A Monster Hunter chapter concept (Yes, I am serious)
If you frequent the Dead By Daylight Discord even slightly, you have probably seen me say something along the lines of this
I have been shouting to the goddamn rooftops about adding Monster Hunter, specifically Malzeno from MH Rise/Sunbreak, into Dead By Daylight, my reasons are the following
One, Malzeno is really cool, starting with its design
A gorgeous and menacing coat of white and gold scales, complimented by blood-red highlights, a sharp, stern face adorned by a pair of regal horns and a withered neck frill, a massive and sharp tail that can stab through steel and claws that can snuff out prey before they can blink, Malzeno's design is, in three words, regal and intimidating, in case it wasn't obvious, it’s based heavily off of vampires, Dracula especially, and I think it's one of the most unique takes on a horror concept that I honestly find very mid, staring down this monster is like staring down death itself and I absolutely love it, of course, anyone's who's played MHR/S knows that Malzeno's only half the problem, the other half are these little buggers
The fluff on Malzeno's neck and front claws isn't actually fluff, it's a small hoard of flying lampreys called Qurio, these aggressive leeches are responsible for feeding Malzeno in a twisted form of symbiosis, Malzeno kills a monster, the Qurio drain its corpse of blood, and then feed that blood directly back to Malzeno, I won't spoil how this symbiosis came to be for story reasons, but all you need to know is that Malzeno is equal parts the Qurio's master, and the Qurio's unwilling servant, it's actually kinda tragic when you put all of the details together
For point number two, the horror aspects, Malzeno is huge, highly aggressive, and intelligent, so you have a pretty classic "Giant scary monster" thing going on as well as the fear of being hunted, the vampire motif adds a nice bit of Gothic Horror, and the Qurio add a fear of Infection and Parasites to the mix, creating a wonderful blend of different horror tropes, I don't know about you but I'd be pretty terrified if a massive dragon backed by a horde of flying leeches thirsty for my blood started chasing me
And for three, I want to hear a rendition of Malzeno's battle theme as a DBD Chase theme (Wesker eat your orchestra-loving heart out)
Of course, a killer concept isn't complete without a power, so here's what I have envisioned
Description: Malzeno is a bloodthirsty monster that is forever on the hunt to survive and feed its flock of parasites, its three perks, Bloodrage, Silver Duke and Wandering Flames, Allow it to gain power from injuring multiple survivors, force survivors to kneel before its might, and spread terror to survivors no matter how far they run
Malzeno, or The Scarlet Feast, is a Massive 115% killer with a 40 metre terror radius, its weapons are its wings, using them like a sword to stab survivors, its power is Scarlet Bloodhound
The first part of Malzeno's "Power" is its size, rather then being actually huge, Matches against Malzeno make survivors as well as most gameplay elements smaller, allowing Malzeno to fit into indoor maps and buildings without being a clipping nightmare while preserving the feeling of being chased by a giant monster, the camera is also lower for survivors, meaning that Malzeno will still be able to mind-game at loops like a standard killer
Tail Strike works like Demo's Shred but looks like Xenomorph's Tail Attack, holding down M2 for 3/4ths of a second will allow you to launch your tail forward with a maximum range of 6 meters, if a survivor gets hit by the tail, they take damage, if the tail hits a downed pallet, it gets destroyed instantly, Tail Strike slows Malzeno down to 105% while it is charging, and down to 85% after you hit a survivor or miss, this slowdown lasts for 0.9 seconds after hitting a survivor, and 1.5 seconds if you miss or hit a wall, Tail Strike cannot hit over loops or through windows like Xeno's Tail Attack can
Bloodblight works by injuring survivors, survivors suffering from Bloodblight bleed excessively as if they had Haemorrhage and have a deep glowing red gash on their chests, Bloodblight goes away after 60 seconds or after being healed, and downs injured survivors after 30 seconds, making getting rid of it absolutely imperative
The Qurio can be identified by bright red orbs floating around the map that have similar AI to Nemesis' zombies, however, unlike the Zombies, The Qurio pose a tangible threat, when they see you, the Qurio will shriek and charge at you in a straight line for 1.5 seconds at a speed of 150% the survivor's sprint speed, passing over pallets and through windows, going inactive for 0.75 second after their charge ends, once the charge ends, Survivors can perform the "Slay" action when standing next to a inactive Swarm, holding down M1 and performing the same minigame as Skull Merchant's drones will let you kill that Qurio swarm, replenishing the survivor's Bloodblight timer by 10 seconds, if you fail this action or get hit by the Qurio, you will be Swarmed, Injuring you if you are healthy and revealing your location to Malzeno via killer instinct every 5 seconds, if you have it, your Bloodblight timer also goes down 20% faster, survivors can remove these Qurio by healing, or by Slaying a Qurio Swarm, 10 of these swarms can exist at any time and spawn every 10 seconds if a survivor is Injured, Qurio Swarms move at 4.2ms and have a vision of 12 metres
Finally, there's the Bloodening, after survivors have suffered from Bloodblight for a combined total of 100 seconds, Malzeno will roar and enter Bloodening mode, while in this state, Tail Strike charges in 1/2 a second, the slowdown decreases to 0.6 and 1.2 seconds respectively, successful attacks with Tail Strike inflict Deep Wound, you recover from pallet stuns 20% faster, and recover from successful basic attacks 10% faster, in addition, any vaults Malzeno passes through will be broken and able to be passed through like they're ordinary openings, however, Malzeno's basic M1s will not inflict Bloodblight, and any Qurio currently in the map despawn, any that have latched onto survivors will also detach, removing Bloodblight in the process, The Bloodening lasts for 60 seconds, after which Qurio will begin respawning if survivors are still injured.
Next, there are Addons
COMMON:
Dead Qurio: The remains of a Qurio that has been ripped in half, its corpse agitates its parasitic brethren: Qurio Swarms recover from their charges 0.3 seconds faster
Citadel Rubble: Ruined and destroyed, the Citadel now stands as a decaying monument to Malzeno's fury and the rampage it caused: Increases the duration of The Bloodening by 5 seconds
Broken Greatsword: The hilt and lower blade of a Hunter's Greatsword, a popular weapon known for its slow but brutal strikes: Missed Tail Strike recovery is decreased by 0.2 seconds when outside of The Bloodening
Shattered Armour: Broken armour ripped from its owner, the red colouration and draconic design hint to it being made from the shell and scales of a Rathalos: Survivors inflicted by Bloodblight take a additional 2 seconds to heal
UNCOMMON
Madness Parasite: A parasite that has gained enormous power by attaching itself to a variety of hosts, it agitates and excites its fellow Qurio: The Bloodblight timer for Swarmed Survivors decreases 10% faster
Drained Gowngoat: A herbivorous native of the region around The Citadel, The Qurio have drained it dry of blood: Tail Strike inflicts Haemorrhage on Survivors until they're healed or put into the dying state
Drained Boggi: This small raptorial wyvern has been ravaged by the Qurio and reduced to a bloodless husk: Decreases the time it takes for Killer Instinct caused by Qurio Swarming survivors to occur by 1 second
Afflicted Bone: Qurio affect all Monsters they prey upon, warping their physiology into something unrecognisable: Increases the speed of Qurio Swarms by 10%
Afflicted Blood: What blood remains after Qurio are finished feasting gets changed into a vile but potent liquid: Increases the alert radius of Qurio Swarms by 25%
RARE
Lunagaron Bluecore: This glowing blue core is the source of the Lunagaron's power, and is its claim to the title of one of the Three Lords: During The Bloodening, basic attacks inflict a 10% Hindered effect for 1 second
Golm Thick Juice: Fluids that the Garangolm frequently secretes, causing quick-growing moss to cover its body, giving it the title of one of the Three Lords: During The Bloodening, Tail Strike inflicts Exhaustion for 10 seconds, Exhausted effects take 10% longer to recover
Afflicted Scale: Aged and dim, this scale has been drained of its lively colour by the Qurio: Increases the number of Qurio Swarms that can spawn by 5
Afflicted Fang: Withered and dull, the Qurio twist their victim's physiology until they are entirely dependant on them: Qurio Swarms inflict Mangled when they Swarm a survivor
VERY RARE
Malzeno Shard: A thick, strong, and lustrous scale that covers much of Malzeno's body, tainted and sullied by the blood of its prey: Any vaults destroyed during The Bloodening remain destroyed for 15 seconds after The Bloodening ends
Malzeno Cortex: A piece of the heavy shell that covers Malzeno, the silvery gleam brings its beholders to their knees: During The Bloodening, Tail Strike inflicts a 10% Hindered effect for 10 seconds
Malzeno Hardfang: Malzeno's fangs are sharp and deadly, capable of crushing shell and bone alike in order to drain its victim's blood: During The Bloodening, Malzeno's vault speed is increased by 20%
Malzeno Fellwing: Malzeno's elegant silver wings gain a scarlet glow after it absorbs blood from its prey: Survivors who were suffering from Bloodblight when The Bloodening activates will have their blood glow very brightly, this effect ends once The Bloodening ends
ULTRA RARE
Malzeno Bloodstone: This rare and brilliant gem that forms inside Malzeno's body emanates the coldness of death: Pressing the Active Ability Key will allow you to activate The Bloodening, with its Duration depending on how long survivors have been infected with Bloodblight
Abyssal Dragonsphire: A gem harvested from The Archdemon of The Abyss, it's said to snuff out light and drag souls into eternal darkness: Basic Attacks no longer inflict Bloodblight, Tail Strike inflicts Deafened, Blindness, and darkens the edges of the survivor's vision for 30 seconds
And finally, perks
These perks were made to fully lean into Malzeno's whole "I am a 15 feet tall vampire dragon" shtick, incentivising going for multiple injuries and making your presence known by making your Terror Radius absolutely huge, of these 3 perks, I think Silver Duke would be the most used due to the common aura reading, however, Bloodrage is my favourite from a design and thematic standpoint.
Also, Wandering Flames on Doctor with Distressing and double TR Addons, have fun picturing that.
So yeah, that's my Monster Hunter chapter concept, is it a pipe-dream that will probably never happen? Sure, but I will always hold out hope
G'night
Comments
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I'd take a really small Khezu.
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