random swan
Concept for a Hunter - The Hagfish. Inspired by the Fiji Mermaid sideshow which was bought from Japanese sailors, The Hagfish is a mermaid sideshow attraction gone wrong. Instead of a woman merged with the tail of a normal fish, the body is long and eel-like, like her namesake. Also like the hagfish, this Hunter is blind and her body secretes mucus and slime that she uses for offense instead of defense, assisting her in laying traps for unsuspecting prey.
Her head is mostly covered in long black hair that hangs down, wet and scraggly, woven with seaweed and a pair of tiny flexible horns that can move on its own. There are no eyes in the woman’s face, and the only definable feature when close enough to see her is a gigantic mouth with circular rows of gear teeth like a lamprey. Wooden arms are attached to her rotten carcass hagfish body that help her drag herself along the floor. She wears a kimono that keeps stretching over her body, forming billowing waves of torn fabric that mimic a mermaid tail towards the end. Belts, or obis, keep the kimono attached, but also gives her a segmented puppet-like appearance. The Hagfish does not have a voice, but Bunnies can hear her coming because of the sounds of her dragging her slimy body across the floor. She has also been outfitted with a macabre music box that is inserted into her spine, with the mechanisms and levers and pistons cranking and moving visibly from a distance as she moves - this is also another way to detect her if you’re afraid of running into her.
For her gameplay, The Hagfish is literally a fish out of water - she is at her weakest at the beginning of the game. She can’t see, everything black except for when she can touch things with her hands as she drags herself along the floor of the map. Perhaps she might find a Bunny on accident, but it’s highly unlikely due to how slow she is (limited mobility) and how easy it is to listen for her sounds (dragging + music box). During this time, Bunnies should focus on grabbing items and also small useless objects (added gameplay), which will be useful later.
The Hagfish’s objective during this time is to find a singular valve on the bottom floor, which the Bunnies will be notified when this happens. This will open a gigantic pipe that will start to flood the map with water. As the map starts flooding, The Hagfish will start to gain strength and will eventually no longer be able to be detected by the dragging sound, instead now only identifiable by the soft tinkling of the music box and the screech of her gears when she manages to catch a Bunny. Her strategies may include laying slime traps that will stop a Bunny’s movement and also cause panic, which The Hagfish will be able to detect once there’s enough water in the map. Note that when there’s enough water, she is only detectable when she’s moving (music box), and The Hagfish can hide among the floating/sinking debris to lie in wait for unsuspecting Bunnies swimming by. Beware when trying to sneak by The Hagfish, as she can reverse suddenly and give chase (ability) despite her long body.
The Hagfish will also be able to access various pipes around the map, which will allow her to traverse around the map, but also between floors. Only the first/base floor will have water initially in the game, so when she is on the second floor, she will once again be detectable by her dragging sounds.
For the Bunnies, note that the more items the Bunny has, the more the Bunny is weighed down in the water. Bunnies will not drown, but The Hagfish is a seasoned scavenger and knows that Bunnies with items will sink to the bottom of the map far more than an empty one, which renders the Play Dead mechanic mostly useless once you have items. Instead, Bunnies should focus on planting small useless objects in the other dead Bunnies around the map during the initial phase of the game, to trick The Hagfish.
vague citrus
wise moat
(ye ik its long :V)
worthy hearth