Then they cannot dodge the magic torches
she can summon at will, or her other attacks.
        If she's with the Hunter's Moon, Hecate will cooperate closely
with them.  She prefers to attack Stunned or Knocked Back opponents, or
hinder opponents with Mind Control, Mental Illusions, Styx Water and
Presence Attacks to make them easier prey for the werewolves.
        If she and the Hunter's Moon are being beaten, Hecate will flee
(by Extra-Dimensional Movement, if necessary) and tell the cultists to
scatter.  She will re-gather them later, and plot a lethal revenge.
        Appearance:  In her basic form, Hecate is an ugly but imperious
hag in a black chiton (a Greek garment sort of like a toga).  She can also
assume the forms of a lioness, dog, wolf, mare or a woman of ageless
beauty.  Her hag form can have the head of a lioness, dog or mare at will,
and in combat the shape of her head may change from Phase to Phase (this
is just a special effect, and does not require the Shape Shift slot of the
Multipower) or she might have all three animal heads at once!