Monster Wrangler

Sweet and Sour: Backer Monsters!
over 2 years ago – Wed, Aug 10, 2022 at 12:32:56 AM

We thought it would be cool to show off some of the backer-created monsters that have been finished, so that's what we're going to do! We still have more monsters in various stages of completion in the pipeline, but these two were at the front of the pack: 

Mystrals are mischievous, fairy-like monsters who live in windy areas like seashores and along tall mountains. They're Psychic/Wind monsters who are naturally mute, so to communicate with their own kind, they weave their hair into ornate, whistle-like braids. When they wish to make noise, the Mystral manipulate the wind around them, forcing these whistle-braids to blow at various pitches and volumes. 

By weaving various bells and jingling items into its hair, a Mystral can further expand its "vocabulary," which in turn makes it more popular among its own kind. They're curious and relatively friendly monsters, though they're not above mind-controlling humans into giving them jingling items (such as car keys) or food. 

These fun sprites love music of all kinds, so if you're an aspiring musician (or if you just really enjoy the sound of whistling), then a Mystral might be the perfect companion for you!

To every light there is a shadow, and the Kurvos here is definitely on the meaner side of things. It's a Beak/Psychic monster with that sets traps for its unwary prey, luring them to out of the way places so that it can feed. Kurvos don't eat meat, though, or even seeds; they feed on shadows! After battering their prey into submission with a few telekinetic slams, a Kurvos creeps up to its "meal" and slurps their shadow right off the ground!

Sadly, there's no cure for "not having a shadow," save for the death of the Kurvos that ate it, which causes all the shadows it devoured over the course of its life to return to their original owners.

Defeating a Kurvos is easier said than done, however, for their diet of shadow-stuff has given them the ability to manipulate the darkness around them. By cloaking themselves in shadows, they can hide from any retaliatory attacks from their victims... or, if you want to be particularly clever, they make great partners for monsters with sensitive vision, ensuring that their friends can comfortably remain in a Kurvos' gloom instead of the bright, hateful light of the sun. 

We'll bring you more fun monsters as they're discovered and officially logged by AMBA researchers!

Beast Preview!
over 2 years ago – Mon, Aug 01, 2022 at 04:58:34 AM

Hey everyone! 

We're going to take a look at some Beast monsters, but first, a reminder for all of our Monster Maker backers to check your messages so that we can find out what sort of monsters you want to create!

Beasts are fast predator monsters, so all of the monsters here are a bit more carnivorous than those we've seen previously. Let's get started!

The Staguar is a favorite around here, and it's easy to see why! As a Fang/Horn monster, it has plenty of ways to inflict harm on its enemies, and this is backed up with it's great speed and its excellent sense of smell, which is represented by its Scent ability: it always knows the location of Bleeding characters within 100 ft. of it, which allows it to ignore the Blinded status when attacking them. Better yet, its Deadly Horns ability makes it so that after it hits an enemy with a Horn Technique, that enemy becomes Bleeding!

In the wild, Staguar are solitary hunters who don't really get along with each other; when two Staguar of the same sex meet in the wild, the result is often violence. They get along better with Wranglers, because while they're willful and difficult to domesticate, they're fiercely protective once their loyalty has been earned. 

We've already talked about the Treconda in a previous update, so I'll just hit the high points: these lovely monsters are ambush predators of the Jaw/Tendril variety. They lurk in high swamp grasses and beneath the water, only to spring out and attack whatever food-shaped thing wandered too close to their hunting spot. Treconda prefer to squeeze their enemies to death with their strong tails and snake-like arms, but if it takes a few bites to convince their prey to stop struggling,  then they've got three mouths full of sharp fangs!

Treconda are constantly hungry, so if you've got one for a pet, make sure to keep it well fed! They're not above devouring smaller pets (or even their Wrangler) if food is scarce. 

Then we have the Nictome, who really put the "monster" in "Monster Wrangler." These nocturnal predators live in mountainous areas and are a serious threat to anything venturing outside at night. In addition to their sharp claws and long limbs (which allow them to make melee attacks at longer ranges), Nictome also possess a frosty breath, which they typically use to freeze their fleeing prey to the ground before moving in to feed. 

Nictome are sleek and built for stealth, whether it's creeping through the shadows or flying overhead. Their eyes are hyper-sensitive to light, which allows them to see in the dark but also leaves then vulnerable to blindness in areas of bright light. As a result of this, a lot of mountain towns in the Chosu Region have bright perimeter lights ringing their borders to keep the Nictome at bay. 

Domesticated Nictome aren't especially sociable and can become overstimulated (and thus, violent) if given too much attention or forced into close proximity with other monsters. They're best as "solo monsters" alongside a Wrangler who doesn't mind being awake at night.

The Taichen - or as we call it, the "Murder chicken" - is a small Claw/Wind monster that can manipulate the wind to help it hunt. It does this both mask its own scent, ensuring that it's always downwind of whatever it's hunting, and to boost its attack by creating a strong blast of wind that propels the Taichen through the air like a clawed, feathered rocket. 

Taichen are incredibly hyperactive with a metabolism that requires them to feed five to six times a day. As a result, Taichen tend to be very aggressive hunters who aren't afraid to attack larger prey, often resorting to strike-and-fade tactics during these battles. A Taichen's claws are designed to tear away flesh, and even the slightest wound can leave their prey bleeding out. 

In addition to being skilled hunters, Taichen are consummate hunters. In the wild, they stockpile extra kills, creating grisly corpse caches hidden from other predators that the Taichen can return to when in need of an easy meal. Domesticated Taichen usually expand their hordes to include keys, shoes, household appliances, and just about anything else that their Wrangler owns that they can drag away. Retrieving a purloined item from a Taichen's horde is best done when the monster is elsewhere, lets it become agitated at the "theft" of its carefully gathered treasures.

 Maguana are both the largest and the rarest of the Beasts. These Horn/Fire monsters live in extremely hot environments, with remote deserts, magma flows, and volcanoes being their most common haunts. They don't particularly enjoys the company of others and tend to avoid trespassers in their territory, often growling and making their presence known before withdrawing. If the trespasser is still there when the Maguana returns... well, they're going to have a bad day. 

A Maguana's body is extremely warm, so must so that the gasses that it vents from its body along its spine frequently catch fire and burn like a fiery mantle. On the rare occasions that Maguana decide to swim, its mane becomes a shroud of super-heated steam that flash-cooks any unlucky fish that draws too close. 

Due to their rarity and striking appearance, domesticated Maguana are extremely popular, often drawing crowds whenever they make an appearance. If a Wrangler can adapt to a companion that is constantly on fire, Maguana are surprisingly easy to raise. They eat only rarely and gradually become more accustomed to spending time with people and other monsters the longer they spend in "civilized" areas. 

What other sorts of fearsome Beasts will find their way into the game through the imaginations of our backers? We'll find out soon!

Monster Wrangler Roadmap
over 2 years ago – Tue, Jul 26, 2022 at 01:08:21 AM

Thank you to everyone for helping us make this project a reality!

We wanted to take a few moments to explain our roadmap going forward with this project.

Over the next two weeks or so, Kickstarter will be collecting payments before eventually sending them our way. We will be reaching out to all of our "Monster Maker" backers to go over their monster ideas and get art commissioned. 

After this period is finished, we will be opening a pledge manager to handle late pledges and to keep the shipping process streamlined.

Once all of the "Monster Maker" creations are finished, we will send out a preliminary PDF to all of our backers at the "Digital Wrangler" level or above. This will be our "mostly finished" book for people to look over in case any typos or wording choices made it past our editors and playtesters and need to be addressed.

After that, we'll send the finalized files to our printer, followed by finalized PDFs to all of our backers at the "Digital Wrangler" level or above. 

Then it's just a matter of waiting for the physical books to be printed and shipped out!

We will have future updates at each step of the process to keep everyone informed of where we're at and what our next steps are, in addition to showing off some of the cool new monsters created by our backers!

Stretch Goal: Physical Upgrade!
over 2 years ago – Mon, Jul 25, 2022 at 10:13:18 AM

We've reached our stretch goal for a physical upgrade to the book! Now each book will come with spot UV varnishing on the cover and a satin ribbon marker to help mark the most important spots in the book!

Thanks everyone! Only a few more hours to go!

Funded!
over 2 years ago – Mon, Jul 25, 2022 at 07:01:02 AM

We've successfully funded our project!

Thank you to all of our backers who helped us fund our game. We're incredibly excited to be able to bring Monster Wrangler to print, and we're looking forward to hearing about everyone's awesome adventures in the Chosu Region. 

Let's see if we can hit any stretch goals in these last two days!

Thank you again, everyone!  <3