The Hunters Grimm

## Description:

The Hunters Grimm, whose members are referred to as Hunters or "Grimms," is a loose organization of magically-enhanced monster hunters that operate across Central and Eastern Europe, originally created by the Brothers Grimm in the late Nineteenth (19th) Century; the group would come back into the public sphere when the JPCU moved its headquarters from Russia to New Orleans in the 2040's. The Hunters Grimm operate as nomadic, traveling warriors who sell their services to those who can afford it and offer their services for free to those in dire need, accepting payment in any number of forms in exchange for the removal or eradication of a local beast or monster. The group maintains an uneasy alliance with the JPCU, SCP Foundation, and the European nations, but is not recognized by the United Kingdom, the Catholic Church, or France as a legitimate organization due to their use of magic, recruitment practices, and lack of central authority.

As the group operates in Europe, the people of the world, particularly in Europe, are very familiar with The Hunters Grimm and their more famous members. In a strange and incredibly rare exception to the rule, The Hunters Grimm are aware of and occasionally operate on the Continent of Pilbo, although their tensions with the Bralian League of Vampire Hunters tends to prevent them from reaching higher levels of renown.

### Organization:

#### HQ: Falkerstone Citadel

The Hunters Grimm operates with a very loose structure, with its members wandering the countryside as they please with very little oversight; only if a single threat poses an extraordinary danger does the group's official leadership give orders to its members. The Hunters Grimm is led currently by Anastasia Trudeau Grimm, direct descendent of the group's founders, the famous folklorists Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm; the organization's leadership has traditionally been connected directly to the original brothers, although the group has had temporary periods where its leadership was passed to someone outside of the family. Underneath the group's leader sits the Classes and their leaders; each Class of Hunter specializes in a particular type of monster or evil (Demons, eldritch, Lycanthropes, Vampires, generic Undead, etc.) or makes use of a specific fighting style or weapon(s). In addition to the Classes, various taverns/inns/shops/craftsmen are affiliated with The Hunters Grimm as well, and exist (often in remote areas) to aid, house, and/or equip or supply the Hunters as they travel, either for reduced fees or free of charge.

Seniority within The Hunters Grimm tends to determine one's "rank," although there are special titles granted to Grimms for particular deeds or valorous acts. Each Grimm is accompanied by a Scribe, the Hunter doing most of the killing while the Scribe provides magical assistance and information; Scribes can be wizards, bards, or mundane nonmagical assistants that travel alongside the Grimm, recording any new information on various beasts and monsters in the Encyclopedia Monstrum, a magical book that, despite being carried by thousands of Scribes and stores in countless libraries and personal collections, automatically updates in real time whenever a Scribe writes in it, ensuring that all Grimms have up-to-date information on any abomination or foe they may come across; it is not unheard-of for Grimms to maintain their own collection of similar tomes, or for a Scribe to maintain a sizeable collection of spellbooks and Grimoires. Grimms and Scribes choose one another, with both individuals agreeing to the partnership before the two are officially assigned.

The Hunters Grimm recruit from magic colleges/universities around Central and Eastern Europe, but also accept volunteers; additionally, should a Grimm be gifted a child as payment for their services, the child is also considered to be a recruit for the organization, a practice that greatly darkens the group's reputation. The group maintains low numbers despite the frequency of recruitment due to the intense training and procedures endured by new recruits, a regimen so difficult and rituals so toxic that it is known to kill nearly seventy-five percent (75%) of all applicants. A potential recruit is tested time and time again to ensure the recruit is strong of mind, body, and soul through trials that leave many applicants dead, maimed, traumatized, or devoid of will; only if a recruit passes these initial trials do they begin to receive proper training. Alchemical treatments, magical augmentations, and inhuman experiments are conducted on the recruit over the course of their training, with little to no time given for adjustment or recovery from said procedures before the intense education resumes; the details of these treatments and augments are unknown, and a secret held only by the group's leading members and the wizards/alchemists responsible for carrying them out. Replacing a slain Grimm is an invaluable loss of experience and skill, but the rituals and treatments are estimated at costing the group an average of ~$500,000 per recruit.

The Hunters Grimm travel in their Grimm/Scribe pairs, slaying monsters and helping communities wherever they can. The group will do its best to avoid bringing cases to other organizations like the JPCU unless absolutely necessary, and will refuse to admit defeat.

While the group does not maintain official ranks, the following is a rough estimation of the group's recognized titles:

1. Brother/Sister Grimm: Title of the group's leader (only if the leader is a direct relative of the founding Brothers); leaders of the group are one of the few ranks allowed to operate without a Scribe, a privilege granted the leader thanks to the required encyclopedic amount of knowledge possessed by the individual.
2. Hunt Mother: Title given to the leading witches within the Hunters responsible for creating more Grimms of various Classes, maintaining the Grimms' organization, aiding and directing Grimms and their Scribes, and working as healers and leaders in local communities.
3. Dragon Slayer: Title given to a Grimm who has slain a Dragon in combat.

The Hunters Grimm maintain an alliance of mutual respect with the JPCU, with the JPCU allowing the Hunters to continue operating and the Hunters allowing the JPCU to operate in Central and Eastern Europe when necessary. Despite this cordiality, the two groups are rivals with one another, and will withhold information, insult, or conflict with each other when they are forced to interact; both groups see themselves as superior to the other, with the JPCU boasting its manpower and global support while the Grimms boast their quality of members and skills. The Hunters Grimm feel, like many people of Central and Eastern Europe, that the JPCU abandoned them when the group left for New Orleans, stranding the people of Europe amidst the tide of monsters and beasts; as a result, the Grimms are bitter towards the JPCU, like many of the older locals. The two groups have never come to open warfare with one another, although tensions have neared such limits at times.

#### List of Known Members:

1. Anastasia Trudeau Grimm: Current leader
2. Redd the Riding Hood: Famous Lycanthrope-hunting Grimm of Germany/Austria
3. Otto von Foltzen & Allecke Strobel

#### The Hunt Mothers

While the Hunters Grimm are officially led by the current Brother/Sister Grimm, the current descendent of the original Brothers Grimm, the organization is no longer led by a single duo. As a result of the intense rituals and alchemical processes required to produce even a single Grimm, the Brothers alone could not field or support an army, even with their immense collected knowledge of the supernatural (the Encyclopedia Monstrum); to remedy their need for more numbers, even in the Nineteenth (19th) Century, the Brothers turned to the witches of the European forests and swamps, making deals and Pacts with those they deemed benevolent and slaying those they identified as threats. This policy established the Hunt Mothers, a large coven of witches and shamans responsible for creating Grimms, assigning (or helping in the assignment of) Scribes, enhancing the strength and power of veteran Grimms, and directing Grimms that came looking for work or directions. Hunt Mothers are often accompanied by one (1) or more Grimms or Scribes, most often Scribes from the Performers Class.

Each Class of Grimms and Scribes has its own dedicated group of Hunt Mothers tasked with maintaining the Class's numbers and replenishing them when deaths occur; the methods by which these women of the woods obtain these recruits is varied and shrouded in rumor, although stories of kidnappings are just as common as stories of old women buying the sick or crippled children of peasants for exorbitant sums, only to transform said children into ideal Grimms and Scribes. Different Hunt Mothers recruit their Grimms through different means, often depending further on their Class's requirements and specifications than a witch's moral leaning.

The deals struck with the Brothers Grimm between this small army of witches was not a consensual one in many cases; the Brothers needed soldiers to defend the defenseless, and if a witch refused their offer then the witch was as good as dead. As a result, the Hunter Mothers are known to be as evil or sadistic as they are helpful and mysterious. By nature of their illegal and heretical nature in the eyes of many governments and the Catholic Church, many Hunt Mothers are nomadic, hiding amongst Gypsy caravans or moving silently through the woods with their covens to avoid detection; in more rare cases, Hunt Mothers isolate themselves deep in swamps, forests, or mountains where they are rarely sought after and rarely found. Those Hunt Mothers believed to be corrupt, evil, or otherwise working against the group are identified and hunted as a first priority; the power and abilities of a Hunt Mother very easily surpass those of any individual Grimm, and a particularly sneaky or intelligent Hunt Mother often includes failsafes within their own Grimms to ensure that members of their Class cannot do them any harm.

The exact powers of Hunt Mothers varies greatly from individual to individual, but all of them are experts in Alchemy and some form of magic, often mastering several forms of mystical arts over their unknown lifespans. All Hunt Mothers, as a requirement for their jobs, practice at least advanced blood magic, although such spells are rarely combat-applicable; Hunt Mothers are resistant to the potent corruption inherent in blood magic or necromancy, but are still observed with a careful and suspicious eye to avoid missing the signs of malevolence.

### Equipment:

The Hunters Grimm have no set uniform, although many of its members are identifiable by their special custom armor and weapons, and the custom silver pendant they wear around their neck, which denotes the Grimm as a veteran and is styled differently for every member who lives long enough to receive one. The group favors light and medium armor, although some Classes boast no armor or use heavy armor like full suits of plate armor. Many Grimms prefer to dress in the traditional style of their homeland, or in ways considered more Renaissance or Medieval, as a way of marking themselves as Grimms. The group tends to favor one-handed weapons, although some Classes are unarmed or specialized for two-handed heavy weapons or dual-wielding; this general preference allows for the application of magic, although the two-handed Classes often have ways of bypassing their lack of free hand.

The Hunters Grimm maintain a relatively low level of technology, preferring to avoid the use of modern technology like computers where they can in order to prevent a reliance on such commodities that are rarely available in the rural areas of Central and Eastern Europe; more urban-focused Classes of Grimms do not abide by this rule as heavily. The Scribe companions of Grimms are known to use more technology than their Grimm counterparts, although this is not always true, either. Every pair of Grimms and Scribes is different and unique.

The Hunters Grimm do make extensive use of magic in most of its forms, including alchemy, blood magic, conventional magic, etc. Their use of magic is public and well-known, and their lack of religious adherence has drawn the ire of the Catholic Church and its Inquisition on more than one occasion. Scribes can be magic-practicing wizards, sorcerers, bards, religious priests, or nonmagical altogether, but are all well-educated and well-versed in magic as a means of combating the group's common magic-using foes.

#### Grimm Classes:

1. Beast Slayers: Specialize in killing Beastmen in all their many forms.
2. Vampire Slayers: Specialize in killing Vampires; can opt to specialize in hunting a specific Vampire House or not.
3. Silver Blades: Specialize in using supernaturally-enhanced Silver weapons and armor alongside accompanying combat magics; specialize in hunting beasts weak to Silver, including Spirits and Ghosts.
4. Iron-Wielders: Specialize in killing Fae creatures weak to Cold Iron.
5. Gravediggers: Specialize in killing Undead and countering necromancers/Necromancy, including Spirits and Ghosts.
6. Cursebreakers: Specialize in killing Lycanthropes and other mutants/entities created through curses.
7. Demonslayers: Specialize in killing Demons.
8. Wishtakers: Specialize in killing or besting djinni, Demons, and other riddle- or deal/contract-based entities; features a focus on intellect over outright combat ability, and may include Half-Genies among their ranks.
9. Blood-Drinkers: Vampiric Grimms part of House Argenti that use their abilities in moderation to aid in the hunting of Vampires.
10. Silver-Fanged: Lycanthropic Grimms, usually Werewolves of the Pack of Silver Fangs, that use their abilities in moderation to aid in the hunting of Lycanthropes and Vampires.
11. Chimeras: Heavily mutated Beastmen/part animal Grimms that use their abilities to slay Beastmen and mutants.
12. Gravewalkers: Undead or partially-Undead Grimms that use their abilities in moderation to aid in the hunting of monsters, usually other Undead; features the rare option for adherents to learn and apply necromancy; includes Wights and spirits/ghosts among their ranks.
13. Dragon Horns: Specialize in the hunting and slaying of Dragons and Draconic monsters; commonly rogue Dragonkin.
14. Order-Bringers: Specialize in the suppression of Magic and inherently magical creatures; commonly Goblins, with non-Goblin adherents undergoing additional mutations to grant them inherent Anti-Magic capabilities.
15. Transhumanists: Specialize in the combatting of technological monsters and anomalies through the implantation of advanced technological and cybernetic implants on/in their bodies.
16. Giantslayers: Specialize in killing Large-size creatures and above, including oversized versions of animals and beasts; commonly Orcs, Dragonkin, or Elves.
17. Ant-Crushers: Specialize in killing Small-size creatures and below; commonly Dwarves, Gnomes, or Halflings.
18. Void Hunters: Specialize in killing aliens and monsters beyond Earth's atmosphere.
19. Man-Catchers: Specialize in hunting humanoid monsters; frequently work as bounty hunters to supplement personal income.
20. Pathfinders: Specialize in tracking, trapping, and scouting techniques across most mundane terrain.
21. Dunestriders: Specialize in desert terrains and the monsters found therein.
22. Swamp-Riders: Specialize in swamp/bog terrains and the monsters found therein.
23. Vine-Climbers: Specialize in jungle terrains and the monsters therein; features a focus on mobility and speed.
24. Mountaineers: Specialize in mountainous terrains and the monsters therein.
25. Blizzard-Bearers: Specialize in cold, even Arctic terrains and the monsters therein.
26. Rough-Riders: Specialize in hills, grasslands, and/or savanna terrains and the monsters contained therein; features a focus on animal companionship.
27. Spelunkers: Specialize in caves and underground terrains and the monsters contained therein; commonly Dwarves.
28. High-Fliers: Specialize in aerial, high-altitude terrains and airships and the monsters contained therein.
29. Fishers of Beasts: Specialize in the surface areas of oceans and the monsters thereabout; commonly Orcs.
30. Depth-Chargers: Specialize in deep-sea terrains and the monsters therein; commonly Mermaids.
31. Hoodlums: Specialize in urban terrains and the monsters therein; features a focus on parkour and agility.
32. Twilight Hunters: Specialize in the Twilight Realm and the monsters that cross over into the Material Realm; commonly Moon Elves.
33. Blood-Seers: Specialize in the investigation and identification of shapeshifters and more subtle monsters.
34. Brewers: Specialize in alchemy, including inducing further mutations in themselves and others.
35. Archivists: Specialize in possessing encyclopedic knowledge about most monsters, but not necessarily the skills to handle them; features a focus on magic as opposed to martial skill.
36. Mimics: Specialize in adaptation, improvisation, and the mimicking of others, including the monsters they encounter and fight.
37. Venom-Blades: Specialize in poisons, antidotes, and the monsters that are weak, resistant, or immune to them; commonly Dwarves or Drow.
38. Knife-Walkers: Specialize in stealth and dagger combat.
39. Legionnaires: Specialize in heavy armor and large shield combat.
40. Crushers: Specialize in hammer combat, often with a focus on two-handed hammers.
41. Whirlwhinds: Specialize in dual-wielding or multi-weapon combat.
42. Duelists: Specialize in one-on-one combat, usually with rapiers, daggers, or shortswords; commonly Elves.
43. Horde-Grinders: Specialize in large weapons and increased stamina designed to take on many opponents at once or over a long period of time.
44. Muggers: Specialize in grappling (unarmed and weapon-based) combat.
45. Hunting Hands: Specialize in quick unarmed combat and mobility with a focus on low damage per strike but many strikes in rapid succession; uses a modified form of Chi, unlike normal monks.
46. Sweepers: Specialize in two-handed combat weapons.
47. Head-Hunters: Specialize in axe-based combat.
48. Arrow-Splitters: Specialize in bow or crossbow combat.
49. Dead-Eyed: Specialize in firearm combat, including magical applications alongside firearms; features common additional mutations made to adherents' eyes.
50. Arcane Blades: Specialize in magic woven amongst martial techniques, combining spells and sword swipes.
51. Mind-Movers: Specialize in psionics; features additional mutations to achieve enhanced psionic potential in adherents.
52. Powder-Kegs: Specialize in explosives and crude firearm combat.
53. Living Weapons: Grimm extremists that undergo extremely harmful, painful, and intrusive mutating rituals in order to turn their biological forms into living weapons, specializing in their own custom form of combat.
54. Kernels: Specialize in combatting Kornist-made corn-based monsters using corn-based abilities.
55. Luddites: Specialize in hunting and countering technology-based monsters, including Arcane Androids; features a preference for blunt weapons.
56. Everymen: Specialize in undercover operations via lesser mutations that retain the user's fertility; Everymen are encouraged to learn a craft and have/raise a family in their homeland to increase their cover with the goal of silently observing/protecting their community from monstrous threats.
57. Retriever: Specialize in hunting and countering rogue, corrupt, or evil Grimms.

#### Abilities of a Grimm:

Grimms possess a number of abilities granted to them through their training and alchemical/ritual augmentations and mutations. The list is as follows:

1. Enhanced Strength: Hunters have their strength greatly enhanced, often beyond normal human abilities, allowing them to cleave beasts and men alike in half with a single swing of their blades.
2. Enhanced Endurance: Hunters are known for their physical stamina, able to resist poisons and toxins beyond the ability of normal people and fight for hours on end without rest.
3. Enhanced Reflexes: Hunters have their minds honed as much as their bodies, allowing them to dodge incoming attacks with greater ease, speed, and frequency than normal soldiers; landing a blow against a Hunter is considered above the ability of most people.
4. Enhanced Agility & Speed: Grimms are unusually fast, able to keep up with the likes of Vampires and Lycanthropes for periods of time with relative ease; their speed and strength combined make them deadly combatants.
5. Supernatural Detection: Grimms have a natural sense for the supernatural, and are more likely to identify supernatural creatures than normal people, even being able to identify shapeshifters, monsters hiding behind illusions, and more; a Grimm's unnatural presence also influences supernatural creatures, making them feel uneasy and uncomfortable. Most creatures have an innate sense for whether or not an individual is a Grimm or not.
6. Peak Longevity: Grimms have their maximum lifespans extended beyond that of normal humans, allowing them to live for upwards of one hundred and twenty (120) years; few Grimms reach this age, however, as the effects of old age still impact Grimms over time, and no Grimms retire, preferring to work until they are killed in combat.
7. Peak Recovery: While lacking the regenerative capabilities of some races and most monsters, Grimms are gifted with advanced healing that allows them to heal from even near-death experiences in three quarters (3/4) the normal amount of time.
8. Night Vision: The eyes of Grimms are enhanced with improved night vision, allowing them to see in darkness with ease.
9. Silver Infusions: Alchemical processes have infused Hunters with the essence of silver, tainting their blood and making their skin harmful to supernatural creatures; monsters weak to silver will experience burns and rashes if touching Grimms, and will take damage if splattered by the blood of a Grimm. Also provides Vampiric Toxicity, Vampirism Immunity, and Lycanthropic Immunity (see below).
10. Vampiric Toxicity & Immunity: The blood of Grimms is tainted so heavily with chemicals and magic that it harms Vampires, should one get close enough to drain a Grimm at all; in addition, Grimms are immune to Vampirization.
11. Lycanthropic Immunity: Grimms are also immune to Lycanthropic curses of all kinds, due to the silver alchemy conducted on their bodies.
12. Weapon Proficiency: All Hunters are experts with their preferred loadout of weapons and equipment, having access to abilities and skills that few others can match.

#### Classes of Scribes:

1. Keepers: Specialize in the operation, management, and upkeep of taverns and inns; features a focus on culinary Magics, Alchemy, and business sense in addition to hospitality.
2. Bewitchers: Specialize in the application of enchantment magic, often in the form of bardic spells and Magic music.
3. Armorers: Specialize in supporting Magics, as well as the creation of Magic armor and weapons; commonly Dwarves.
4. Storytellers: Specialize in knowledge of the supernatural through oral tradition as opposed to maintaining the physical book via special Magic mutation that connects adherents' brains to the Encyclopedia Monstrum; features a focus on bardic Magics expressed via the medium of one's voice as opposed to through an instrument.
5. Ballad-Singer: Specialize in singing songs of Grimms and Scribes past, buffing their allies according to the stories of Hunters past; singing ballads gives buffs, while singing requiems can summon the Spirits of ancient and deceased Grimms/Scribes.
6. Folklorists: Specialize in hunting beasts of folklore and regional myth as opposed to those beasts of religious or conventional magical natures.
7. Mythologists: Specialize in hunting beasts related to the mythologies and religions of peoples around the world.
8. Trophy-Keepers: Specialize in gathering knowledge of beasts by collecting and studying trophies taken from slain enemies.
9. Tome-Hunters: Specialize in combatting rogue mages/wizards with a penchant for collecting the grimoires and spellbooks of slain foes for their own applications and studies.
10. Operators: Specialize in gathering knowledge of slain beasts by collecting the corpses of dead foes and studying their physiologies via autopsies and experiments.
11. Silver-Casters: Specialize in the magical applications and manipulations of Silver and its mystical effects.
12. Cleansers: Specialize in pyromancy; tend towards extremism and hatred for their foes.
13. Arcane Artists: Specialize in the preservation of knowledge via Magically-laced pictures, paintings, and/or murals that are created via ritual and transmitted into the Encyclopedia Monstrum.
14. Dual-Facers: Specialize in combat-applicable alchemical concoctions that temporarily transform the user into a brutish melee combatant.
15. Coffin-Makers: Specialize in the combating of Undead via specific Magics.
16. Groundbreakers: Specialize in soil/rock-moving mountain magics and the monsters therein.
17. Ice-Shifters: Specialize in ice/tundra Magics and the monsters therein.
18. Wind-Weavers: Specialize in wind/air Magics and the monsters therein.
19. Water-Walkers: Specialize in water/ocean Magics and the monsters therein.
20. Tree-Speakers: Specialize in nature Magic, communicating with and controlling plant life, forest/jungle terrains, and combating unnatural abominations.
21. Astronomers: Specialize in aliens and their technology/Magics.
22. Silver-Tongues: Specialize in the handling and slaying of Genies, Demons, and other deal-making monsters.
23. Contractors: Scribes who willingly entered into Contracts or Pacts with Genies, Demons, Fae creatures, or other deal-brokering monsters as a way of gaining power and leverage over their foes.
24. Light-Blooded: Scribes who possess innate Magic abilities that undergo additional mutations and rituals to bolster their powers and their control over them.
25. Sympathizers: Specialize in sympathetic forms of Ritual Magic and Magic related to emotions and aura reading.
26. Possessors: Specialize in Souls, Spirits and ghosts, astral projections, and related Magics.
27. Ley Conduits: Specialize in very difficult but potent Magic rituals centered around the manipulation of Ley Lines.
28. Divine Conduits: Specialize in Pantheonic Magic originating from a deity; adherents must be priests/nuns/clergy of a particular religion.
29. Mentalists: Specialize in Psionics; mutations may be required to heighten adherents' psychic potential during training, which can cause issues with adherents' sanity.
30. Lockers: Specialize in paralysis, petrification, associated Magics, and associated monsters.
31. Pocketers: Specialize in trans-Realm Magics, the creation of extradimensional spaces via rituals, and associated monsters.
32. Third-Eyed: Specialize in Divinatory and communication-based Magics; leaders of this Class are thought to have reached Enlightenment.
33. God-Callers: Specialize in killing celestial and holy beings like Angels and holy Spirits; commonly Helltouched or Heaventouched.
34. Movers: Specialize in teleportation Magics.
35. Imperceivables: Specialize entirely in stealth Magics of all kinds.
36. Technicians: Specialize in combatting technology-based monsters via technomancy and the implantation of cybernetic augmentations.
37. Helping Hands: Specialize in healing and supporting Magics.
38. Performers: Specialize in dance-based Magic and combat, often combining the two (2); commonly Gypsies or Felinids, and often used as incognito guardians or protectors for the Hunt Mothers; may include a wide range of circus actors, bards and musicians, and mages.
39. Maize-Mind: Specialize in popping-based vocal magics and the mystical art of corn Magic.

## History:

The tale of the Hunters' founding is one known across all of Europe, an epic so grand and ballad so heroic that bards and playwrights the continent over continue to retell it. According to legend, the story begins in the mid-fourteenth (14th) Century with the Count de Saint-Germain.

### The Founding:

In 1312, Pope Clement IV condemned the Knights Templar as heretics and disbanded the Holy Order, declaring the Count de Saint-Germain as behind the organization's fall from grace. The Count de Saint-Germain was excommunicated for his practice of Alchemy and "witchcraft," and the Knights Templar were officially dissolved. The Count de Saint-Germain, not one to take insults lying down, swore to continue his holy work elsewhere, with or without the Catholic Church's support. Sometime in the coming years, Saint-Germain approached many of the surviving Knights Templar whom he knew to be loyal and gathered them together, wielding his encyclopedic knowledge of Alchemy and certain forms of Magic to concoct special elixirs to bolster these "Knights Venator" to supernatural levels, designed to compensate for their greatly diminished numbers and loss of the Church's Pantheonic Magic.

Numbering only a few thousand, the Knights Venator wandered across Europe, the Mediterranean, and parts of Northern Africa and the Middle East, conducting a modified version of their original mission: "Suffer not the monster to live," in whatever form the Knights felt fitting. Often likened to the wandering knights of old, and the Knights of the Round Table from Arthurian myth, the Knights Venator developed reputations for heroism, courage, bravery, and efficacy in the matter of finding and hunting monsters. But the Count de Saint-Germain remained only an unofficial, hands-off leader, serving only to produce more Knights Venator when sufficient recruits were found and adequately tested; instead, Saint-Germain placed a "Master of the Hunt" in charge of the "Order's" main castle property, which would eventually be renamed to Falkerstone Citadel, as well as the group's finances, strategy, code of conduct, etc. The Knights Venator operated without the Catholic Church's permission and would occasionally declare themselves to be paladins or other holy men, much to the chagrin of groups like the Inquisition.

As the centuries moved along, the Knights Venator began collecting more and more information on monsters and beasts from around the world, primarily from Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Their knowledge filled entire libraries and annexes, and it was eventually preserved within the Encyclopedia Monstrum. This knowledge proved invaluable to the Knights Venator, who began converting their knightly apprentices and understudies into Squires, who would spend their earlier years developing their skills with Magic and learning about the many thousands of monstrous creatures that plagued the world before eventually graduating to the rank of Knight and receiving their mutations. By the middle of the 16th Century, these Squires would form a completely separate caste of the organization and be retitled to "Scribes."

### The Refounding:

The Brothers Grimm, after whom the organization would be renamed, were the authors of Europe's greatest collections of folklores, myths, and legends; the duo also produced the largest and most comprehensive bestiary of European monsters in the world, drawing much appreciation from those that read it. However, the Brothers quickly grew discontent with their encyclopedias and anthologies; they believed that there was still more left for them to achieve.

In all of their research, the Brothers Grimm had heard innumerable tales of grief, sorrow, and terror from the unfortunate victims of the monsters, mutants, and beasts of their writings and stories. These accounts wore heavily upon the Brothers' hearts and drove them to seek restitution for those victimized individuals. And so, it is said, the Brothers put out word for the land's best Alchemists and spellcasters, offering a massive reward - a majority of their considerable fortune - for anyone who could complete the task set before them by the Brothers Grimm.

Dozens of Alchemists and magicians came flocking to the Brothers at the telling of their proposed reward, but none could fulfill the Brothers' desires. The task, it is said, was the construction of a special breed of Mutant, a super-soldier geared for monster hunting. Then came the Count de Saint-Germain, a handsome man in his mid-forties who proved to be an Alchemist of superhuman skill and power; St. Germain knocked on the doors of the Brothers' castle and handed the duo a piece of paper detailing the recipe and procedure for producing "A Hunter Most Grim(m)," as Saint-Germain put it. The Brothers attempted to hand over the reward to Saint-Germain but the nobleman politely and forcefully refused, declaring that he had wealth enough for himself and was wanting for nothing; he provided his service, he explained, because he knew the Brothers would do genuine good in the world. The Brothers did not take this gift lightly, offered their sincerest gratitude, allowed the Count de Saint-Germain to live in their castle for a few days as payment, and set to work on their first batch of recruits.

#### The First Batch:

Like any good budding Alchemists, the Brothers Grimm first used the recipe of Saint-Germain on themselves. They turned themselves into Hunters and discovered that the recipe was far more potent than they had originally believed; they were beyond even a super-soldier and were made super*human*. The Alchemical rituals not only elevated their physical abilities to unnatural limits, but also imbued them with powerful innate Magic. This potency, the Brothers knew, would prove too much for any other mortal man to handle; the corruption inherent in the hearts of men, they feared, would turn this kind of power into a greater threat than it could ever be a boon. So, the Brothers decided, they would make only one (1) batch using Saint-Germain's original recipe, and would rely on them to instill teaching in the Hunters of the future. All future generations of the Hunters would be made with a watered-down recipe.

#### The Hunter Mothers:

After a few years, the Brothers knew they could not possibly do it all themselves; they were only two (2) men, and could not produce enough Grimms to make a real difference. So they set off once again in search of aid, turning to a far more sinister option...

At that time, the German countryside was full of Hags and witches of all kinds, brewing their potions and fulfilling the wishes of ignorant peasants. The Brothers knew this, of course, thanks to their previous research into the supernatural. So they visited the Hags they knew and found new ones they did not, and presented them with an ultimatum: Convert to the side of heroism and work to create and train new Hunters, or remain in the darkness and die there at the hands of the Brothers. Almost all of the witches and Hags whom the Brothers approached agreed, although not all of them would approve.

### Excommunication:

In the late Eighteenth (18th) Century, a few decades after their work had begun, the Brothers Grimm faced a new kind of foe. The Catholic Church had heard of their new organization, seen the Mutants they created and trained, and knew of their involvement with the heretical Alchemist, the Count de Saint-Germain; for all of this and more, the Inquisition declared, the Brothers Grimm and all who worked with, allied with, aided, or housed were to be Excommunicated from the Catholic Church.

#### Death of the Brothers:

Despite their power and immense strength, not even the Brothers Grimm or their legendary First Batch could withstand the onslaught brought upon them by the Inquisition and their allies. Everywhere the Brothers looked, more and more people were turning against them, and it became a race against the clock.

The Brothers knew what was coming and understood its inevitability. They then chose to codify the tenets of The Hunters Grimm and establish a decentralized method of operations that would be far harder for the Church to eradicate, tenets which also established the Scribe system and duo organization, supposedly modeled after the Brothers' own dynamic. The First Batch and the Brothers Grimm, alongside a contingent of expert Hunters, held up in the Brothers' castle, Falkerstone Citadel, where they faced an army of angry peasants and a group of powerful Inquisitors. Despite their best efforts, the castle walls were breached and the Brothers chose to sacrifice themselves so the remaining Hunters could escape; many of the First Batch would escape, although a majority of the survivors would be hunted down and executed by the Inquisition later on. The Inquisition would try to burn Falkstersone Citadel, only to find it magically warded and resistant to damage; it repaired itself over time, undoing the damage of the siege before the Inquisitors could find a way around the wards. With this in mind, the Inquisition cordoned the area off and left; Falkerstone Citadel remains the headquarters of The Hunters Grimm to this day.

### World War I & Interwar Period:

The Hunters saw little action and no direct involvement in World War I. As with all great conflicts, the sounds of booming guns and landing artillery tends to force monsters and beasts to the edges of civilization, which dramatically decreased the need for the Hunters. As a result, many of them moved to Eastern Europe; rumors persist that Hunters aided both the Bolsheviks and the Monarchists during the Russian Civil War, even potentially becoming embroiled in Rasputin and his Vampires and the escape of the Romanovs from Russia. Regardless of their rumored impact on history, the Hunters used World War I as an opportunity to plant their influences into Eastern Europe, hooks which remain firmly in place to this day.

The interwar period saw a return to normalcy for the Hunters, who now had to oversee and protect a far larger swathe of Europe. Numbers in recruitment and training surged dramatically for the Hunters, and business was excellent; the wild and uncharted territories of Russia provided a near-infinite landscape of monsters and powerful beasts that needed slaying, and the Hunters were all too glad to stand up to the challenge.

### World War II:

While many Hunters had long since directed the majority of their attention eastward, those remaining Hunters in Germany and France found themselves in increasingly worrying situations; the Nazis took power in 1933 and, as part of their secret agenda regarding the use of Magic, which they knew all too much about, the Hunters Grimm were to be hunted down and imprisoned or executed. Many Hunters fled to France or Poland, which was only met by the expansion of the Third Reich during World War II; the capture and killing of the Hunters led to a dramatic increase in average monster populations, although a continent-wide war kept them at bay for the time being.

The Nazis sought to study the Hunters and discover the means by which to replicate them. The Obskura Korps eventually tortured and killed enough Hunters to get their hands on a Hunt Mother, which led to the development of the Überjäger-Programm, or the Superhunter Program, which existed as a branch of the Wunderwaffe Division. The Nazis used these "superhunters" to accompany their paranormal agents in the field and protect them against monsters or other supernatural entities which might arise as a result of their work.

### Fracture & Modern Era:

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