Technique design space

Possible changes to Techniques, if we went with the 13-element system. Very tentative, would not make any changes without checking with the designer(s) of the techniques.

A monster might get a basic or animal technique and a condition imposer to start, then every few levels pick up a few simple techniques, the occasional exotic technique, and eventually more and more powerful techniques.

Splash moves should all have low accuracy.

Animal techniques

Low damage, decent accuracy, typically Normal, within the abilities of a monster.

• Headbutt (melee Normal)
• Shadow Boxing (touch Heroic)
• Strike (reliable Normal)
• Ram (melee Normal)

Basic techniques

Low damage (0.75-1.5), decent accuracy (90-100%), no recharge, no other effects.

• Crystal (ranged Magic)
• Lantern (ranged Heroic)
• Lightning Spheres (ranged Lightning)
• Sword (melee Metal)
• Ice Claw (melee Frost)
• Hawk (melee Sky)
• Rock (ranged Earth)
• Sunburst (touch Fire)
• Phantasmal Force (ranged Shadow)
• Fire Ball (ranged Fire) (lower damage than on wiki)
• Gust (ranged Sky)

Condition imposers

No damage, high chance to impose a buff on the player or debuff on the enemy (but not both).

• Boulder (hard shell self)
• Breath (nodding off)
• Sleeping Powder (fast, nodding off)
• Clock/Conjurer/Insanity/Negation (confusion)
• Fume (enraged self)
• Glower (softened)
• Petrify (dozing)
• Poison Courtship (poisoned)
• Rot (fast, poisoned)

Simple techniques

Some damage, and a condition or other effect (splash, reliable, fast, type change); or lots of damage (1.6-3).

• Probiscus (reach Normal, lifeleech)
• Tonguespear (melee Normal, lifeleech)
• Slime (reach Venom, festering)
• Blade (melee Metal, fast)
• Blossom (ranged Wood, healing self)
• Bullet (ranged Metal, fast)
• Whirlwind (ranged Sky, fast)
• Wingtip (melee Sky, fast)
• Magma (reach Fire, area)
• Chill Mist (reach Frost, splash)
• Midnight Mantle (ranged Shadow, splash)
• Muddle (ranged Magic, both focused)
• Pseudopod (reach Venom, festering)
• Salamander (touch Fire, poisoned)
• Sand Spray (touch Earth, blinded)
• Web (melee Venom, grabbed)
• Flood (ranged Water, splash)
• Flow (melee Water, splash)
• Splinter (reach Wood, blinded)
• Poison Spray (renamed Spray) (ranged Venom, poisoned)
• Stampede (melee Normal, charging self)
• Sting (melee Venom, poisoned)
• Thunderclap (ranged Lightning, exhausted)
• Fire Claw (melee Fire, higher damage)
• Peregrine (melee Sky, fast, higher damage)
• Perfect Cut (reliable Metal, higher damage)
• Ice Storm (ranged Frost, area, higher damage)
• Venom (ranged Venom, higher damage)
• Amnesia (reach Magic, higher damage, both exhausted)
• Battery Acid (ranged Venom, higher damage, poisoned)
• Shuriken (ranged Metal, diehard self)
• Rust Bomb (ranged Metal, splash, poisoned)
• Thunderball (melee Earth, flinching)
• Venomous Tentacle (reach Water, poisoned)
• Battery Discharge (ranged Lightning, healing user)
• Biting Winds (ranged Sky, softened)
• Constrict (reliable Normal, grabbed)
• Font (ranged Water, recovering self)
• Invictus (touch Heroic, enraged self, grabbed)
• Starfall (ranged Magic, focused self, tired)
• Surge (ranged Lightning, charging self)
• Wall of Steel (melee Metal, fast, hard shell self)
• Goad (melee Normal, fast, enraged)
• Beam (ranged Heroic, blinded)
• Berserk (melee Heroic, enraged self)

Exotic techniques

These do strange things, fitting into a niche rather than being usable often.

• Energy Claws (melee Lightning, sniping) (melee attack that makes it harder to make melee attacks in future)
• Kindling Flame (ranged Fire, enraged) (ranged attack that makes it harder to make ranged attacks in future)
• Ants, Fiery, Gyser, Sylvan, Touch, Ubuntu (switch element)
• Gold Digger (take money from opponent)
• Hibernate (heal, nodding off self)
• Levitate (both sniping) (both monsters now benefit from making ranged attacks)
• Life Surge (heal self, charged up) (heal self but at expense of empowering enemy)
• Panjandrum (reliable Normal, fixed damage)
• Eyebite (fast, exhausted, slow recharge)
• Scope (scope)
• Sleep Bomb (reach Magic, both nodding off)

Powerful techniques

Lots of damage and a condition or other effect, and with shorter recharges than you would expect given their power.

• Avalanche (ranged Earth, higher damage, splash, exhausted)
• Refresh (heal self, recovering self)
• Firestorm (reach Fire, area, very high damage)
• Surf (ranged Water, splash, very high damage)
• Tsunami (reach Water, area, very high damage)
• Earthquake (ranged Earth, area, very high damage)
• Lava (ranged Fire, area, very high damage)
• Viper (reliable Venom, very high damage)
• Electrical Storm (ranged Lightning, splash, very high damage)
• Frostbite (reach Frost, poisoned, very high damage)
• Snowstorm (melee Frost, splash, exhausted, very high damage)
• Supernova (ranged Fire, charged up, very high damage)
• Shrapnel (ranged Metal, fast, splash, very high damage)