Shape the route.Hold the reactor.

BackstoryNibble Node started as Beckchomp’s smallest kitchen helper, tasked with catching anything that fell off the plate. It became so good at snatching passing morsels that the fish reassigned it to battlefield catering.

Field intelNibble Node eats one nearby incoming projectile every 5.2s and routes 35% of its damage into shield; stagger shots or use beams and direct effects.

BackstoryBytefang collected discarded teeth from the riverbed and fitted them into a formidable guard. It follows Beckchomp partly out of loyalty and partly because no other employer provides so many spare parts.

Field intelBytefang bites the first eight slow, stun, or fear attempts out of its guard. Spend the finite fangs with rapid control, then apply normal resisted control.

BackstoryA riverside feeder built Chomp Circuit to stop Beckchomp emptying the trough too quickly. The fish disliked the arrangement but admired the mechanism enough to send it after someone else’s dinner.

Field intelChomp Circuit debounces rapid fire: the first hit after 0.55s quiet is full, while later hits in that fixed window deal 35%. Time heavier volleys to the open bite guard.

BackstoryCopper Corsair began as the Bonewake’s pay chest and developed opinions about who deserved its contents. It now travels ahead of the flagship, collecting a crew bonus from unwilling contributors.

Field intelCopper Corsair seizes up to 6 credits every 6.4s into a 24-credit plunder hold; focus it to recover every stolen credit.

BackstoryA shipwright riveted this set of plates to a wreck that should have stayed sunk. When the Bonewake salvaged them, they brought an old refusal to remain entirely in the material world.

Field intelRivet Wraith alternates every 2.8s: solid fasteners take full damage, then released ghost plates take 32%. Hold burst for the solid phase.

BackstoryDroplet Diva rehearsed in Slimedy’s unfinished palace until the empty halls became her favorite audience. She accepted a royal escort commission on the condition that every entrance count as a solo.

Field intelDroplet Diva cycles PIP, MEZZO, and GRAND every 5.6s; each register cuts one damage band to 45%, so alternate light, medium, and heavy hits.

BackstorySlimedy’s attempt to reproduce a perfect courtier produced a gel that remembered the previous attempt too well. Gel Glitch left the mixing bowl determined never to accept the same disappointment twice.

Field intelGel Glitch caches the previous post-support damage amount. A matching follow-up slips through at 28%; alternate differently sized hits to rewrite the checksum and land full damage.

BackstoryOoze Oracle read tomorrow’s omens in the palace drains before anyone had installed a throne. Slimedy appointed it court prophet after learning that its predictions always justified another royal announcement.

Field intelOoze Oracle forecasts DIRECT, SPLASH, then CHEMICAL every 5.0s. The first matching hit lands at 165% and closes that prophecy; nonmatching hits stay full.

BackstoryScarrigan inherited a mirror that reflected more guests than stood before it. She gave it a place in the procession, where its fractured household could finally venture beyond the mansion walls.

Field intelSplinter Hex releases six real mirror fragments once after 5.8s. Shatter the mirror before release or cover every fragment along its route.

BackstoryPrism Spook haunted a corridor where footsteps always returned a moment late. Scarrigan persuaded it to leave by promising a much larger audience for its peculiar sense of timing.

Field intelPrism Spook takes 50% of each hit immediately, a 30% cyan echo after 0.45s, and a 20% magenta echo after 0.90s. Its haunted mirror delays damage; the total is preserved.

BackstoryA shattered window spent years listening to arguments inside Scarrigan’s mansion. The restless shards finally assembled a voice of their own and joined the haunting with several unresolved complaints.

Field intelShardgeist takes 14% more damage for each active slow, stun, and fear family, up to 42%. Stack all three controls to light every polterglass shard.

BackstorySampler-I-AM was entrusted with tasting the kitchen’s experimental output. It developed a habit of holding every sample for a second opinion, even after Sam-I-AM replaced the menu with an invasion plan.

Field intelSampler-I-AM slows up to four nearby in-flight shots to 35% travel speed for 2.6s every 6.6s; stagger projectiles or use beams and direct effects.

BackstoryMix-I-Might emerged from a batch nobody stirred quite enough. Its stubborn shell holds every ingredient together until the mixture is ready, a standard it applies to criticism as readily as breakfast.

Field intelMix-I-Might stores damage until its shell seam fills at 1.25% of maximum hull, then releases every queued hit at once. Heavy hits fill the seam sooner; damage sources remain intact.

BackstoryThree cooks each claimed credit for Combo-I-Can’s recipe. The resulting creation decided collaboration was the only respectable method and has been demanding a properly varied contribution ever since.

Field intelCombo-I-Can grades a three-hit tower-source combo: the opener lands at 60%, a second distinct tower lands at 100%, and a third distinct tower lands at 160% before reset. Repeating a source restarts at 60%.

BackstoryThe orchard once used Seed Ripper to separate promising seeds from protective husks. TillerMaN retained it after the harvest failed, giving its severe inspection habits a new place in his escort.

Field intelSeed Ripper arms three husk warrants every 6.2s; each caps one hit at 90 damage, so strip them with rapid light fire before landing heavy shots.

BackstoryFurrow Hex marked six test rows during an orchard experiment that nobody finished recording. It still judges everything by those alternating plots, determined to obtain a conclusive result before the ground disappears.

Field intelFurrow Hex grades its current route cell: damage cycles through 55%, 70%, 85%, 100%, 120%, and 150% as it enters successive cells. Hold burst for the bright sixth row.

BackstoryOrchard Reaper learned its trade on four carefully measured harvest rows. The void erased the field, but not its standards; it now carries the division with it wherever TillerMaN orders the work.

Field intelOrchard Reaper harvests hull in four rows. Its shield takes damage normally, but one hit cannot cross more than one 25% hull boundary. Use steady follow-up shots after each row cut.

BackstorySent to recover useful material from the orchard’s first missing patch, Void Harvester returned mostly empty. It became obsessed with sorting value from waste, including opinions its operator would rather keep intact.

Field intelVoid Harvester declares up to 120 damage from every incoming event chaff, but must deliver at least 35%. Heavy single hits leave less for its vacuum to discard.

BackstoryRime Shard managed a frozen archive where no request was ever considered urgent. Bitter recruited it after discovering a clerk capable of postponing trouble without pretending that trouble had gone away.

Field intelRime Shard files all incoming damage for 1.6s every 6.3s, then releases the exact total; burst before the drawers open.

BackstoryFrost Needle once inspected winter gauges for a workshop that rewarded only measurable improvement. It still expects every visitor to bring a stronger argument than the last, regardless of the circumstances.

Field intelFrost Needle rewards a four-hit escalation: each accepted hit must be at least 1.25× the previous, lands at 1.25×, and four clear the gauge. A failed increase lands at 0.50× and resets.

BackstoryCaught between a freezing pane and a thawing sill, Sleet Chip grew accustomed to taking both sides. Bitter gave it a field assignment before its alternating opinions could derail another meeting.

Field intelSleet Chip alternates every positive hit: FREEZE lands at 40%, then THAW lands at 160%. Feed the cold edge a light primer and place heavy damage on the amber edge.

BackstoryBlack-Ice Crystal formed beneath a road that looked perfectly safe from above. It entered Bitter’s service carrying the same polished composure and a private record of every crack beneath the surface.

Field intelBlack-Ice Crystal arms three thaw claims only after its shield breaks: the next hull hits land at 175%, 150%, then 125%. Queue your largest follow-up impacts in that order.

BackstoryHarry Seldon kept visiting Bitter after everyone else stopped trying. With a scarf and a counting slate, he makes room for a friendship that the grumbling ice formation refuses to describe as sentimental.

Field intelHarry Seldon is Bitter's best friend. His counting tablet is ordinary equipment; focus fire and control work from every direction.

BackstoryErebus trained Shade-Eye Knight to study an opponent’s opening move before committing to the exchange. The court’s watcher now treats every first impression as evidence worth keeping under close observation.

Field intelShade-Eye Knight sights the first tower to hit during a 2.0s window every 5.9s; that hit is full, then only repeated hits from that tower fall to 35%. Rotate fire or use multiple sources.

BackstoryGloomshield Rook guarded the court’s practice ground while Erebus argued over strategies inside. It learned that holding a position often meant protecting less patient colleagues from the consequences of their own advances.

Field intelGloomshield Rook lends four gloom panes every 5.8s to the nearest ordinary escorts within 150 units; they take 55% damage for 2.4s. Focus the rook or wait out the cover.

BackstoryEclipse Bishop studied the court’s games by the changing light of the lattice. It became fascinated with the instant an opening closes and now insists every encounter be judged by its first exchange.

Field intelEclipse Bishop opens First-Cut Totality every 6.4s for 2.2s. The first positive hit lands in full and becomes the maximum size of every later damage event; lead with your strongest strike or wait for daylight.

BackstoryNightbanner Queen earned command by collecting the pieces other commanders had left behind. She carries that reputation into Erebus’s court, where even the slowest straggler is expected to answer the banner.

Field intelNightbanner Queen calls four stragglers every 6.7s, mustering up to four ordinary stragglers within 170 units forward by at most two existing route cells, never past the queen. Clear the rear formation before the signal.

BackstoryPitt hired Dimple to clear stray shots from the casino floor before customers complained. Years of catching other people’s mistakes made the little collector a natural addition to the house escort.

Field intelCasino shot-catcher Dimple catches up to four nearby in-flight shots aimed at other enemies every 6.2s. Direct, beam, and fixed-impact attacks cannot be pulled.

BackstoryCraterjaw inspected the casino’s foundations through several suspicious renovations. It learned to distrust hurried work and now approaches every impact as another contractor attempting to skip the settling period.

Field intelFloor inspector Craterjaw measures discrete impacts: hits less than 0.22s apart land at 45%, hits before 0.55s land at 75%, and settled hits land at 100%. Space the blasting; continuous burn and poison loads do not reset the caliper.

BackstorySinkcoil maintained the casino’s protective wiring when Pitt first expanded below ground. The shield tender still treats every overload as a maintenance problem that must stop at its own connection.

Field intelCasino shield tender Sinkcoil grounds the excess from the one event that breaks its shield, so that event cannot spill into hull. Crack the winding with a measured hit, then send the heavy payload.

BackstoryChasm Core compacted the casino’s unstable floor after each extravagant expansion. Pitt promoted it when the machinery started treating inconvenient members of the workforce as available building material.

Field intelFloor compactor Chasm Core compacts one nearby ordinary escort every 6.0s into permanent structural hull, up to three 12% filings. Clear its fodder or burst the core before all three rings load.

BackstorySparkbite began as a furnace safety fitting, tasked with keeping one bad spark from becoming everyone’s problem. INcinerate considered that an excellent teaching aid and brought it into his increasingly hazardous demonstrations.

Field intelSparkbite grounds splash and ricochet propagation from projectiles that directly hit it for 2.2s every 6.2s. Direct damage, statuses, beams, and fixed-impact splash remain intact.

BackstoryCinder Lock sealed Ember Lock’s storage doors during the worst furnace failures. It remembers every emergency latch in exact order and remains convinced that opening up all at once would be irresponsible.

Field intelCinder Lock deadbolts at 75%, 50%, and 25% hull. Each threshold caps the crossing hit, then seals every damage channel for 1.35s; switch to escorts until the shackle opens.

BackstoryFlashover issued furnace permits before INcinerate turned the works into a classroom. It still stamps departures with solemn authority, although the approved cargo has become much more enthusiastic about causing damage.

Field intelFlashover certifies up to four nearby ordinary escorts every 6.3s. Each warrant lasts 4.2s and adds 2 core damage if that escort leaks; clear marked payloads before expiry.

BackstoryPyre Vector aligned burners in a workshop where a poor angle could ruin an entire firing. It joined INcinerate’s escort with a professional contempt for anyone who mistakes facing forward for aiming correctly.

Field intelPyre Vector projects known tower sources onto its route axis: axial fire deals 55%, oblique fire 100%, and true broadside fire 155%. Build crossfire, not a firing line.

BackstoryPatrol-5 was assigned five traffic cones and an exceptionally literal enforcement manual. Agent911 found it patrolling an abandoned junction, still determined to cite the next traveler who exceeded the posted limit.

Field intelPatrol-5 opens a 2.4s speed trap every 6.1s. Targeted projectiles faster than 430 deal 45% direct damage; slow shots, beams, splash, and fixed impacts bypass the citation.

BackstoryCode Red-10 learned emergency procedure in a dispatch office that counted every second of disruption. It now carries the whole incident ledger into the field, unwilling to let an interruption go undocumented.

Field intelCode Red-10 records newly accepted slow, stun, and fear time. Fill its 10-second docket to force a 2.0s overload that takes 160% damage; repeated control that adds no duration adds no code.

BackstoryFifteen alarm horns were assembled to ensure no emergency call could be overlooked. Siren-15 took that purpose to heart and has regarded being ignored as a serious procedural offense ever since.

Field intelSiren-15 sounds a 1.5s priority alarm every 5.5s. New legal tower acquisitions must select her regardless of targeting mode; existing shots and held locks stay intact.

BackstoryThe impound office gave Interceptor-20 a rack, a counter, and a narrow definition of suspicious cargo. Its promotion to active duty did nothing to soften its devotion to the collection quota.

Field intelInterceptor-20 registers targeted projectiles and confiscates every twentieth intact. Beams, fixed-impact artillery, and already-delivered tracers bypass the impound rack.

BackstoryFirst Responder-25 left its depot with twenty-five approved repair patches and a strict triage manual. It follows Agent911’s column searching for the casualty whose paperwork most clearly justifies immediate help.

Field intelFirst Responder-25 triages the most injured ordinary escort within 180 units every 5.25s, restoring exactly 25% of that unit's maximum hull. Clear casualties before the ambulance answers; it cannot repair itself or elites.

BackstoryKatan’s blade office commissioned Tanto-5 to shorten overlong orders before they delayed a crossing. The little shear became so proud of its efficiency that it began trimming restrictions addressed to itself.

Field intelTanto-5 halves remaining slow, stun, and fear time every 5.0s without removing their intensity. Reapply control just after the five blades close.

BackstoryDesignated Katan’s side arm, Wakizashi-10 interpreted the title as a permanent transfer order. It has spent its career ensuring it is on another side of the crossing whenever the paperwork permits.

Field intelWakizashi-10 transfers to the next PathSystem-owned crossing every 5.8s at identical normalized progress. Build shared island coverage; the side switch grants no forward distance, speed, purge, repair, or immunity.

BackstoryEdge-15 audited the blade office’s most productive tools and found excellence suspiciously uneven. It entered field service determined to bring every outstanding contributor back within acceptable departmental expectations.

Field intelEdge-15 audits attributed damage every 5.65s, then blunts the single leading tower to 55% damage against itself for 2.35s. Split contribution across towers; unattributed damage and every non-leading source remain full.

BackstoryCrosscut-20 learned its craft in a workshop that demanded alternating cuts for a clean finish. Years later, it still judges every job by its grain, including jobs submitted in the form of gunfire.

Field intelCrosscut-20 files impact and sustained damage as opposing grain. The first hit sets the grain; alternating classes deal 140%, while repeating the same class deals 65%. Mix direct or explosive hits with fire or poison damage.

BackstoryFourfold Blade-25 was built to press four independent submissions into one official result. Katan kept the machine because its insistence on complete paperwork could delay even the most forceful objection.

Field intelFourfold Blade-25 folds the first hit from each new attributed tower to 25%. File four distinct towers to open its press for 150% damage over 2.5s; repeated sources remain at 100%, so coordinate four sources before committing burst.

BackstoryTickshift began in a timing office where every fifth docket went into a special tray. It has carried that small administrative delay into battle with the firm belief that a printed schedule makes anything punctual.

Field intelEvery fifth damage event is delayed by 0.85 seconds, then paid in full. The first four land immediately; source attribution is preserved.

BackstorySecondhand supervised a workshop punch clock before Zileas recruited its services. It still believes productive work must include a compulsory break, especially when the worker would strongly prefer to continue.

Field intelSecondhand lets every hit land, but its two-card punch clocks out the tower responsible for every second positive hit for 1.25s. Alternate sources or accept the scheduled pause; damage-over-time releases without a tower card do not advance the register.

BackstoryA repeated filing once trapped Looplock’s entire office in an argument that lasted a season. The device now insists on a different kind of request before it will reopen the discussion.

Field intelLooplock accepts the first slow, stun, or fear application, then locks repeated applications of that same channel. Switch to either other control type to open the feedback loop; damage, existing control time, and route progress are unchanged.

BackstoryRewind Node maintained the court’s old record decks, forever moving testimony back to the disputed passage. Field duty gave it a procession to edit, which it considers an unusually cooperative length of tape.

Field intelRewind Node exchanges route positions every 6.6s with one ordinary escort two to four nodes behind it. The deck rewinds while that escort fast-forwards; clear the trailing tape supply to force an empty cycle.

BackstoryParadox Gear was built to reconcile two departments whose priorities were exact opposites. Neither office accepted its solution, so Zileas sent it out to demonstrate that the contradiction belonged to everyone else.

Field intelParadox Gear inverts nearby tower acquisition priorities every 6.05s for 1.85s: First↔Last and Strongest↔Weakest, while Nearest remains neutral. The selected mode is never rewritten, and Siren's explicit target claim still wins.

BackstoryBuckler Bud grew in the ward nursery with three carefully certified replacements tucked beneath its petals. It joined Everlast’s watch believing that keeping a promise meant always having one more shield ready.

Field intelBreaking its shield regrows 28% of maximum shield, spending one of three buds. After the third regrowth, the next break stays broken.

BackstoryThe old watch entrusted Gatekeeper with deciding how close visitors could approach. Its original instructions were lost, but it still cycles through the surviving admission rules with unshakable professional confidence.

Field intelGatekeeper rotates its admitted tower-distance band every 5.2s: Near (0–110), Middle (110–190), then Far (beyond 190). The admitted band deals full damage; attributed fire from either closed band deals 48%.

BackstoryWard Coil stored emergency reserves for Everlast’s watch through years of quiet winters. It learned to size every new reserve against the worst incident on record, an accounting habit it refuses to abandon.

Field intelWard Coil records the largest attributed hit in each 5.75s winding cycle, then returns twice that one peak as shield, capped at 10% hull and its original shield ceiling. Use smaller hits before discharge.

BackstoryPlanted to reinforce an exposed stretch of the old watch, Bastion Seed never had the uninterrupted season it needed. It now travels with Everlast, looking for one quiet moment to finish growing.

Field intelBastion Seed grows one armor plate per uninterrupted second, up to five. Each plate reduces incoming damage by 8%; every positive hit uproots one plate and restarts the growth clock. Sustain focus to keep the plot bare.

BackstoryThe watch built Immortal Relay to pass a final duty onward when its current bearer could no longer stand. It has spent so long preserving that handoff that relinquishing it feels more dangerous than defeat.

Field intelImmortal Relay stops lethal hull damage at 1 outside its 1.6s handoff. Every 5.8s it passes that protection to the nearest ordinary escort ahead within 180 units and takes 135% damage; without a host, the baton drops but the opening still occurs.

BackstoryPage Vector served in the royal archive, turning through petitions too repetitive to deserve a full hearing. The Crown sent it to the front with the same instruction: keep the proceedings moving.

Field intelThe fourth consecutive hit from one tower deals 25%, then the register resets. Switch tower sources to turn the page immediately.

BackstoryRed Duke won a place at court by insisting every dispute name one proper challenger. It carries that formal seal into the invasion, deeply offended when a battlefield refuses to observe the etiquette of a duel.

Field intelRed Duke recognizes one attributed challenger. A new source's usurping hit deals 60% and takes the seal; continued hits from the sealed source deal 140%. Unattributed and stored-release damage remain neutral.

BackstoryCrown Shard was recovered from a damaged royal ornament and mounted as a symbol of continuity. Its five proud points still insist they represent an undivided authority, despite considerable evidence of prior breakage.

Field intelCrown Shard opens with five literal crown points. Each positive ordinary hit fractures one point and is divided by the pre-hit point count: 20%, 25%, 33%, 50%, then 100%. Once shattered, all later hits deal full damage; stored-release damage neither divides nor breaks a point.

BackstorySix court offices each demanded a face on the Crown’s new decision engine. Regent Cube was the compromise, and it has been turning disagreements into narrow majorities ever since.

Field intelRegent Cube records attributed attacks as a rolling three-ballot vote across six 60-degree faces. Two matching faces establish a majority: fire from that face deals 150%, while all five overruled faces deal 60%. Three different ballots remove the majority; unknown and stored-release damage do not vote.

BackstoryThe succession office built Heir Apparent to ensure no obligation vanished with its current owner. It approaches the royal campaign as one long estate settlement, carefully passing unfinished business to the next recipient.

Field intelHeir Apparent probates every positive ordinary hit through a next-in-line escrow. The current estate combines incoming damage with the pending bequest, applies 70% now, and passes 30% to the next hit. Stored-release damage remains neutral and cannot consume or enlarge the inheritance.