Monsterpedia

Puppeteer

Monster Level - V

Soul Type - Composite

Intelligence - High Humanoid

Strength - Average Humanoid

Magic - Low

Rarity - Rare (Uncommon in Demonic Areas)

Standing close to six feet and with thin bodies and spindly six jointed fingers, puppeteers usually wear large cloaks to hide their presence. However their controlled servants quickly give away the fiend's presence. These lesser demons can talk, but prefer not to, instead trying to force their will on others. If forced to speak they'll usually use a puppet as a proxy.

Puppeteers are formed from the desire to control others. This negative soul energy occurs often when a large dungeon raid force is wiped out or a particularly abusive party leader is killed. The soul energy that forms them seethes with the idea that 'it would have gone fine if the fools had just listened to me.' And so these demons will make sure everyone has to follow their leads.

Their attack is incredibly gross and insidious. They can detach the end of their fingers, which crawl towards a victim. This finger can burrow into the body and will work to attach to the spine. Once that happens the pupeteer gains total control over the victim. It can't use the victim's magic, but it can push its puppets past the limits of their body, allowing physical feats that most humans would be hard pressed to match.

Victims of the puppeteer are not killed by the creature, but they can't fight back either. And the puppeteer doesn't usually 'waste time' feeding or caring for its victims. When the broken corpse stops being useful they'll grab a replacement. Killing the demon will free its victims, but the feedback from its death can have serious mental impact, leading to unconsciousness or even death. A healer should be on hand to attempt to save those previously controlled.

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It's believed a puppeteer demon can only control ten victims, one for each finger. However, the detached fingers rapidly regenerate on the demon, so it's impossible to tell if that's true, or how many victims a puppeteer has

Merge

Common Name : Paralyzer (uncommon)

Benefits : Nervous system interruption

Weaknesses : None

This merge is a very subtle one, but it offers a very impressive power. On top of standard merge customization, the person gets a single extra joint on their fingers. This takes some getting used to, but after a bit becomes only a minor detail. However if the merged person gets a hand on someone's head or spine area, they can lock up the nervous system. This works on most humanoids, allowing a paralyzer to incapacitate their target. Heavy armor can prevent the attack, but once it lands the victim is stuck until a few moments from when the paralyzer removes their hand.

The primary weakness of the merge is... that's all they get. A stunning attack that affects most humanoids, but with no way to help land it, or defend them from being shot or stabbed while going for it. Still the ability to safely incapacitate people is very highly sought after by bounty hunters, wizard towers, guard units, and specialized guilds. People with this merge can expect a VIP position should they follow that career path.

Puppeteer merges are rare mostly because finding and keeping these demons alive long enough to merge with them is quite difficult. However, since the demons have no real defenses outside of their minions, it's not uncommon for an unmerged human to kill one that's decided to go on a rampage. Thus several paralyzers are usually around and working in most major cities.

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Paralyzers still receive a fair amount of stigma from those who think the merge allows them to control people like the demons. Of course unlike most stigmatized merges, they're usually flush with cash, so they have plenty of paper to wipe away their tears.