Monster Wrangler

Backer monsters: Butter rolls?
over 2 years ago – Mon, Sep 26, 2022 at 09:41:14 PM

We've only got a few more backer creations to finish up, but until then, we've got some more previews at what people have come up with!

The Hesperox is a lovely Light/Wind Construct that was created for the benefit of rich folks who wanted living pieces of art. The stained glass of its wings created beautiful patterns of light as these little machines quietly fly overhead, held aloft by the aerokinetic devices built into their body. 

In combat, Hesperox either utilize their wings like oversized magnifying glasses to dazzle and burn their opponents, or they fire up the aerokinetic devices to simply blow their enemies away.  Whichever way it chooses to fight, the Hesperox is certain to look good doing it!

If you sense that these constructs seem a bit similar to the Krysso we previewed earlier, then you're correct! The Hesperox were engineered from Krysso blueprints and contain the same air-manipulating technology in a much different form.  It's even got little arms so that it can cling to your backpack when traveling!

Next up we have the Briarola, which is an odd Plant monsters with the Spike and Spore Types. These ambulatory plants are actually a symbiotic monster comprised of an ambulatory, turnip-like plant and a spore-producing, immobile cactus. The turnips were mostly ignored until they encountered the cacti, which infused them with its spores and caused the turnips to get bigger. The turnips, in turn, started carrying the cacti around with them, and now the two species are mostly inseparable. 

In combat, Briarolas are delightfully weird. They can heave their "spike balls" into battle, and they can measure the range of any Spike Techniques that they use from those spike balls instead of themselves. The spike balls are largely immobile, but the Briarola can make them slowly roll back toward themselves, which really makes them a unique monster when it comes to combat tactics.  They can get some anxiety when separated from their spike balls, so Wranglers are advised to make sure that the plants aren't separated for very long. 

Plus, they're just adorable. 

A Marvelous Vampire
over 2 years ago – Thu, Sep 15, 2022 at 06:45:50 PM

Hey everyone!

I had hoped to have two new monsters to show off, but one of our artists has been sick this past week, so we've only got the one. Fortunately, it's a pretty great monster!

Vamyoru are large, predatory Beasts that employ the Fang and Psychic Types.  They primarily live in caves and dense forests, often in the company of smaller bats, which flock to a Vamyoru's side out of the mistaken belief that it's one of them. Unlike their smaller cousins, however, Vamyoru can be a significant threat to humans and other monsters. Smaller prey simply gets pinned to the ground as the Vamyoru uses its sharp fangs to rip them over and feast on their blood, but larger prey is hypnotized, making them docile and accepting of the end. 

Mechanically, Vamyoru have some neat synergies between their various abilities. Their Deadly Fangs ability makes each successful Fang attack inflict the Bleeding status on their target, while their Vampire ability allows a Vamyoru to lower their target's Bleeding status to heal itself. It's like a very bloody circle of life!

Topping that off is Blindsight, which does pretty much what you'd expect: it allows a Vamyoru to ignore obscuring terrain, the blinded status, and other vision-related penalties, while also allowing them to instantly detect Hidden creatures. 

For Secondary Traits, the Vamyoru gets one of three options: Aggressive, which gives it extra Rage on the first turn of combat, pushing it toward an 'alpha strike' mentality; Red Haze, which grants the Vamyoru extra Rage each turn if there are any severely Bleeding characters nearby (which, given its Deadly Fangs, seems likely); and Stalker, which allows the Vamyoru to easily hide in areas of Obscuring Terrain, enabling it to take on more of a stealthy killer/assassin role. 

That's a pretty violent monster by all accounts, but fortunately, they're surprisingly social and get along well with humans and other monsters... once they've been taught that they aren't food, at least. Of course, you need to keep them supplied with a steady diet of fresh blood, but think of all the snuggles you'll get from this furry bundle of happiness!

Rock and Bird!
over 2 years ago – Fri, Sep 02, 2022 at 01:15:36 AM

We had some questions about where to find our preorder store, so this is just a quick note to point people toward the link at the front of the Kickstarter page. Also, there's a link right here! 

Now, let's look at some backer-created monsters!

First up we have the Dronimmer, which is an odd Spore/Light Construct that zips around thanks to its propellers. It uses the "mouth" at the bottom of its chassis to chew up rock crystals, which seem to function as a power source. It doesn't rely upon this chewing/grinding maw in combat, however, instead preferring to zap its enemies with lasers from its central eye or showering them with clouds of glitter-like crystalline spores. 

A Dronimmer's spores rapidly grow when exposed to water... which includes blood or organic tissue! Unlike the spores released by other monsters, these spores won't make you sick... they'll just rapidly grow into new crystals, ripping you apart in the process. 

 Who could have built such a strange machine, and for what purpose? It's a matter of debate for monster researchers across the world, but maybe your Wrangler will be the one to solve the mystery?

Next up is the Tayirramad, a Beak/Fire Beast that hunts on foot and mostly survives on small animals. Its feathers are heat-resistant, except for the tips, which are incredibly combustible, to the point where they frequently ignite just from rubbing against each other. As a result, Tayirramad are pretty much always on fire, and they use this while hunting, starting brush fires to drive their prey out into the open. 

These firebirds are pretty big - an adult can grow up to five feet tall - but despite this, they're not very territorial and prefer to simply fly away from threats rather than fight them. They also don't like people or other monsters very much, so don't expect a lot of hugs from a Tayirramad. Not that you'd want to hug a flaming bird anyway, but still, you get the idea. 

All in all, a couple of very cool monsters created by our backers! It's been really amazing seeing all the weird and amazing stuff that you folks have come up with, and we're looking forward to showing you some more real soon!

Psychic and Steel!
over 2 years ago – Wed, Aug 24, 2022 at 03:34:33 AM

As a few people have noticed, our backerkit store is now open if you want to add more items to your pledge or make a late pledge! The link is on our main campaign page, at the very top. 

Now, let's look at some more backer creations!

The Saturnadus is a Cold/Psychic monster that waits in elevated places for its prey to walk underfoot, at which point it detaches, dives down, and spreads its wings, which (when backed with a bit of psychic power) disorient and confuse its victim! This gives the Saturnadus time to suck up some blood before flying off, leaving its confused victim wondering what the heck just happened. They usually don't kill their prey (sustainable hunting!), but when they gather together in large swarms around a larger "Emperor Saturnadus," then all bets are off! 

These lovely guys are also crykinetic, so any attempts to escape from their beating wings will see their prey frozen to the ground! They can also make large blocks of ice to block off parts of the battlefield or to just give them a good place to perch to watch their surroundings. 

On a less snuggly note, we have the Warwolf, a hunter-killer construct designed in the last months of the great war by the Majuul Empire. These Claw/Fang constructs only saw a limited deployment before the Majuul Empire collapsed around them, and most of the Warwolves that survived to the current day did so due to a programming quirk: after their target was eliminated, they went into standby mode and defended their territory around them from "hostiles" while they waited for new orders... orders that would never come. 

Some have been reclaimed and repurposed by modern Wranglers (and more than few "disappeared" from the Majuul armory after the Empire's collapse), but many more are still waiting in remote parts of the world, defending meaningless territory as part of a war that ended decades earlier.  

In addition to their sharp jaws and claws, Warwolves have energy cannons that allow them limited access to cold, fire, electric, and light attacks, giving them a bit of long-range versatility to match their close combat ferocity. 

We still have a bunch of cool backer-created monsters to come, so stay tuned!

Constructs!
over 2 years ago – Wed, Aug 17, 2022 at 03:00:42 AM

Let's take a look at some of the man-made monsters in Monster Wrangler: the Constructs!

First up we have the oldest of the Constructs, the Jinglot! These Blade/Cold Constructs were foot soldiers in the Majuul Empire, so there are a lot of them scattered around the Chosu Region in various states of disrepair. When the Majuul Empire fell, some of the now-purposeless Jinglot were either pressed into service as bodyguards or adopted into peacekeeping organizations. Others simply wandered off, marching across the region until a lack of regular maintenance forced them to shut down. 

Jinglots are wonderful soldier-machines, with heavy armor and a sharp blade that makes them more than a match for any living opponents. The cryo-cannons mounted on their arms enable them to freeze fast opponents to the ground, preventing them from avoiding the heavy machine stomping toward them.

While Jinglots were by far the most common Construct produced by the Majuul, they weren't the only model to see service during the war. The Oniron were elite constructs that were clearly designed by someone with a bit of a sadistic streak. As Light/Spike monsters, they have shield-hands that are covered with long spikes, all of which the Oniron can fire at its victims. A laser-targeting system ensures that each spike reaches the most vulnerable part of whatever it's firing at, and if spikes aren't enough, the Oniron can super-charge its targeting lasers to cut right through its opposition!

These monsters float on triple thrusters that ensure they simply float over any rough or hazardous terrain they might encounter. They are very capable combatants - as one might expect from what is essentially a mobile artillery platform - but they are also somewhat trigger-happy and respond to most threats with unchecked violence.

The Faith of Kaltia Melith believe that monsters are a vile plague upon the world, the result of an evil adversary interfering with the plans of their eponymous goddess. They really don't like monsters, and back in the days before Wranglers, they sponsored numerous hunts to "cleanse" the various dangerous monsters from their world. The sudden popularity in monster training in the Chosu Region has resulted in a corresponding migration away from the faith, but there are still some die-hard believers out there, clinging to the old ways.

The one exception to the faith's hatred of monsters are Constructs, which they view favorably, as they were obviously created by humans and not some evil deity. The Krysso were originally created to defend the faith's temples during the time of the Majuul, but in the years since, a few Krysso have shown up in more secular hands. 

These Blade/Wind constructs are somewhat fragile, as is befitting a construct that is largely made from glass, but despite this, they seem to possess some unknown resilience to damage, which the faithful are quick to call a divine blessing. The machinery inside a Krysso allows it to control the wind, and when it wades into combat, the wind moving through its body produces a strange, haunting melody that rallies allies and unnerves opponents. Is it the voice of Kaltia Melith, speaking through her favored servants? Or just a weird design quirk that has been blown out of proportion by the zealous? 

When people in the Chosu Region hear the word "Construct," the first thing they picture is NamTech's Steamosaur. These mass-produced Blade/Fire constructs are one of the company's crowning achievements, and they've been aggressively marketed as *the* construct monster. Modern Wranglers most likely grew up with Steamosaur lunchboxes, Steamosaur sleeping bags, and Steamosaur backpacks. There was even a Saturday morning cartoon. 

The popularity of the Steamosaur aside, the Steamosaur does have a few "quirks" that NamTech hasn't quite been able to iron out. The most significant of these is that Steamosaurs are, well, kind of dumb. There are now advanced models on the market that replace the construct's aging logic engines with more modern technology, but the basic models resort to very basic, very direct logic when faced with a problem: namely, burn it with their flamethrower and then, if the problem is still there, slash it with the Steamosaur's giant bladed tail. 

Fortunately, most of the problems a Steamosaur encounters can usually be solved in one of those two ways, so by and large, a Steamosaur's lower intelligence usually isn't much of a problem. 

The CYBRIX - or Combat-Yearning Battle Resolution Interface Xenoform - is the newest construct to be brought to market by NamTech. Unlike the Steamosaur, the Cybrix is entirely a digital lifeform. The only way for it to manifest in the real world is through the use of a (very expensive) hard light emitter, which is typically worn on the owner's forearm. 

The rarity and high price point of hard light emitters has made Cybrix something of a "designer monster" that is only available to the wealthy and affluent. The projectors only have limited range (about 200 feet), so if a Cybrix strays too far from the machine making its body, it dematerializes as its body crumples away. This doesn't hurt the Cybrix, however, as its true self - its computer code - resides entirely within the light emitter. 

Though NamTech claims that every Cybrix is functionally the same Light/Tendril monster, some hackers have figured out how to modify the monster's base code to change its color, adjust the shape of its body, or even to alter its combat parameters. Rumors of Cybrix modifying their own programs to better adapt to the realm world are publicly denied by NamTech's public relations team, even as their tech support department works fervently around the clock to understand just what sort of artificial life they created. 

Finally, we come to the Galvarch, NamTech's secret military constructs. Most of the researchers assigned to this lovely construct resigned in protest due to concerns over the inclusion of an experiment bioreactor that allows the Galvarch to convert organic biomass into fuel. Such a device, they believed, would encourage a weakened Galvarch to overfeed on animals, monsters, and possibly even humans in order to keep its batteries fully charged. So that's basically what these Electric/Fang constructs do: they each stuff, gain charges, and then convert those charges into power. Nom nom nom. 

In fact, the bioreactors on the Galvarch proved to be so efficient that they learned how to discharge the excess energy in the form of electrical shocks! This little trick was particularly surprising to the construct's designers, who immediately dialed its Artificial Intelligence programming back a few notches to dumb them down a bit. You know, just in case. 

In addition to its brutal fangs and a bioreactor that can put out some frankly terrifying amounts of electrical power, these mechanical arachnids also possess a whole lot of very sharp, bladed legs, which allow them to damage Prone characters just by walking over them. Just the thing to accompany a ten-year-old and her friends on a magical journey of adventure and self-discovery. 

That's all for today! We have a few more backer-made constructs in the pipeline, so stay tuned!