Zeal makes demands upon all of its followers: to see the supernatural destroyed. Avengers respond with punishment for the guilty. Defenders answer by singling out that which must be protected or remembered, and damning the rest. Followers of the primary path of Judgment walk the line between. Judges prevail when it's clear that the unknown cannot be tolerated, but when the greatest good is not certain .
A Judge places all his faith in higher values and ideals. However, unlike other adherents of Zeal, the Judge knows that answers aren't necessarily obvious. You can't always cut to the heart of the problem with a single blow. And sometimes protecting something in battle only makes you responsible for it throughout the war. Many Judges, in fact, question the instinctive reactions of their more direct or determined colleagues. Judges don't do what they want, they do what they have to, and they do what's right. If that means sparing even monsters, despite innocent lives lost - perhaps to discover the creatures' master - then that's the price of the greater good.

 

O      DISCERN
Your character exhibits a hyper-alertness to supernatural creatures, a surreal perspective that allows her to perceive things about the unknown that most could not. She might notice that a hand laid on a desk leaves no heat impression, that a person's eyes don't dilate with changing light, or that a being simply doesn't breathe. Such information is usually enough to determine the approximate kind of creature a Judge faces.
Also, your character cannot be blinded, even if her eyes are closed or she's in utter darkness. This power also permits vision when your character's eyes have been dazzled (or torn out, for that matter). The hunter can see what's in front of her face as if she were in a clear, well-lit room, regardless of the real conditions. Even formerly bad eye-sight is corrected miraculously.

System: This power is typically used under one of two circumstances: When your character tries to identify a supernatural creature, or when she tries to see in the dark or when otherwise blind. In either case, roll Perception + Zeal, usually against a difficulty of 6. The effects of Discern last for 10 minutes for each success rolled. Duration can be extended for another 10 minutes for each Conviction point spent. The power can be deactivated at will.
Second sight reveals creatures that use magic to hide, that disguise themselves in unassuming forms, or that are simply not human or alive, but it does not reveal the true natures of those beings. Discern exposes the features that identify those creatures. That which does not breathe might be the walking dead. A brutish person with rapid breathing might be a shapechanger. A newly dead spirit has now-obvious deathmarks. A bloodsucker's pawn could have abnormally bulging veins and pallid skin. Assuming a Judge knows what kind of creature such details apply to, she can coordinate an appropriate attack or defence. Discern can therefore be used in conjunction with or can replace need for second sight while the edge is in effect. Discern provides no mind- or body-control protection, though.
Furthermore, if abomination activity has occurred recently in an area or to a person, your character may sense what kind of creature - restless spirit, walking dead, skinchanger - was responsible with sufficient Discern successes (two or more). This assumes she properly interprets any evidence left behind - hair, blood, a corpse.
When avoiding blindness, ignore the Blind Fighting/ Fire rules. This edge operates only when invoked. It's not "always on."

 

O O      BURDEN
Your character can imprison a supernatural creature briefly, fixing it to the ground where it stands (in some cases, "freezing it in the space it occupies" might be more accurate). Some Judges theorize that the overpowering scrutiny that occurs with the edge is more than the guilty consciences of monsters can bear, and they're immobilized.
Your character must look at the thing and hold it in her gaze. (Eye-to-eye contact is not required. Blinking is allowed, but looking away long enough to attack anything else or pay attention to anything else sets the creature free.) The entity can still act - speak, fight, use any powers it possesses - but it cannot move more than a foot from where it is. More than one creature can be burdened at one time, as long as they can all be seen simultaneously. Some creatures have capabilities that allow them to move into other realms or at superhuman speeds. These powers can sometimes be used to break free of Burden.

System: Your character glares at the creature (the Storyteller decides whether multiple targets stand close enough together to all be captured in one look). Roll Stamina + Zeal. The difficulty for an individual creature is Stamina +3. One roll is also made to immobilize a group. Use the highest Stamina from the group; if the roll fails, none of the creatures is affected. For each success you get, the enemy is stuck for one turn. If your character takes her eyes off the targets) during that time (or if her gaze is interrupted by some outside influence), the "spell" is broken.
This edge does not work on human beings, not even victims of paranormal creatures. However, people who have been changed in some way by supernatural entities - given powers or unnatural gifts - can be targeted normally. Thus, a person possessed by a spirit can be liberated with this power if the spirit can be perceived and riveted to the spot. The host may simply be pulled away; the spirit passes through and the victim regains control of her body.
While burdening a creature, your character has to keep his eyes on that being. He can attack it or otherwise interact with it, but attacking anything else frees the being. (And some ferocious attacks staged against the target itself may even break your character's hold if he's forced to look away at any point. The recoil from a shotgun, for example, may cause your Judge to avert his eyes for a moment. The Storyteller decides when such an overwhelming attack occurs.)
Beasts with powers of unnatural movement - amazing speed, teleportation - can roll Stamina + the relevant Trait to attempt to escape Burden. The difficulty is either 7 or your character's Zeal rating, whichever is higher.

 

O O O BALANCE
With this power, your character can deny an entity access to its source of strength (usually an energy stolen from humankind). To use this edge, your character must look at the creature and verbally curse it in some fashion. This can be anything from, "By my oath, no blood shall nourish you today!" to a simple, "Starve, bastard!"

System: Roll Wits + Zeal. Your difficulty is the opponent's Stamina +2. The opponent cannot use any power or perform any function that requires supernatural energy. In the case of the creatures presented in Chapter 9, Willpower cannot be spent to utilize supernatural powers, although it can still be used to perform "mundane" feats such as get an automatic success while performing an action. The effect lasts for one hour per success rolled, even if the creature leaves your character's vicinity.

 

O O O O      PIERCE
A character with this edge is a human lie detector. When she hears a falsehood, she typically experiences a distinct (and very unpleasant sensation). The feeling is different for each hunter. Some perceive it as a foul smell, others as a queasy feeling, still others as a brief flash of light. Whatever form the warning takes, it is unique and cannot be mistaken for anything else.
Furthermore, your character develops a specialized form of postcognition - the ability to share a subject's memories of the past. Specifically, if your character touches a person who has had an encounter with a supernatural being, she has a vision of that person's most recent encounter. If your character touches a supernatural creature, she receives a vision of the creature's past - either looking back on its encounters with a certain object, person or place, or casting back to a specific, short period of time ("What were you doing on the night of July 9, 1994?"). These visions are all silent.

System: Pierce operates for a full scene at the cost of one Conviction. When a lie is told in your character's presence, the Storyteller rolls dice equal to your character's Perception + Zeal, difficulty 6. If the power is successful and the statement is a lie, the falsehood is detected, no matter how skilled the liar. If the power fails, your character doesn't know one way or the other. Furthermore, if the roll is successful but no lie is told, the hunter doesn't know that anything is out of sorts (clever Storytellers sometimes make rolls when a character with Pierce hears the truth, just to keep the player honest). If you want to risk Conviction points on a lie-detection Pierce roll, tell the Storyteller how many and he can incorporate the results into the roll.
To gain visions of the past, the Judge must touch the being concerned. No Conviction points need be spent for this version of the edge. Make a Perception + Zeal roll, difficulty 7 (this difficulty may be increased if the target resists physically or if special measures have been taken to obscure the subject's memories). If the roll is successful, a vision is seen. In the case of a human subject, the vision is of his last contact with a supernatural being. Remember, these images are from the subject's memory. He might not have witnessed events that occurred around him in his past.
Conversely, he might suppress memories that your character can draw to the fore.
In the case of a supernatural subject, you must stipulate a memory associated with a specific person, place or object. Alternatively, your character may witness a creature's memory of a specific time - a day, evening, hour or even moment. In fact, the Storyteller could insist on memories relevant to an object and a time frame.
The number of successes achieved in a Perception + Zeal roll to witness memories determines how far back your character can look. A perceived event can have occurred as far back as one week for each success rolled. One roll cannot be made to activate lie detection and to look into a subject's memories; the two effects must be rolled separately.

 

O O O O O      EXPOSE
When your character uses this edge, the normal people around him become aware of any supernatural beings in their presence. The creatures are immediately perceptible for what they truly are, despite how they seek to hide themselves with unnatural powers. The effect does not apply to revealing hunters as anything unusual; most look perfectly normal.

System: Roll Zeal, difficulty 8, and spend two Conviction points. The number of successes achieved indicates how far from your character the effect extends.

 

1 Success                  A 15-foot radius
2-3 Successes        A 50-foot radius
4-5 Successes        A city-block
6-7 Successes       An acre
8+ Successes         A one-mile radius

 

This edge reveals all monsters in the area with the most horrific aspect of their appearance. This visage is momentary, but enough to expose a creature as an abomination. A vampire looks like a blood-lusting horror, a shapechanger appears as a man-beast, and a ghost is a looming spectral figure. A creature doesn't actually change in any way; it's appearance simply alters to human onlookers.
How common people respond to the horrors that they're exposed to depends on the circumstances. Essentially, they see creatures just as your character first saw them upon being imbued. However, normal people still have a sanity mechanism that tells them to run and hide from many monsters, or that rationalizes what they witness to interpret it as harmless. So Expose doesn't necessary bring torch-bearing hordes to your character's side. But, then again, the same sturdy people who could confront a cocky or careless hunter who presents himself publicly might just as easily act against a monstrous entity.
Certainly, exposing a creature to human sight undoes all the stealth and secrets behind which the monster hides, so this edge can save a hunter's very life - the creature unveiled may flee rather than remain exposed. And revealing a mayoral candidate as a night-creature can't do his campaign any good, even if people don't quite recall what it was that was wrong with him.
Expose does not create the circumstances required to imbue anyone. Human witnesses do not suddenly become hunters or bystanders. The edge can be used only once per scene; its sweeping effect is taxing.