Killer Shrike

Not too big, not too small...Shreveport, LA is just right for you! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPslf5Om6qQ It is also just right for various supernaturals as well. New Orleans is the belle of the ball, a traditional mecca of the abnormal. But it also draws a lot of scrutiny and turf staking. Meanwhile, the City of Architects tends to quietly pass under the radar...

Field Guide for Identifying Cults, Preface As a Special Agent of Section-M, you may very likely find yourself investigating a potentially cult related case. When first encountering an organization that may be a cult, your first goal is to perform an initial finding to ascertain the organization's overall nature, legality, motives, acts, and practices and whether it appears to be a cult or not. Many cults are relatively harmless or benign; others are merely deluded or impotent. Not all cults are supernaturally aware or active, and thus are not within our purview...the finding will be deferred for general Bureau handling. However, there are supernaturally relevant cults that are harmful, dangerous, and engaged in or are in the process of engaging in Accords-violating activity which Section M will proceed with handling once your finding has been filed. One of the most morally and intellectually challenging duties you might be called upon to perform is determining whether or not a particular group is truly dangerous and in violation of the Accords or simply hold non-mainstream beliefs. It is a weighty decision, for based upon your judgement the full weight of the FBI and our assets can be brought to bear upon them. This field guide exists to help guide you in first assessing whether a given group qualifies as a cult. Although cults vary in size, beliefs, structure and motives, there are five things that most cults need to maintain stability and growth which we will refer to as the Five Pillars; focusing on identifying these Five Pillars will give you a framework to proceed with. A group where four or five of these Pillars are present is most likely a cult. If that group is also supernaturally active then they will be classified as an active esoteric cult and will be investigated further for Accords enforcement. The Five Pillars Pillar 1: Initiation All organizations need new recruits to grow and survive, and cults are no different in this regard. However an initiate in a cult is typically subject to a different level of commitment than a non-cult organization would require. An organization adept at garnering new members is very stable; those that struggle to gain new people are vulnerable. Some cults primarily go after people who are frustrated, misguided, lonely, and need acceptance; many are very suggestible and willing to do anything to feel accepted and valued. However, some cults go the other way and target only high achieving or elite individuals with strong motivations that are in line with the cult's goals. Most cults have more than one level of initiation, such as circles or tiers within the group to which membership can only be gained via service to the cult. Pillar 2: Resources Many cults have specific rules or requirements around controlling the resources of their members, either indirectly in the form of tithes or dues, or directly by taking all or most of their members possessions outright. This both provides operating funds for the Cult and leaves its members more dependent upon the cult's collective resources. As a rule of thumb, no matter how non-materialistic a cult may profess to be, upon examination those at the top of the cult are almost always found to have control over the majority of the resources available to the group and have the latitude to use those resources as they see fit. Pillar 3: Dogma Cults almost always have some alternate dogma, belief system, or conception of themselves and their members as being unique or different in some way. This serves to separate the initiated from the masses, causes a severing with old causes, beliefs, and other psychological roots, and becomes the justification for acts that initiates would not otherwise entertain. Typically dogma also serves as the rules and code of conduct for a cult's members, encouraging them not to think for themselves or make their own judgments of right and wrong. Pillar 4: Loyalty Cults typically require extreme loyalty and frequent proof of that loyalty to the group at the expense of the self, with threat of exile and censure for perceived acts of disloyalty. The fear of being cast out can cause even less-brainwashed individuals to at least appear to toe the party line of the cult and participate in activity that they would not initiate on their own. Often, under pressure, cult leaders will demonstrate that their own loyalty is to themselves and if this can be revealed to the rank and file of the cult it can cause a dramatic dissolution of the cult's membership and power. Pillar 5: Secrecy While some organizations might evince the other four pillars and upon analysis turn out to be a belief system but not technically be classified as a cult, when secrecy is added to the equation...particularly when secrets are kept not just from outsiders but from members of the group...it is very likely the organization is in fact a cult. Note that investigation into the secrets and agendas of such an organization will proceed after the organization is identified as a cult; doing such investigation is not necessary or advised during the initial finding.

Capsule summary of the Burrows Taxonomy of Demons Demons can be broken into several general Types, based upon their motivations and overall activities, and many Categories based upon their manner of manifestation. Categories of Demons At the most basic level, there are the Demons that lack the strength to possess a host, instead manifesting as malevolent non-corporeal forms, which we will refer to as Category I. Then there are the Demons that are too weak to possess a human being, having to settle for lesser animals and projecting some Demonic attributes upon them (such as hellhounds), which we will call Category II. After that are the Demons that are able to possess a host and invest it with powers but not take full control of it, which we will call Category III. These first three categories are referred to collectively as Lesser Demons. As Demons increase in power, they are able to fully supplant their host; Demons of this power level are referred to as Category IV. With more power Demons are able to switch hosts; these Demons are classified as Category V. Growing in strength, they are able to remain active during the day and during the night; these belong to Category VI. Demons of these three categories are collectively referred to simply as Demons. Sufficiently strong Demons can temporarily alter their hosts to appear Demonic, causing fear and insanity in unprotected and weak minds; or in some cases are able to possess multiple hosts, but not project full power through them; these are classified as Category VII. With growing strength Demons can physically alter their hosts form to suit their whim, or possess multiple hosts at near full power; these fall within Category VIII. Demons of these two categories are referred to collectively as Greater Demons. Some very powerful Demons are able to manifest physically without a host; these are Category IX. Finally, the most powerful are able to affect the physical world on a vast scale without manifesting any physical form, possessing vast powers and influence...these compose Category X. Demons of these two categories are referred to as Demon Lords. Types of Demons Demons have motivations, just as men do. By knowing a Demons motivation you might better be able to anticipate it or understand it’s nature. I have broken the most common motivations of Demonic creatures into seven basic groups. Other worthy scholars of the past and present have used this method, some with more types and others with less. The key is to not become too focused on the semantics of the point, but rather to use it as a quick method for identifying what makes a particular Demon tick. All Demons seek to feed on the essence of earthly creatures. How they vary is in their method of doing so. The most basic of types are Feeders, who draw essence directly from the physical, usually through blood but sometimes flesh also. Above Feeders you have Slayers, who draw their energies directly from the psychic trauma of violent death. Beyond the Slayers you have the Tormentors, who draw sustenance from pain, frustration, stress, and terror and torture their victims endlessly to generate negative emotions. Above Tormentors are Deceivers, who spread lies and deceit, leading men to wrongful acts and treachery, feeding on the negative emotions of all involved. Next you have Corrupters, who draw energy and apparently amusement by luring men into negative acts. After this you have Dominators, who seek to control and debase large groups of people, often controlling cults and religious orders. Finally, you have the Fiends, who seek to stir negative human activities on a truly epic scale; starting wars and acts of atrocity, spreading vices, diseases, and ill will amongst entire nations and glutting themselves on the emotional proceeds. Well-known ‘Named’ Demons Abaddon “the Destroyer”: Category IX Slayer. Very rare and little is known due to lack of survivors; believed to be responsible for several massacres of unknown causes. Qabbalists cite him as being key in their concept of Armageddon. Abigor: Category IX Fiend. Believed to be the ruler of many legions of lesser Demons, this creature rarely bothers to personally visit Earth, acting through lesser Demons. Credited with vast abilities to foretell the future and uncanny knack for generalship. Abishai: believed to be a Lieutenant of Lucifer, posited to be a Category VI Slayer. Little is known other than it acts as an agent for infernal powers. Perhaps also known as Anubis. Ahazu ‘the Seizer’: A Category X Fiend; a plague lord, perhaps one and the same as Beelzebub or a potential rival. Ahrimanes: Category VI Tormentor, reputedly keeps caches of prisoners to torture. Accredited with the possession of many Inquisitors of the Roman Catholic Church. No recent activities known. Some rumors indicate that this being has mastered the ability to pass completely unnoticed, making him one of the most potentially dangerous of all possessor Demons. Alastor, ‘the Executioner’: an old Demon first catalogued by the Persians, perhaps a Category IX or X Slayer. No recent activities known; perhaps this entity has been renamed by more recent peoples; some ancient texts confuse him with Azrael the so-called Angel of Death. Aldinach: First cataloged by the ancient Egyptians, a Category X Fiend who was accredited with great power to cause natural disasters. Little known of more modern activities due to lack of physical form and need for a host. Alu-Demons: General class of Tormentor Demons. See also Caco-Demon Amon: Category VIII Deceiver\Corrupter. Vast physical power; very dangerous when confronted, but concentrates on games of the mind. Extremely dangerous and subtle. Anneberg ‘the Whisperer’: Category II Slayer. Usually possesses horses, mules and other mounts, and projecting a Demonic appearance to them. Kills with a breath; originally catalogued by Germans after a band of miners was terrorized by it. Arphaxat: an ancient Persian sorcerer struck dead by lightning; reputedly so evil that he became a Demon and survived by possessing hosts. Currently a Category VIII Dominator Demon able to possess multiple hosts, he is credited with the possession of the Nuns of Loudun in 1633 and the possession of the Sons of Weirus in 1982. Very dangerous. Azael\Azazel: a Category VI Corrupter\Slayer, last encountered in New York; typical M.O. appears to be serial killing interspersed with occasional attempts to corrupt and\or disrupt his pursuers. According to Qabbalistic lore, cast into the material world after supporting Lucifer against Jehovah, staked out in the desert; scholars posit that the desert is the relatively energy-poor earth. Baal ‘Lord of Battles’: Category X Dominator, bringer of war. First catalogued by the Sumerians; extremely powerful but seldom encountered directly. Has many underlings. Also called Bael and Bal. Belphegor, ‘the Soul-merchant’: A Category IX Fiend, an entity of ambiguous motivations exhibiting a complex range of behaviors normally associated with Corruptors, Tormentors, and Deceivers. Unlike most Demons Belphegor can be altruistic...or at least reliable. It always honors any deal it makes to the letter of the agreement; there are documented cases of those who have benefited from their dealings with this entity. Beelzebub, ‘Lord of Flies’: A Category X Fiend, a plague lord, perhaps the same entity as Ahazu. Well known amongst Christian and Judaic lore, but possibly just a personification of natural disease. Biifant: A little known Demon reputed to have disclosed a manner of exorcising Demons after being forced by an unnamed mystic. Perhaps a Category IV Demon of unknown motivations. Supposedly utterly destroyed. Bitru: A Category IX Corrupter, prefers lust and sex as its tool, and always assumes an exquisitely beautiful form of either sex. Bune ‘the Gravelord’: A strange Category IV or IX Dominator first catalogued by the Tartars, it apparently controls many lesser Demons whom he summons to this plane to invest recently dead corpses as Category III Feeders (which have been erroneously described as vampires due to similar habits but which are an entirely different kind of supernatural creature). Bune does not speak, and communicates only by sign. It appears to be a normal human male at all times, never altering appearance and possessed of only physical powers such as superhuman strength and toughness. Last active in Montana in 1972 (see Case#11089322G1). Caaerinolaas ‘the Agitator’: Also known as Caasimolar and Glasya. First catalogued by the Polish, this Demon is a Category VIII Corrupter, assigned responsibility for the 1389 invasion of Serbia by the Turks. Particularly adept at inciting homicides that lead to great conflict. Caco-Demons: A general class of Corrupter\Deceiver Demons. See also Alu-Demon. Cambions: Category IV ‘wildchildes’; children that are possessed in the womb by stronger Category III Demons that grow to strength by feeding on the child's mind, finally growing strong enough to take total control of the host. Very dangerous and difficult to exorcise as the host mind is entirely blank. Even if exorcism is successful the human host has an undeveloped mind and is therefore an empty shell. Eblis: See Lucifer Haris: See Lucifer Inccubi: a general class of Feeders that materialize in the night and seek to feed from the life essences of those they seduce. Always appear as extremely attractive males. It is unclear if they possess a human host or manifest a body, which makes classification difficult. See also Succubi. Kostchtchie ‘the Deathless’: First categorized by the Russians, a Category VII or IX Tormentor that manifests in a particularly gross form, appearing as an animated skeleton with black blood pumping through fibrous veins and a visible yellow heart. Believed to be an ancient sorcerer that either made a Demonic pact or seized control from a possessing Demon, using the Demon's essence to power his existence. Whether or not the entity is a true Demon is unknown. Lilith ‘Queen of Darkness’: Category X Fiend. Supposedly the First Woman in Judaic lore, put aside by the First Man Adam due to her lack of subservience. Supposedly became a great sorceress and eventually left her body behind to become a Demon and rising in power. Renowned for her great powers to torment and bedevil men with her great skills of seduction and cruelty. Believed to draw power from emotional traumas caused by human intersexual relations. Lucifer ‘the Lightbringer’, ‘Father of Lies’, ‘the Deceiver’, ‘Eblis’, ‘Haris’, ‘Set’, ‘Satan’, ’Old Scratch’, ‘THE Devil’, etc.: If this is an actual entity, then it would be among the most powerful of Demons. Supposedly originating in the Upper Planes and believed to be the loser of a power-struggle with the being known as Jehovah, Yahweh, Elohim, Brahmin, etc. (as interpreted through various cultural-mythological backgrounds), this entity is accredited with all manner of atrocities, so it is difficult to discern which are actual manifestations of its powers and which are more appropriately attributed to other causes and powers. However, many religions and occult theories of the world’s cultures agree upon a startling similar embodiment of malevolence, and the existence of such an entity is entirely plausible. Malphas: Category IX Deceiver\Dominator. Appears as a normal but rugged human with a deep voice; famed for leading rebellions and overthrowing beneficent rulers and for giving great gifts to but ultimately deceiving those who follow him. Mephistopheles: Category IX Corrupter\Deceiver, usually appearing as an educated older man of spare features. Supposedly one of Lucifer top followers, this being delights in making pacts and deals that ultimately leave it in possession of a humans honor, integrity and ‘soul’. Rahu ‘the Tormentor’: Category VIII Tormentor. Cataloged by ancient Hindu mystics, renowned as a truly fiendish and cruel creature; sacrifices were made to it to buy protection form its subject Demons. Raksasha: a general class of Feeder\Dominator Demons. Succubi: a general class of Feeders that materialize in the night and seek to feed from the life essences of those they seduce. Always appear as extremely attractive females. It is unclear if they possess a human host or manifest a body, which makes classification difficult. See also Inccubi. Zabulon: A Category VI Corrupter. Particularly fond of members of religious orders. Zagam ‘the Transmuter’: Category IX Corrupter, renowned for transmutational powers. Fond of luring men in with promises of wealth which are in reality transmuted items of trash and no value that revert to their true state after a deal has been conducted. Zeernebooch ‘the Dark God’: See Lucifer Zepar: Category VI Corrupter. Always appears as a warrior, feeding off of the lust for battle amongst humans. A rabble-rouser and riot starter. - Prof. Tinneas Burrows, Director of Parapsychology, Fairfield University, 1989

Extra-Dimensional Beings, A Lecture on Human understanding of the names and origins of the extra-dimensional beings referred to as ‘Demons’, ‘Devils’, and ‘Angels’ has changed very little over the years, but our understanding of their motivations, operations, and categorization has increased dramatically. Centuries ago the scholar Michael Prellus placed Demons into five categories: earth, wind, water, fire and ‘shadow’. This categorization was later argued by St. Augustine, who believed that all Demons were composed of ‘shadow’ regardless of their elemental association. Through modern research the categorization of Outer Dimensional beings has changed from the elemental basis of earlier demonologists to a method of categorization based upon intent and methods of operation. The nature, location, and composition of the Outer Dimensions is still not understood, but leading mystics and psychics commonly insist that reality as we know it is but one layer or band in a much larger spectrum, much like visible light has its place in the electromagnetic spectrum. Further, many of these paranormal experts also posit that the ‘scale’ of reality has a positive and a negative balance, with our plane of reality lying close to the neutral middle levels. Beings from the highest and lowest ends of the spectrum are posited by most experts to not possess physical forms and to instead be powerful sentiences (though conflicting scholars point to the confirmed existence of so-called 'Elder Things', powerful extra-dimensional entities that definitely do have physical forms as counter evidence). According to the 'non-physical sentience' adherents, such beings are finite but possess the potential for nearly unlimited growth. However, as corporeal beings consume other corporeal beings for sustenance, so to must incorporeal beings consume other incorporeal essences for continued existence, or else they would consume themselves. According to this model, creatures of our plane existing at near balance generate both positive and negative energy and mortal concepts of ‘good’ and ‘evil’ are rooted in perceptions of actions and thoughts that produce positive and negative energies. These energies are of great interest to the beings of the so-called ‘Upper’ and ‘Lower’ planes, who can use it to both sustain themselves and to increase their own power. The efforts of such beings to influence the behavior of mankind exists into the deepest recesses of prehistory. The astute among you likely have already drawn the conclusion that in this model entities of what we refer to as ‘evil’ intent feed upon corruption and foul acts designed to increase fear and terror and hatred due to the production of negative energy such acts generate. Similarly, benevolent acts can be thought of as generating positive energy which entities with 'good' intent might sustain themselves upon. While this may bear out in the large, there is also evidence that this is a facile and reductive simplification. To remain active upon what is, at base, a hostile environment, much as the surface of the moon might be for us, extra-dimensional creatures active in our dimension require essences to sustain themselves much as we need oxygen and food. Most extra-dimensional beings are too weak to find their way to our plane of existence, requiring a beacon of sorts, a casting of consciousness through the void to guide them, or a call from a more powerful being that knows the way. Even still, once they have found their way to our layer of existence, most are still too weak to manifest directly, requiring some form of host. Even having a host, most of these beings can only be active for short periods of time, and are limited in their mobility amongst hosts. Finally, even those able to jump from one host to another are almost always limited to their ability to sustain light or darkness, for creatures of the Lower planes find light anathemic, as those of the Upper find darkness. It is only the extremely powerful that are able to maintain a completely unrestricted existence and activity level, day or night, and only the most powerful of all that are able to construct actual physical manifestations. Thus it is that the vast majority of all encounters with extra-dimensional beings has been with an insubstantial image of their true self, such as possessions. While projecting their consciousness into this plane the extra-dimensional entities find themselves subject to a number of potentially hostile elements native to our existence that to an ordinary creature of Earth range from harmful to beneficial. As noted earlier, there is the sensitivity to light and darkness possessed by these entities dependent upon their origin in the Upper or Lower planes. Direct exposure to sunlight is enough to kill or banish many of the lesser ‘Demons’ and weaken the more powerful to a level which causes them to redirect their powers to merely remain existent in this dimension. By contrast, only the strongest of the Upper planes entities, colloquially known as ‘Angels’ in the Western world, are able to remain active by night. Other such harmful aspects include some metals, woods, energies, and elements, all of which are alien to the non-physical planes of the extra-dimensional creatures. The obvious question many ask is why does there seem to be more ‘Demonic’ activities and cases than ‘Angelic’. I cannot fully answer this question as the motivations of such entities is beyond the full understanding of mankind, but theories range from ideas that perhaps the creatures of the Upper planes find our existence and plane repugnant, used as they are to a more rarefied environment, to the belief that they are just as common but far more subtle than Lower plane manifestations. Finally a word on those most evil beings commonly referred to as ‘Demons’ and ‘Gods’. How do they fit within this model, you might wonder? I posit that they are simply the oldest or most powerful of the extra-dimensional beings. Entities so vast in energy that their only limitations are the efforts of other similarly powerful beings. It is only the interference of opposing entities of equivalent power that holds them in check. When faced with the presence of such creatures, I would theorize that most humans would find their consciousness shattered or have their sanity destroyed. However, this is an area with very little creditable research or data, and thus the real answer is...we simply do not yet know. Thank you for your attention; I now conclude my lecture and will take questions... Excerpts from a lecture by Dr. Johan von Strickenburg 1987, on Demonic Studies Held at Section-M Training Facilities, Quantico, VA

Actually, @Durzan Malakim is correct. Despite the names, between those two schools Texas A&M has a more regarded / recognized tech curriculum. Also, College Station, TX (where Texas A&M is at) is basically smack in the middle of the major Texas cities.

Just confirming that we're gaming today Saturday August 24th at 5pm in the back room of At Ease Games.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0akvaxB9eyE

I could get behind testing something like that. If you want to pursue developing it let me know.

Yeah, first read up on PRE attacks and see if that can be applied to handle the 'taunt' concept well enough.

Actually, while that was a good whack at the problem, I want to go a similar but different direction...one which doesn't cost Murgy points and instead costs those who carry the tokens points from their Equipment Pools. It's a trivial work of Artificium to create tokens that teleport to your own specially prepared t-port circles. Murgy can pay 1 point to learn the Recipe for how to make such items. Each one has some number of daily charges. Hunters that want to use them can carry them in their Equipment Pool. This is mechanically the same as Alchemy, but using 'trinkets' or 'tokens' as a SFX instead of potions / elixirs / etc. Murgy would use KS: Hermetic Lore to create the items. Also, I don't feel any particular need to get overly pedantic about the exact build of the t-port circles. We all know how they've been established to work, and we know Murgy has the capability to make them given enough time and somewhere to maintain them. People with a token can teleport _to_ one of the circles within ~1000 miles, or from one of the circles to one of the other circles regardless of distance...this uses a charge. It is always a safe t-port from circle to circle or when using a token. Anything that fits in the circle gets teleported. No free Nynaeve t-port kills...anything partially out of the t-port circle doesn't get teleported. Without a token, Murgy can use his VPP to cast a t-port on the fly and then the power build matters.

To me, All Combat levels only start to make sense if there is a Characteristics Maxima in effect and you are at it for OCV / DCV, or if you are applying modifiers to the levels.

Good stuff. Ok, it's Lets Make A Deal time: Your firm has enough operating capital to afford a 1-year lease on a decent 5 office, 1 large conf, 1 small conf room, 2x 3-way desks in an open workspace arrangement, a lobby, and basic small office IT set up in a 2nd tier city of your choice (not NYC, SF, LA, Chicago)...presumably in Boston but I don't care...ya'll decide. I'll throw in temp worker reception service for this main office for free. If you opt for this I will reduce your company's Wealth by 1 and increase its Holdings by 1. You wont get your Wealth back once the lease runs out. You also have enough to afford 1-year leases on 4 run down / "distressed" properties (think old warehouses, old walkups, rinky dink industrial park offices, etc) with a fair amount of floorspace but no furnishings to speak of and poor frontage anywhere in the US....OR 2 modest but respectable properties that are smaller but have decent rented office furniture and set up to run a small satellite office out of in 2nd tier cities of your choice. Or some mix there of...on a 2:1 ratio. If you opt for this I will reduce your company's Wealth by 1 and increase its Holdings by 1. You wont get your Wealth back once the leases run out. If you grow your company over time, you can expand this further. @Durzan Malakim @King Red

Yeah, as always details matter; a fully correct answer would depend on how the rest of the character is built. It is however worth pointing out that by default Absorption does not provide defense against the thing absorbed...so if the character attracts lightning / electricity and takes damage from it...then it may very well be more of a complication than a benefit. Similarly, if the character draws lightning / electricity to themselves, then anything between them and the source of the energy will presumably be hit, so it does not necessarily offer much protection to teammates. Similarly, the hero might not entirely sink either the heat or the electricity (depending upon their Absorption roll)...in which case the excess heat and electricity might very well cause collateral damage. It is also worth pointing out (depending on how realistic one is being) that not all kinds of metal react to electricity in the same way...they are subject to Ohm's law and have varying conductivity and resistivity. Some metals are highly conductive, allowing electricity to flow thru them while others resist. Also, the OP mentions "heating up"...conductivity of heat is different than conductivity of electricity...also one is measured in kelvins and the other is measured in siemens. Copper happens to have both high thermal conductivity and electrical conductivity, but stainless steel on the other hand is more than an order of magnitude less heat conductive and is something like 30 times less electrically conductive. Heat which is not conducted builds up, and can in extreme conditions result in the metal reaching its melting point. In a superhero physics setting such details get in the way, but in a grittier heroes setting these kinds of flourishes can help add to the grist.

In the simple version, it might just be a Physical Limitation.

You may find this document I wrote up many years ago relevant then...Trait Driven Hero

Ya, I play both heavy system games and light / story based games...and things in between...but only if I like the game itself. For instance, while I like Fate a lot I do not like PbtA (or Blades in the Dark) but accept that others do.

Friends don't make friends play in Powered by the Apocalypse based games against their will. (I kid...but seriously just tell your friend you don't enjoy the game system and move on)

Yep. This is a deliberate design choice. Given plenty of time, a practitioner can lay down some serious wards, but you get _most_ of the benefits up front. So it's a trade off. Also, for customers, you can find a sweet spot between "lasts long enough that we don't have to keep coming back every month" but not so long that "we got little to no return business because we did too good of a job". You can also lay down an initial set of wards quickly, and then improve the wards as time allows, so that you get the initial benefits up front.

Don't forget Jack can do Necromantic Wards and could be taught how to do other kinds (at the expense of some XP).

There are other well established Hunter teams, of course. A couple of the more notable ones that have been specifically mentioned in HtbM related content before are: Halford & Co: a large expatriate Hunting organization based out of Costa Rica, with international interests. A three-generation family operated business comprised of members of the Halford family and trusted associates, they only go after the biggest bounties and are sometimes brought in on contract by supernaturally aware third parties that have an urgent problem and don't want to wait on red tape or rely on the usual ad hoc means of elimination. They are also often employed by many of the smaller Caribbean, Central American, and South American governments who lack the resources to deal with more serious monster problems on their own. Though the founder was an American expatriate, he married into a large Costa Rican family and had many children...thus the company is Hispanic in outlook and composition. Garrett's Crew: an experienced and long running Hunter team that's in its fourth incarnation...before Garrett it was run by a shamanistic mystic and Vietnam vet called Donnovann, before him it was led by a Korean War vet called Gunny Baer, and before that it was founded by a WW2 vet and former OSS operator known as Terminal Bill. The team has generally favored those with a military background, and has developed an efficient corpus of operational tactics; they get things done with high precision and are known for being reliable. They primarily operate in the Southwest and up the Pacific Coast but are asked from time to time by Section M to deal with problems elsewhere. A few others exist as serves the plot. However, there has been no mention of an incorporation of Hunters such as what Durzan is keen on pursuing. The crusty old guard of Section M would have shut such an operation down before it got off the ground on general principle. The new guard would be decidedly more open to this sort of thing if it is done properly with all the i's dotted and t's crossed. So, basically, it is an untapped market.

The United Nations has UNAO (United Nations Accords Organization); the Accords are a UN construct and ultimately the UN is the genesis of the modern assertion of rational mundanity as the dominant paradigm. The main thing to realize is that in the setting, the UN was actually formed to combat supernatural dominance of the world and enforcement of the Accords is it's true primary directive. Thus all UN member nations have some kind of Accords related official organ as part of the (secret) membership requirements of being in the UN. I know that in popular culture Interpol is often portrayed as some kind of multinational police force, but it really isn't...Interpol is not a law enforcement agency (and it also is not a UN organization); it is more of a facilitation mechanism for cooperation between police forces of its member nations. In the setting Interpol is not a supernaturally aware / active agency with a role in the enforcement of the Accords. However Accords related enforcement activity might get handwaved / piggybacked across the interpol network under some mundane cover story or pretense from time to time. The UK has Mi-13, Australia has a relatively small group officially called AAESS (Australian Accords Enforcement Special Service) but unofficially called 'the Furphywhompers` because Australians can't take anything too seriously. Canada has the CAA (Canada Accordance Agency). France has a unit within the DGSI that has changed its official name at least twenty times since it was founded in the early 1950's but which is generally referred to as the DLA. Germany has a unit called Division UM within the Bundeskriminalamt / BKA which is similar to Section M. The Soviets had several small groups in various agencies; in modern Russia an unamed working group in the FSB does exist...but the Russians basically only give lip service to the UN Accords...in Russia monsters hunt you...ha ha only kidding...no but really Russia is not good place to be Hunter. Etc.

It might be helpful to put some numbers out there to help scope things... Across the western hemisphere, all of North, Central, South America and various islands off their coasts...there are less than 1,000 active and semi-active Hunters...including Section M Agents. There's a little more than that across all of Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. Around 2,000 worldwide, sometimes a little more sometimes a little less depending on who has died recently and periodic influxes of noobs. Add in retired Hunters and Hunter-adjacent folks that might come off the bench in a pinch and that number comes up to maybe 2,250. Non-Hunter Supernaturally Aware normals is maybe twice that many people at a stretch, worldwide. Non-Hunter sentient supernaturals, including kith and kin, is maybe around 10,000 total. Non-sentient, non-humanoid, non-corporeal, non-personified, etc fringe stuff is largely uncounted but represents a small but significant additional consideration. Cross-dimensional extra-dimensional entities also blur those numbers (some things reside _elsewhere_ but sometimes intrude upon the setting's "prime" dimension in various ways or for various reasons. These individuals are not evenly distributed geographically; North America and specific European nations have disproportionate numbers of Hunters relative to the general population...in places lacking strong governmental support and some kind of reliable bounty system the financial incentives aren't there and local Hunters tend to be emotionally motivated and sporadically hunt specific things for personal reasons rather than operate as part of a systematic oppression. Similarly, in 2nd and 3rd world countries, supernatural power bases tend to be much more influential and operate semi-openly or even entirely unchecked...in such places Hunters tend to have short lifespans and be severe underdogs going against the status quo. Similarly distribution across the "origins" of believers / psychics / mystics / professionals / and innati is not even (despite the iconics page potentially giving that impression). Believers tend to be more common outside of first world nations while professionals tend to be more common in first world nations for instance. Innati who are part of some group of not-normals tend to congregate / originate from wherever their people dwell while the unique and unusual innati are outliers where ever they occur. Psychics tend to be free occurring individuals, though some psychic abilities seem to run in families. Mystics tend to be produced as part of a family line or a heritage associated with one of the established mystical traditions. Hunter society is pyramidal, due to the life expectancy of individual Hunters not being great and the fact that the action-packed style of Hunting physically dangerous supernats is a young persons game, the majority of Hunters are in their 20's to late 30's and are on average mostly Professionals with a smattering of the other Origins. However as some supernat Hunters age more gracefully and get more powerful and / or more knowledgeable with time and experience...the top end of crusty experienced high-point Hunters tends to disproportionately be made up of the more exotic origins as most Pros have aged out or died or become exposed to supernatural stuff and ceased to be technically "normal" before attaining 'legendary' status. There are exceptions...Harker is a 100% normal legendary Hunter...but he's reaching the end of his career and 'getting too old for this shit', and there are a few other crusty old "normal" Hunters out there who still have at least one more good Hunt in them. In first world countries with a working bounty system (or equivalent), successful Hunters are kind of similar to rap or pop stars in terms of their financial profile...they tend to start off poor and unknown, most remain that way (or in the case of Hunters, get killed), a few hit it big with a windfall (a big bounty instead of a hit single, but parallel outcome), and get large lump sum(s) of money that many of them don't really know how to manage properly as well as a window of interest from the powers that be to see if they are going to turn out to be a one-hit wonder or if there is long term potential there. A small number of them manage to follow up their first hit with another and convert their 15 minutes of fame / success into a career, which leads to further opportunity being put in front of them. Your group of Hunters had their initial one big hit with the Cthonic dimension success, and were able to do the equivalent of converting it to getting signed to the biggest label in town for a record deal. You're the new hotness on the scene, basically. What you do with your window of opportunity to possibly step up and start playing with the big boys is up to you...

Yes, you'd think that...which brings up the obvious question...why is Murgy so standoffish with established wizard society? That might even be one of the core themes of this Arc... If you guys do decide to go down the "Wards for hire" line, I have a character queued up to help push that narrative thread that kills a few birds with one stone. Ya, this is actually where my head was at. It's also a thing where your company can have employees / affiliates / associates / etc