Soul Merger

Monsterpedia

Armored Horror

Monster Level - III

Soul Type - Composite

Intelligence - Humanoid

Strength - Strong

Magic - Above Human

Rarity - Common

Armored Horrors look like mobile suits of armor with glowing red eyes. However the reality is they're actually some kind of crustacean. Their shells come in many varieties depending on the armor they chose to mimic, but it's slightly weaker than steel despite the shine it may have. The dark areas around openings and joints are a light absorbing secretion used to defend the creature against piercing attacks and magic. They fight with their hands and incredible strength, though they have been known to use weapons if they can acquire them.

Unlike most crustaceans they're both social and decently intelligent. They use tactics and prefer to fight in formations when possible. The specific formations and tactics used tend to match the types favored during the time period and location of their chosen armor. Interestingly, armored horrors tend towards the same armor types within individual labyrinths.

While hardy and dangerous, they do have one glaring weakness. Since they have no eyelids bright lights cause severe eye damage. Forcing armored horrors to fight in bright areas can permanently blind the creatures. However this shouldn't be considered certain victory. As monsters the creatures will fight to the death despite their impairment. We encourage delvers to take their time and eliminate the injured horrors safely.

When properly cooked they taste like crab. It's vital to cook it though. They do have parasites.

Merge

Common Name : Linesman

Benefits : Carapace, enhanced vision

Weaknesses : Shedding

Merging with an armored horror gives the person a bright glow to their eyes and allows them to see things most people can't. Pre Fall writings suggest these colors are those 'below red and beyond violet,' which explains why they're so hard to explain to those of us who can't perceive those colors. Fortunately linesmen keep their eyelids, so they can avoid the eye damage that horrors suffer from.

Of course the big change are the chitinous plates that form. While specifics vary from individual to individual, all Linesmen have gotten armored chitin on their shins, forearms, and neck. Many also get plates on the upper arms and legs, and a few get stomach, chest or backplates. These grow out of the skin and maintain some sense of touch, but are similar in strength and durability to an armored horrors. Interestingly no merge has ever gotten hand or foot protection.

While these plates do cause a little loss of dexterity, the bigger problem is like most shelled creatures the old shell has to molt off. This is itchy, annoying, and the new shell is very soft for a while after the molt. Still several frontline combatants from well off families still consider the merge as a good way to gain some permanent protection.

The molted shell fragments are sadly worthless for anything. Generations of people have tried, and all have failed. It's just too flimsy.