“What's wrong with you? That's not how zombies act in the movies at all! Here, let me show you.”

 

Do other hunters treat you like you were dropped on your head as a kid? Things might be different where you are, but around here, "Innocent" might as well mean "idiot." It's not like we don't do our share. It could just be that everybody else takes this stuff so seriously that they forget monsters aren't always bad. Just like hunters aren't always good.
Sometimes the others don't care if a crime is a creature's fault or not, even when they've seen that "creature" acting normal and talking to his neighbours and mowing the grass. If you don't speak up, nobody will. And when it's too late, everybody gets all quiet, and
they get mad if you ask why it had to happen that way. They tell you, "Cause we kill things." You tell them that people are not things. They tell you these things only look like people. You tell them some folks like to say that about the people they want to hurt. They ask you to help them steal something, like a car or a big gun, so they can hunt with it. You ask them what they would do if somebody stole their stuff. They ask you to carry a gun. When they say they won't carry a gun if you will, you tell them "Okay!" That way you can cut down on the chance of somebody else doing something everybody may regret.
"Doing right by everybody caught up in the hunt is just impossible." You've heard some hunter say those words, or ones close to them. A year ago, though, the same person would have said all the things us hunters can do and see are impossible! Seems to me a little faith is in order. We may never be as good as we want to be, but we can never be any better than we try to be. That may also be true of the folks some of you call the wicked or the accursed or just monsters. They might be in pain! Ask your buddies if they ever thought about that! If an animal is hurt, it may lash out at anybody. Some of these poor folks, these "monsters," seem like trapped beasts. 'Course, some of you are saying to yourselves, "How are we supposed to know that?" Well, that's why you're blessed! That's why there are healers among us to put us back together when we get hurt helping out the less fortunate. And you can't help people by shooting them. The only reason you'll ever see a gun in my hands is to keep it out of somebody else's.
Plenty of hunters are ready to wipe out anything that looks less than normal. You have to make them think twice before they do awful things. You're with them to show that hunters don't have to act wicked to stop wicked acts. Start small. Get everybody to pray together after somebody gets killed, no matter who it was. If you can start them thinking like human beings, they'll start seeing themselves that way. Maybe they'll see others that way one day, but they have to believe in their own goodness first.

Weaknesses: It's sort of funny that the Innocent have so much trouble with feeling guilty, but that's life. After you try everything you can to keep the misguided from hurting somebody, sometimes you have to hurt them, too. Sometimes you have to do worse than hurt them, or help one of your friends do it. But you can't let guilt slow you down or the hurting just never stops.
Some of you get so upset over the hunt you just curl up and want to die. It'll sneak up on you. You'll catch yourself praying your aim is steady or giving thanks because whatever that thing was, it finally stopped moving. Next thing you know, you're figuring out ways to not go hunting, to not go outside so you won't even see one of "them." Lying in bed crying all day is a dead giveaway that you got the hunter's blues. The worst part is, there's usually nobody you can tell except other hunters, and seeing them can start you feeling bad all over again. A few just can't handle it. There was a fellow who ran with us, left us a note that said, "I'm done." Haven't seen a lick of him since. Hope he managed to give the blues the slip.
What you really have to watch out for is shamming.... You know, "Keeping up with the Joneses." Trying to be like everybody else on a hunt will make you crazy. Be yourself and keep a hold of your soul. Start acting all hard and harsh, next thing you know you'll be that way. And nothing's harder to find again than lost innocence. Might be that once it's gone, it's gone for good. Some use the word "innocent" to mean impressionable. If that's true of you, maybe you should be trying to leave an impression on them instead.

Apocrypha: Why does anything happen? Why do people worry about it so much? We have invisible friends who look out for us all. They want us to look out for everybody else and to keep people from hurting each other. That way we can all be around when something better comes along; we can all reap the reward. What's so hard to understand?

The Imbuing: Run-ins with things that look a lot worse than they act are typical when Innocents get the Power. A lot of you are really good at calming people's fears, sometimes with nothing other than words. Those of you who mix it up with a critter dead-set on mayhem usually try talking him or her - or it - out of whatever badness is under way. Doesn't always work, and a few of you have the scars to prove it, but that doesn't stop you from trying the same trick again later.

 

STEREOTYPES
Avengers - They're very angry, sometimes for no obvious reason.
Bystanders - I try to show them some respect since most of the others don't.
Defenders — I feel safe when they're around.
Judges - Even when they do stuff that doesn't seem to make sense (like that guy on TV), they've got a plan in mind.
Martyrs - There already was a Jesus.
Redeemers - They seem like nice people, but they talk a lot.
Visionaries - We understand each other.
The Enemy — If we could just understand them, all this trouble would be over.

 

Character Creation: Many Innocents have Charisma as their foremost Attribute, and high Empathy is a must. Otherwise, because Innocence wears so many different faces, there are few generalities that can be stated about this creed. Innocents can be children, but roleplaying them in a "realistic" setting can be difficult. Better candidates are the shielded, the uncomplicated and the endlessly hopeful.

Starting Conviction: 3

A.K.A.: The Blessed, Bait, Optimists, Fools