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Monster Training Tabletop Role-Playing Game

Players: 2+ (GM and Players)

Ages: 14+ Recommended

Playing Time: Varies by Session

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Core Game Contents

The Chosu Region Setting
Game Mechanics
Character Creation
Items and Equipment
50 Monster Species
240 Techniques
2 Starter Adventures
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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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)

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)

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.

(Blackout Games Patreon)

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.