Heroes as Monster Tamers, Rules Ideas

[The young man in the cafe]

Thinking of doing some more work on this, by adding a write up of how the challenges work as soon I can get my desktop connected the internet (right now I am on my mom's laptop which is bad for long term typing), but in the meantime, why don't you folks give me suggestions for tamer hero gifts that I can add to the gift post?

[The young man in the cafe]

Come to think of it, there's actually a lot of stories / legends that feature monsters siding with humans and turning on their own kind.


Trinity Blood - In which Abel Nightroad (aka, Father Abel) is a scientifically augmented vampire who feeds on the blood of other vampires.


Pokemon - In which monsters are captured and trained to fight their own kind so that they too may be captured and forced to fight alongside humans.


Castlevania - In which Count "motherfucking" Dracula is eventually reincarnated as a human (Soma Cruz) and struggles against his own soul to prevent his evil from resurfacing.


Spawn - In which Al Simons is conscripted into the army of hell as a general (the Hellspawn), but ends up turning on his demonic masters


Disney's Gargoyles - In which the outwardly terrifying monsters dedicate themselves to protecting the people of Manhattan each night from threats both magical and mundane.


These are just ones I can think of off the top of my head, but they all work as plausible examples.

Some of the temples where the challenges the tamers complete to get new tamer gifts are heldare similar to the gyms in pokemon, the tamer's beasts fights a brood of beasts collared by a legendary tamer, others are more like obstacle courses with puzzle elements (dungeons in other words). and yes, some beasts let tamers collar them so they can hunt their own kind

[Nyrufa]

Come to think of it, there's actually a lot of stories / legends that feature monsters siding with humans and turning on their own kind.


Trinity Blood - In which Abel Nightroad (aka, Father Abel) is a scientifically augmented vampire who feeds on the blood of other vampires.


Pokemon - In which monsters are captured and trained to fight their own kind so that they too may be captured and forced to fight alongside humans.


Castlevania - In which Count "motherfucking" Dracula is eventually reincarnated as a human (Soma Cruz) and struggles against his own soul to prevent his evil from resurfacing.


Spawn - In which Al Simons is conscripted into the army of hell as a general (the Hellspawn), but ends up turning on his demonic masters


Disney's Gargoyles - In which the outwardly terrifying monsters dedicate themselves to protecting the people of Manhattan each night from threats both magical and mundane.


These are just ones I can think of off the top of my head, but they all work as plausible examples.

[The young man in the cafe]

So... Amanda Waller and the Suicide Squad?

Kind of. She is not officially sanctioned by anyone in the government but otherwise, she is basically Waller. The fact that Savannah's gang crime has recently gotten so bad that the state patrol has been asked to intervene may give her sanction to go after the gangs with her collared beasts though.

[Vent0]

I am not sure you would want the tamer as a "hero" as the heroes have a tendency to be very proud to the point of being forceful and aggressive while the tamer concept he doesn't feel quite like that. Plus I doubt a monster would ever let a hero put a collar on them. However, what if the tamer was a human that is similar to the hero (they feel a similar call like the heroes do) except instead of being all about hunting monsters they instead seek to "tame" monsters in order to study them?

Well, that is just a thought.

But that's just a different flavor of Hero (which describes a particular category of human-being in relation to Beasts).

Hero: A human who has responded to the Primordial Dream (and remains human). Usual behavior at low Integrity manifests as a compulsive urge to hunt down the source of the Primordial ripples (ie. Beasts) and eliminate them.

[Werescythe]

I am not sure you would want the tamer as a "hero" as the heroes have a tendency to be very proud to the point of being forceful and aggressive while the tamer concept he doesn't feel quite like that. Plus I doubt a monster would ever let a hero put a collar on them. However, what if the tamer was a human that is similar to the hero (they feel a similar call like the heroes do) except instead of being all about hunting monsters they instead seek to "tame" monsters in order to study them?

Well, that is just a thought.

[Nyrufa]

You forgot Ranchers

[Mangle77]

The taming of the wolf viewpoint is a pretty good one for the subject. The tamer heroes would indeed be the heirs to the prehistoric men who first tamed wolves, where as the usual slayer heroes are the heirs of the prehistoric man who killed cave bears and such. And yes, some Beasts do feel that working with a high integrity tamer is a better way to feed their hunger than the lesson bit. Besides, tamers are very good at finding the sorts of bad people who deserve a little terror. In my Savannah setting, one tamer in the Georgia State Patrol and their collared beasts are the reason there hasn't been a successful terror attack in Savannah. She sees working with her beasts as a work release program of sorts and her collared beasts see it as an easy way to feed, everybody wins.

So... Amanda Waller and the Suicide Squad?

[The young man in the cafe]

Or regular doses of mind control. Vampires, changelings, and mages all have the means to acquire Pets. And once you're hooked, a lot of that stuff is powerful, long-lasting, and offers snowball potential to make its usage safer and safer.



Heroes protect Mankind from fear and end the threat of Man's predators. The taming of the wolf is an ancient archetype, one that feels very appropriate, actually. Violence is simple and somewhat effective, but a Pet - as opposed to an unchecked Beast - is more than just a threat ended, it can be turned against other threats. And if the Pet can be sated in such an arrangement - if collars, for example, offer submissive paths to regaining Satiety - then it might be the best hope of Beasts shackled to particularly despicable or monstrous extrusions of the Primordial Dream. The ones who have to kill, or are driven to hunt those already victimized by society and break them where they're fractured, the mind-scarrers and flesh-manglers...teaching lessons in fear, to the degree that it's even real, is an inhuman and alienating practice. People follow orders all the time. They work in hierarchies, prefer them, create them wherever they gather. Independence isn't too much to trade for the safety and wellbeing of others, every parent knows that. Perhaps some Beasts learn.

That's from their end, of course. From the Hero's end, that's a lot of power to have leashed and keep from going to your head - and a lot of acceptable target, depending on what made you a Hero, what monsters are to you, what kind of ghosts or demons (metaphorical, literal) might hunger for justice, or vengeance, or sacrifice.

The taming of the wolf viewpoint is a pretty good one for the subject. The tamer heroes would indeed be the heirs to the prehistoric men who first tamed wolves, where as the usual slayer heroes are the heirs of the prehistoric man who killed cave bears and such. And yes, some Beasts do feel that working with a high integrity tamer is a better way to feed their hunger than the lesson bit. Besides, tamers are very good at finding the sorts of bad people who deserve a little terror. In my Savannah setting, one tamer in the Georgia State Patrol and their collared beasts are the reason there hasn't been a successful terror attack in Savannah. She sees working with her beasts as a work release program of sorts and her collared beasts see it as an easy way to feed, everybody wins.

[MCN]

Honestly? Sounds like antagonistic Beast rather than a Hero. A number of Beasts already do this with their Kin using existing abilities and powers. It resonates with the Collector / Tyrrant Hungers.

[Kingdom of One]

Technically speaking, there are ways you can tame a Beast - simply be a splat that can offer it Family Dinner

Or regular doses of mind control. Vampires, changelings, and mages all have the means to acquire Pets. And once you're hooked, a lot of that stuff is powerful, long-lasting, and offers snowball potential to make its usage safer and safer.

Heroes...are much more likely to behead a wolf than turn it into a puppy for them, in my eyes.

Heroes protect Mankind from fear and end the threat of Man's predators. The taming of the wolf is an ancient archetype, one that feels very appropriate, actually. Violence is simple and somewhat effective, but a Pet - as opposed to an unchecked Beast - is more than just a threat ended, it can be turned against other threats. And if the Pet can be sated in such an arrangement - if collars, for example, offer submissive paths to regaining Satiety - then it might be the best hope of Beasts shackled to particularly despicable or monstrous extrusions of the Primordial Dream. The ones who have to kill, or are driven to hunt those already victimized by society and break them where they're fractured, the mind-scarrers and flesh-manglers...teaching lessons in fear, to the degree that it's even real, is an inhuman and alienating practice. People follow orders all the time. They work in hierarchies, prefer them, create them wherever they gather. Independence isn't too much to trade for the safety and wellbeing of others, every parent knows that. Perhaps some Beasts learn.

That's from their end, of course. From the Hero's end, that's a lot of power to have leashed and keep from going to your head - and a lot of acceptable target, depending on what made you a Hero, what monsters are to you, what kind of ghosts or demons (metaphorical, literal) might hunger for justice, or vengeance, or sacrifice.

[Taidragon]

Technically speaking, there are ways you can tame a Beast - simply be a splat that can offer it Family Dinner on a regular basis and with a much larger power base, possibly with benefits the Beast couldn't get by being dominant. A warren of vampires who would have use of a Beast would take it along to watch them hunt and feed, giving it food and then getting services from it. Changelings on a likewise front would get on the Beast's good side in order to have a potent force help them. Heck, having a content Beast that can open any door you come across makes it a worthwhile venture "taming" them, and if you get them addicted to the culture, it can make them want to stay on their own accord, what with Family and all. Heroes...are much more likely to behead a wolf than turn it into a puppy for them, in my eyes.

[The young man in the cafe]

Just a question: how specific are the commands that Collars allow the Tamer to give? Is it as broad as 'Attack that person' or as narrow as 'Attack a person wearing X'?

It depends on the beast's satiety and the collar in question. For instance, a collar that involved offering the beast somethings that feeds their particular hunger allows for more specific and involved commands at low satiety than high.

[ajf115]

Just a question: how specific are the commands that Collars allow the Tamer to give? Is it as broad as 'Attack that person' or as narrow as 'Attack a person wearing X'?

[SunlessNick]

I dont have any useful suggestions, but I wanted to note that heroes of this type do have folkloric precedent (often saints).