Hunter: The Vigil is a game line from White Wolf, announced on January 2, 2008 and released on August 14, 2008. It is the sixth game line to be part of the World of Darkness. Like Promethean: The Created and Changeling: The Lost, Hunter: The Vigil will be a limited game line, consisting of a core setting book and several supplements.

Hunter is currently a Side Venue, existing in its on sandbox, on Edge of Darkness.

Organizations

Hunters operate socially, in collectives and groups of various sizes. The smallest organizational unit in which hunters operate is the cell. Cells operate independently of one another, frequently without even being aware of the existence of other cells in the region. Individual cells make up for their lack of firepower with flexibility and local knowledge.

Characters affiliations are categorize into 3 tiers:

• First-tier Characters (individuals who for various reasons do not affiliate with any organization other than their Cell)
• Second-tier Characters (individuals who belong to Compacts, small and loosely connected organizations)
• Third-tier Characters (individuals who belong to Conspiracies, large global groups that command greater power and resources)

Compact

Cells occasionally discover one another and band together for strength and mutual support. When multiple cells get together in a region, the organization often acquires an independent identity, a group structure known as a compact.

Frequently, a compact forms out of a sense of cultural identity or shared purpose: The Long Night, for instance, comprises mostly fundamentalist Christians, whereas the compact known as Null Mysteriis draws its membership from the ranks of scientists and medical personnel who have been exposed to supernatural phenomena, and seek to strip it of all the superstitious hocus pocus surrounding it to find rational explanations for the irrational wherever possible.

Compacts can extend their reach to encompass large geographical regions, and even become global in scope through the medium of the internet if the compacts are particularly net savvy. Compacts sacrifice some of their flexibility for backup from other cells within the Compact. Compacts are easy to find and join, and tend to offer a great deal of practical experience, as well as a few resources a hunter on their own might not have had before. They are also fairly easy to switch between, as most compacts do not have the energy and manpower to hunt down a rogue member capable of disappearing from sight.

While a good deal for an inexperienced hunter, compacts also tend to have a number of weaknesses over the more established Conspiracies. Most compacts are relatively new, with the oldest only founded in the last century or two. As a result, some compacts lack a true focus and can fall prey to infighting between members. Newer compacts also may have to rely more on hearsay or rumor for information, not having centralized resources to gather data from. They are limited in size, making them effective in one or two areas, but are prone to falling prey to local politics or a stubborn conspiracy. Plus, the supernatural tend to outnumber the members of a compact, so one that attracts a great deal of attention may easily be wiped from the face of the earth by a powerful entity that grows tired of them.

Ashwood Abbey • The Bear Lodge • Barrett Commission • Division Six • The Hunt Club • Illuminated Brotherhood • Keepers of the Source • The Long Night • Loyalists of Thule • Maidens Blood Sisterhood • Network Zero • Night Watch • Null Mysteriis • The Promethean Brotherhood • Talbot Group • The Union

Conspiracy

Sometimes, a Compact becomes something else: a truly global organization. A Conspiracy, also called the third-tier, is a type of organization found in Hunter: The Vigil. Conspiracies are vast organizations of great power and influence, be it through government support, religious decree, or simply surviving for thousands of years. Many conspiracies work in secret, away from the public eye, and quite a few are dedicated to keeping the supernatural forces hidden from average people. Conspiracies tend to have more far-reaching networks, reliable resources and superior knowledge than the smaller, less organized Compacts.

Another benefit conspiracies offer over the weaker compact are Endowments, powers developed specifically by that conspiracy that allow it do do things a normal mortal man would not be able to do. While they sound appealing, many Endowments come with a steep cost to use. Some gradually corrode the user's soul, some literally poison the person drawing upon it, and most keep their user from ever having a chance at leaving the conspiracy if the stakes become too high.

Aegis Kai Doru • Ascending Ones • The Cainite Heresy • Cheiron Group • The Knights of Saint George • Les Mysteres • Lucifuge • Malleus Maleficarum • Task Force VALKYRIE • Vanguard Serial Crimes Unit

Endowments

Endowments are a new category of Merit, and represent "tools of the trade" that hunters use to hunt monsters in the World of Darkness. While most hunters hunt with "their wits, willpower, and whatever supplies they can gather from the local sporting goods store", others have access to "tools beyond those that ordinary men and women can acquire".