[MH] Brazilian Secret Monster Hunters

[Icelander]

Portuguese has the excellent and admirable word 'caçador' for 'hunter', which seems like perfect fit for professional monster hunters.

Does anyone know if Brazil might have Caçadores units in their military, which could mean that monster hunters not in those units would not use the term to describe their work?

And what words might Brazilians use to refer to a commando, in a general sense, regardless of his specific unit or whether he's a soldier or police officer?

What about what we'd call a 'case officer', i.e. a HUMINT specialist of agent handling or what movies might call a 'spy'?

What are some good terms for intelligence analysts, investigators and the equivalent of Special Agents in the US intelligence and law enforcement community?

Edit: Oh! And, obviously, what kind of terms might Brazilians use for 'monsters', magicians, the occult in general, etc.?

How does 'Caçadores de diabo' sound as an unoffficial, general self-designation for Brazilian monster hunters, mostly members of military or police special tactical units like CORE, BOPE, GRUMEC, etc.?

[Icelander]

I expect that Brazilian monster hunters, who are technically members of military or police special forces aware of the supernatural, will usually tend to have a Military or Street lens of BJJ.

I want knives and machetes to be emphasized, due to the fact that it's usually better to decapitate monsters after you shoot them, just be to sure they're dead.

I've also seen photos of Brazilian Marines practicing sentry removal with a machete the length of an arm, which looked excessive, frankly.

Does anyone know something about Brazilian training, styles or preferences with bladed weapons?

Should I merely add Shortsword as an optional skill to the Military lens of BJJ or would there be a dedicated Brazilian style for using a machete?

[Icelander]

Given that the Vile Vortex near Rio de Janeiro is located at sea, it would make sense for ultraterrestial encounters to involve aquatic monsters and perhaps insidious underwater humanoids in the style of Lovecraft's Deep Ones.

Is anyone aware of Brazilian myths or legends about threats from the sea, underwater civilizations, aquatic monsters and batrachian, ichthyoid horrors?

Might possible humanoid hybrids or Changelings from below the sea be called 'encantado' in Brazil, even though they are associated with the ocean rather than the Amazon?

[lwcamp]

Originally Posted by Icelander

What other mundane countermeasures can Brazilian monster hunters who lack any magic of their own use to protect themselves from all the horrible things adepts and unnatural entities can afflict them with?

I was reminded today of another nearly universal remedy for repelling supernatural monsters and evil spirits - scary faces and loud noises. From the Greek gorgon face to African masks to stylized representations of eyes, or Chinese firecrackers to banging on pots and pans to scare off evil spirits, these sorts of beliefs are found around the world. So maybe these Brazilian commandos put on Halloween masks when they go on anti-monster raids (which was, after all, the original meaning of Halloween costumes anyway). I figure with modern firearms, they've got the loud noises part down.

They might need to be careful, though. Masks have also universally been used as part of transformation rituals, to literally become a god or spirit. So it might make them more susceptible to possession - not by the spirit they're fighting, but by whatever they are disguising themselves as. Or maybe the mask would make them enact the part of that character in its mythological story. Maybe the more what they are doing is like the role of their disguise in the myth, the more likely the operative is to become drawn into and "consumed" by the story, fated to follow the story to its mythical conclusion.

An emblem of a gorgoneion, or a nazar amulet, would probably be a lot safer. If less interesting and awesome.

Luke

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by lwcamp

I was reminded today of another nearly universal remedy for repelling supernatural monsters and evil spirits - scary faces and loud noises. From the Greek gorgon face to African masks to stylized representations of eyes, or Chinese firecrackers to banging on pots and pans to scare off evil spirits, these sorts of beliefs are found around the world. So maybe these Brazilian commandos put on Halloween masks when they go on anti-monster raids (which was, after all, the original meaning of Halloween costumes anyway). I figure with modern firearms, they've got the loud noises part down.

They might need to be careful, though. Masks have also universally been used as part of transformation rituals, to literally become a god or spirit. So it might make them more susceptible to possession - not by the spirit they're fighting, but by whatever they are disguising themselves as. Or maybe the mask would make them enact the part of that character in its mythological story. Maybe the more what they are doing is like the role of their disguise in the myth, the more likely the operative is to become drawn into and "consumed" by the story, fated to follow the story to its mythical conclusion.

An emblem of a gorgoneion, or a nazar amulet, would probably be a lot safer. If less interesting and awesome.

Luke

In this context, it's probably worth noting that the special police tactical teams that participate in most of the urban warfare in Rio de Janeiro make heavy use of skull imagery, in their badges, on their vehicles and so forth. It's also probably relevant that in order to avoid personal reprisals, police commandos wear masks when making raids. These masks are often fancifully decorated, presumably for intimidation purposes. Mostly, they seem to be working with the skull motif, but I've seen photographs with demonic or dragonic faces, and I would not be surprised at all if a real BOPE or CORE commando used a gorgon's face.

So, eh, I guess this is more or less the state of affairs in real life. Ah, Rio, the more research I do, the more it looks like the setting for a particularly vivid and exotic First-Person Shooter game.

[Icelander]

Beyond the films Cidade de Deus and Tropa de Elite, the books they are based on and the sequels, what are good sources of inspiration or information on Rio's criminal underground and general Brazilian society, religion, folklore or occult legendry?

[Icelander]

I love little coincidences.

Some of the PCs in my game are Reserve Deputies at the Sheriff's Office at Jefferson County, Texas (located at Beaumont*), which is a place where their eccentric billionaire Patron has a lot of influence. The PCs find that such official status is convenient for legal purposes, as even if they don't have much jurisdiction elsewhere, professional courtesy means that law enforcement officers may have an easier time talking themselves out of trouble if apprehended in relation to a Monster Hunting incident.

When I was reading various sources on Rio de Janeiro and Espirito Santo, the two Brazilian states where supernatural influences and creatures are the most threat, I found that a company named CATI trained actors in Tropa de Elite 2 in how to perform as tactical team members, arrest techniques, etc.

CATI company apparently does tactical training for Brazilian police, as well as police in other locations. It was founded by a military veteran from Espirito Santo, Marcos do Val, who is actually now a Senator for the state of Espirito Santo.**

As it turns out, not only has CATI trained Vatican security, but they've apparently formed a close relationship with the police in Beaumont, TX. In fact, Marcos do Val is an honorary member of the Beaumont SWAT and from what I can find out online, in the last 10-15 years he and other CATI personnel have made regular visits to Beaumont teaching Aikido/BJJ/Taekwondo, arrest techniques, police tactics and de-escalation methods.

From my perspective, it looks like CATI has connections with multiple aspects of Brazilian monster hunter efforts and its founder is now part of the democratically elected government of Brazil, well, at least he is a representative of one of the two states most affected by the supernatural threat. They also seem to be involved in the secret Vatican-backed anti-supernatural efforts and to have a long-standing relationship with Kessler, in Beaumont.

In fact, Marcos do Val is probably Kessler's best source about events in Brazil and who he'd use as a go-between for attempts at cooperation with Brazilian hunters. Obviously, the real Senator will probably bear little resemblance to the fictional version of him who'll be an NPC in my campaign, but I'll try to avoid directly contradicting any sources I can find.***

*Close by Galveston, where the PCs' Patron, J.R. Kessler, was born and where he likes to spend time.
**Marcos do Val also has a relationship with Taurus, a company I had considered having a friendly contact or two with Brazilian monster hunters.
***Though I will clearly be interpreting everything through a Kenneth Hite-ian lens of illumination in theory and practice.

[lwcamp]

I saw this article
https://phys.org/news/2019-04-bunyip...creatures.html
and the description of mythological Amazonian critters made me think of your setting. For example:

Similar mythical creatures are associated with Brazilian cacimbas (waterholes). One of the best-known is the mapinguari, a massive biped (walks on two legs) with long sharp claws, likely to be based on memories of a giant sloth that became extinct about 12,000 years ago.

In other parts of Brazil, there are stories about the Cobra Grande, a giant snake that slides beneath the ground surface, furrowing it as it winds its way, but then also shattering it when it turns abruptly, causing earthquakes.

So ingrained in Brazilian culture is this giant snake that an annual festival in Pará State occurs with the intention of calming the snake and protecting local people from calamity. The parallels with the behaviour of the rainbow serpent in Australian traditions are remarkable.

Luke

[Pip Boy]

Ok, trying to help here, one by one.

1 - How does 'Caçadores de diabo' sound as an unoffficial, general self-designation for Brazilian monster hunters, mostly members of military or police special tactical units like CORE, BOPE, GRUMEC, etc.?
Sounds good, but it's literally 'Devil Hunters'. For Demon Hunters it's more acurate the term: Caçadores de Demônios. Caça-Demônios can also be used, it's a little more informal. You can switch Demônios (Demons) for Monstros (Monsters) on each one; so, Caçadores de monstros ou Caça-monstros.

2 - Does anyone know if Brazil might have Caçadores units in their military, which could mean that monster hunters not in those units would not use the term to describe their work?
Yes. Brazil has Caçadores units, like so: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ca%C3%A7ador_(militar). In modern Brazilian military, this term came to be denominated "pressure combat" in precision shooters of the Army; which must always be in pairs and are responsible for harassing enemy troops. So, you can look for a substitute name, if you like; OR use Caçador despite all this as a cover up name for covert ops, perhaps.

3 - And what words might Brazilians use to refer to a commando, in a general sense, regardless of his specific unit or whether he's a soldier or police officer?
We use Comando (https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comandos), really.
Other than that, I'd call it Forças Especiais, or Special Forces. Some kind of synonym like that.

4 - What are some good terms for intelligence analysts, investigators and the equivalent of Special Agents in the US intelligence and law enforcement community?
Intelligence analyst is Analista de Inteligência; Investigator is Investigador. Plural is Analistas de Inteligência and Investigadores. Both terms are widly used by brazillian officers. You can also use Detetive / Detetives (detective).

5 - Oh! And, obviously, what kind of terms might Brazilians use for 'monsters', magicians, the occult in general, etc.?
Monstro (monster), mago (wizard), mágico (magician), feiticeiro (Sorceror), bruxo (warlock), bruxa (witch), sobrenatural (supernatural), fantasma (ghost), vampiro (vampire), estranho (weird/strange), lobisomem (werewolf)... In general terms, monstro or criatura can be used. Bicho can be used as well... it means animal, but in a creature kind of way, undefined animal.

[Pip Boy]

Originally Posted by Icelander

Given that the Vile Vortex near Rio de Janeiro is located at sea, it would make sense for ultraterrestial encounters to involve aquatic monsters and perhaps insidious underwater humanoids in the style of Lovecraft's Deep Ones.

Is anyone aware of Brazilian myths or legends about threats from the sea, underwater civilizations, aquatic monsters and batrachian, ichthyoid horrors?

Might possible humanoid hybrids or Changelings from below the sea be called 'encantado' in Brazil, even though they are associated with the ocean rather than the Amazon?

Yes, there are some, but not so much in a horrific way, but as a lore of the land, creatures of folklore. Perhaps you can use them with a twist.

There is the boto cor de rosa (Pink Boto) (https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenda_do_boto), a river dolphin that impregnates women. The tale it's not from Rio, however, but from the North region of Brazil.

There is the Iara, a kind of mermaid (https://www.infoescola.com/folclore/iara/), that bewitches men to drown them.

Here its a list of some folklore creatures:
https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folclore_brasileiro