The Game
Monster Wrangler is a tabletop roleplaying game focusing on human monster trainers, known as Wranglers, and their pet monsters, which they tame, raise, and command in battles against other monsters. Wranglers are accompanied on their adventures by anywhere from one to three loyal monsters, which range from sleek hunting beasts to strange, mobile plants to deadly mechanical constructs that were built for war.
Players can create Wranglers that are either adults or juveniles, allowing the GM to run games with all juveniles, all adults, or a mixture of the two. Similarly, monsters can be either juveniles or adults, though they age much more quickly than their human companions!
Core Game Contents
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The Chosu Region Setting
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Game Mechanics
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Character Creation
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Items and Equipment
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50 Monster Species
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240 Techniques
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2 Starter Adventures
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Character Sheets
235 Page Full Color Hardcover Book
Dimensions: 11.5 x 8.75 x .75 in (29.2 x 22.2 x 1.9 cm)
Featuring spot UV varnishing on the cover and a satin ribbon marker.
How to Play
Monster Wrangler utilizes a dice pool system to resolve conflicts. The character making the roll adds their ranks in the appropriate Attribute and Skill and rolls that many ten-sided dice. For each result of "10" the die "explodes" and an additional die is immediately rolled and added to the character's dice pool. Each die that equals or exceeds the Success Value of the roll - typically a 7 - counts as a Success. If the character achieves a number of Successes equal to the Difficulty of whatever she is trying to accomplish, she succeeds!
Additionally, any "extra" successes the character achieves can be spent on Raises to gain additional effects, such as increasing the damage dealt by an attack, crafting additional items, or increasing the amount of health a character heals.
Wrangler Classes
Classes are loose groupings of similar Abilities that define how a Wrangler approaches monster battles and the world around her. They are part profession, part personal outlook, and part monster preference, all rolled into one. Each Class consists of a number of Abilities that can be gained by Wranglers. Typically, a Wrangler begins play with two Abilities (which can be from the same Class or from two different Classes) and gains an additional Ability at the end of each session.
Rider
Monster Category: (none)
Riders charge into battle on the backs of their monster companions, working in tandem with each other to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. A Rider's Abilities revolve around riding their monsters and gaining bonuses while "in the saddle."
(Chronicles I, Blackout Games Patreon)
Tyrant
Monster Category: (none)
Tyrants are cruel taskmasters who push their terrified monsters to victory with threats and maltreatment. While feared by their companions, the presence of a Tyrant is terrifying to an opponent, as there is no telling how far they will go to win a battle.
(Chronicles I, Blackout Games Patreon)
Chemist
Monster Category: Amorph
Chemists understand the strange anatomy of Amorph monsters better than anyone else. Using their knowledge of chemical solutions and compounds, they brew up dangerous offense sprays, which can be used to inflict status effects upon others.
(Amorph Expansion)
Ritualist
Monster Category: Remnant
Ritualists harness the dark forces of the nether realm to enhance their Remnant monsters. Using their occult knowledge, they can weave protective wards around their monsters or place curses upon their opponents.
(Remnant Expansion)
Vagabond
Monster Category: Scrounger
Vagabonds are larcenous characters who prefer to use stealth and cunning to avoid conflict. Their Abilities revolve around keeping their monsters hidden from sight and relieving other people of their valuables.
Trapper
Monster Category: Vermin
Trappers utilize clever traps to both hamper their opponents and to catch the Vermin monsters that they favor. Over time, their Vermin learn to exploit the traps created by their masters, using them for cover and preying on anyone unfortunate enough to trigger one.
Trainer
Monster Category: (none)
Trainers are the masters of commanding monsters, and they gain a variety of Commands that work with every kind of monster. These Commands grow more potent and effective with experience, and a veteran Trainer can exert an impressive amount of control over her monsters.
Medic
Monster Category: (none)
Medics specialize in the treatment of wounds and the use of medicine sprays. With practice, they learn how to increase the effectiveness of these sprays, or even how to combine them together to treat multiple status effects at once.
Mechanic
Monster Category: Construct
Mechanics tinker with machines, including their Constructs, modifying them in all sorts of unexpected ways. An experienced Mechanic has an incredible number of options available to her, and each of her Constructs is an optimized, customized mechanical powerhouse.
Hunter
Monster Category: Beast
Hunters use ranged weapons alongside their loyal Beast monsters to turn the odds of combat in their favor. Their Abilities focus on enhancing the movement of their Beasts as well as their own ranged combat capabilities, making it exceedingly difficult for a quarry to escape their sights.
Breeder
Monster Category: (none)
Breeders are generalists who specialize in the breeding of monsters. Their Abilities focus on breeding monsters with the strengths of their parents, allowing them to "hand craft" powerful new hybrid monsters who are born with higher stats than their parents.
Brawler
Monster Category: Brute
Brawlers focus on Brute monsters, supporting (and often, joining) them in melee combat. They do this by making it more difficult for opponents to escape combat and by limiting the weaknesses of their Brutes, ensuring that they can bring their full power to bear.
Botanist
Monster Category: Plant
Botanists have a fondness for Plant monsters and are capable of directing their growth in various impressive ways. A Botanist's Abilities revolve around harvesting plant material and then using it to support her Plant monsters and create useful items.
The Monsters
There are fifty different monster species in the core rules. Each monster belongs to an overarching Category - such as Beast, Construct, Plant, etc. - which serves as a general description as to what sort of monster it is. For instance, Construct monsters are artificial machines, while Beasts are quick hunters.
Monsters also possess two different Types, which determine what sort of Techniques (i.e., attacks) it can use. For instance, the Hergh has the Beak and Poison Types, so it is able to learn any Techniques from the Beak and Poison lists.
Each monster also possesses three Primary Traits, abilities that represent the monster's unique physiology and psychology. Monsters also have a Secondary Trait, which is randomly determined from a list of three potential options for each species. This provides a bit of variety between monsters of the same species and encourages different monsters to utilize different tactics in order to compliment their innate natures.
All of these options combine to produce unique monsters that feel deep and interesting while still being quick to run in combat.
Monster Types
Each monster has two Types, which describe what sort of attacks the monster can use in combat. These attacks range from biting with fangs or slashing with sharp claws to zapping enemies with electricity, burning them with fire, or directly attacking their minds with psychic force.
To utilize these attacks - or Techniques, as they're called - monsters must spend Rage, which is a resource they generate during every round of combat. More powerful Techniques require more Rage to use, but monsters can also spend extra Rage to enhance their weaker Techniques, allowing for plenty of viable options during combat.
Acid: The monster uses powerful acid that dissolves its opponents’ armor. (Amorph Expansion)
Beak: The monster pecks and crushes the opponent with its strong beak.
Blade: The monster uses or sword- or scythe-like blade to hack at its opponents.
Claw: The monster relies upon its sharp claws to slash an opponent to ribbons.
Cold: The monster generates blasts of intense cold to freeze its opponents solid.
Electric: The monster zaps its opponents with powerful jolts of electricity.
Fang: The monster uses its sharp fangs to bite its opponents.
Fire: The monster burns its opponents with searing flame.
Horn: The monster attacks an opponents with one or more horn-like appendages.
Light: The monster uses focused beams of light to injure and blind its opponents.
Poison: The monster poisons its opponents with deadly toxins.
Psychic: The monsters unleashes its psychic potential to confuse opponents.
Slam: The monster relies upon its heavy appendages and bulk to crush its opponents.
Spike: The monster pierces its opponents with hundreds of sharp spikes.
Spore: The monster releases debilitating spores that weaken its opponents.
Tendril: The monster uses tentacles to wrap up and squeeze its opponents.
Torment: The monster curses its opponents with dark energy.
(Remnant Expansion)
Wind: The monster batters its opponents with gale-force winds.
Meet the Monsters!
Arborne
Armathyst
Briarola
Cactodo
Carnoid
Chasma
Cindrow
CYBRIX
Deluzo
Dronimmer
Dursulk
Galvarach
Gelidon
Gympix
Hedeket
Hergh
Hesperox
Jinglot
Kleeth
Krysso
Kurvos
Loxabox
Magnox
Maguana
Mesmot
Mycetar
Mystral
Nappen
Nictome
Octusion
Oniron
Panchin
Pumpkeen
Rhyzo
Saturnadus
Scovine
Seeanaga
Shivid
Staguar
Steamosaur
Taichen
Tayirramad
Temprill
Treconda
Vamyoru
Vespark
Warwolf
Wiggapede
Womburn
Zephid
Monsters shown are available in the Monster Wrangler Core Rulebook.
Advancement
At the end of each session, Wranglers and each of their monsters that participated in a session gain experience points (XP) which they can use to improve their Attributes. Humans can also spend XP to improve their skills and purchase new Perks, while monsters can spend XP to improve their Techniques or to learn new Techniques entirely. Additionally, after a few sessions, juvenile monsters will grow up into adults, which increases their stats, shifts their personalities, and sometimes gives them new abilities.
At the end of each session, Wranglers can choose abilities from any of the available Classes, giving them additional options in and out of combat. These might range from learning new commands to give their monsters to being able to permanently alter their monsters (or their monster's offspring) in various ways.
Customization
By swapping out one of a monster's Types for a different Type, GMs can create a variety of mutant monsters for their games!
For instance, a Panchin normally has the Claw and Poison Types, but by swapping its Poison Type for the Electrical Type (and by swapping its Poison Techniques for Electrical Techniques of the same Rank), you can create a "shiny" Panchin that can zap its opponents with a strong electrical current! Make sure it's a different color so that your players can easily recognize that this Panchin is special!
Of course, we also know that plenty of GMs and players are going to dive into our system wanting to create their own monsters. For that reason, the Core book includes a detailed set of instructions for creating your own monsters, along with plenty of examples at every step!
Remnant Expansion
While there are plenty of spooky and horrifying monsters in the Chosu Region, none of them can quite compare to the terrifying monsters known as Remnants. This assortment of undead creatures encompasses a wide variety of eerie monsters ranging from ghosts to reanimated corpses to sentient glitches.
This expansion hopes to shed some light on these creepy monsters, allowing GMs to make their campaign world just a little more terrifying while also giving players the option of making Wranglers that are a bit darker than their more wholesome contemporaries.
Remnant Expansion Contents
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7 New Remnant Monsters
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1 New Scrounger Monster
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15 Torment Techniques
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New Doomed Status
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New and Adjusted Items for Remnants
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New Knowledge: Chemical Skill
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New Class: Ritualist
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New Adventure: "Tomb and Doom"
Meet the Remnant Monsters!
Deparssum
ERRORIX
Hemoredge
Lagomask
Malpyre
Nihilaunt
Salmagund
Monsters shown are available in the Monster Wrangler Remnant Expansion.
Amorph Expansion
This expansion introduces strange Amorph monsters to the world of Monster Wrangler. Amorphs are monsters that have an amorphous, malleable body. While many of these monsters could be described as "slimes" or "blobs," some of them are more rigid in form than others.
This expansion brings these weird, amorphous monsters to the limelight, allowing GMs to explore issues of corporate greed and environmental disasters through the medium of hungry goo-blobs. There are eight new Amorphs, and each of them offers fun new ways to expand the world in slimy directions.
Amorph Expansion Contents
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8 New Amorph Monsters
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15 Acid Techniques
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New Dissolved Status
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New Item: Offense Sprays
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New Knowledge: Occult Skill
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New Class: Chemist
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New Adventure: "Chemical Spill"
Meet the Amorph Monsters!
Alkalimb
Aspic
Mimitar
Nanarch
Parafaux
Pollustral
Silicrest
Sargassol
Monsters shown are available in the Monster Wrangler Amorph Expansion.
Best Friends Expansion
The power of friendship comes to the world of Monster Wrangler! Instead of focusing on a new monster Category, this expansion introduces eight new monsters that interact with this theme in different ways, from allowing their Wranglers to wield them as weapons and armor to supporting their allies to splitting themselves into their own allies.
But monsters aren't the only ones capable of making friends! The Rancher class provides a safe place for monsters to grow and learn while their Wrangler is out on adventures, allowing characters to greatly expand their stable of potential traveling companions without having to feel like they're neglecting one of their beloved monsters.
Best Friends Expansion Contents
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8 New Monsters
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7 New Perks
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New Class: Rancher
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New Adventure: "Park Problems"
Meet the Best Friends Monsters!
Wallaruck
Urswarm
Sherboa
Panolpod
Mascart
Hydranthus
Fenrazor
Dyadile
Monsters shown are available in the Monster Wrangler Best Friends Expansion.
Chronicles I
It's a little bit of everything! This expansion is a grab-bag of content originally released on our Patreon, including ten new monsters of various sizes, shapes, and dispositions. For those Wranglers who like to get their hands dirty in combat, there are Tech Rigs, incredible mechanical devices that allow them to tap into the powerful Techniques normally restricted to monsters, and two new Classes: the Rider and the Tyrant.
Finally, this expansion contains not one, but two new adventures, detailing the sinister haunting of a frustrated writer and the mysteries surrounding a fallen meteor. It's a good thing you've got so many new monster companions to help you investigate!
Chronicles I Contents
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10 New Monsters
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New Item: Tech Rigs
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New Class: Rider
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New Class: Tyrant
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New Adventure: "Writer's Bloack"
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New Adventure: "A Close Encounter"
Meet the Chronicles I Monsters!
Tundroom
Sybun
Solvant
Scribok
Kryacorn
Krocathron
Fernkey
Effigrim
Cycloxic
Chemilleon
Monsters shown are available in Monster Wrangler Chronicles I and on the Blackout Games Patreon.
Meet the Patreon Monsters!
Quintoth
Eschrono
Monsters shown are available on the Blackout Games Patreon.