Manhunting: Part 4 – The Squared Circle ain't Big Enough for the Both of Us (Patreon)

I would hope by this point it is no secret just how much I adore the Manhunter's expansion. Its combination of theme, mechanics and rewards that expand on your gameplay by either shoring up weaknesses in hunt teams or creating wide new strategies is pretty unparalleled – with only the Slender Man coming close.

In addition to that it has absolutely excellent story events which combine a mixture of well written prose alongside a lot of unspoken moments that are either implied or illustrated rather than being spelled out. The expansion successfully showcases what it is like to be a survivor settlement that is being targeted by Manhunters as a supply of fresh bodies to be used by the machines of the Holy City. It's a very thoughtful and engaging design from an always progressive design team.

The showdown is no exception to this, about the only criticisms that could be levelled at it are:

It gives additional opportunities to gain hunt XP and weapon point progression during a campaign.

The Manhunter has similar weaknesses to the Butcher (low accuracy, simplistic targeting, very few high threat cards).

However, these are both in my opinion benefits to the game as a whole and it's why I will still recommend the Manhunter ahead of more problematic expansions like the Flower Knight. The Manhunter changes the game in positive ways while also giving one heck of a show during its fight.

This is because the Showdown is where the Manhunter demonstrates its physical inspirations, fighting with a mixture of a World Wrestling Entertainment wrestler and a cowboy/bounty hunter who has strolled into town looking for his target. That's one of the really clever parts of this design, Zach (Barash) blended a supernatural wrestler (Mark William Calaway aka The Undertaker) along with the subgenre of supernatural westerns (Pale Rider, High Plains Drifter) set at a difficulty level around the Butcher's level. We all know how great the Butcher is as a nemesis monster, so something moulded after that is in a good place for a nemesis monster that is intended to menace the settlement for nearly its entire lifespan.

Showdown Themes

There are a few main themes of the showdown, all of which derive from the core concepts of this western wrestling blend. We get literal wrestling moves (including the signature Tombstone – which also ties into the western theme in multiple ways) alongside some gun play and classic western lines being spouted during the combat – the Manhunter remains one of the few monsters who speaks to the survivors – demonstrating either a common language between both the survivors (who learn it from the Watcher/Tyrant/Sun) or more likely that the Manhunters can speak multiple different languages, including being able to communicate with the Tyrant and Sunstalkers. Something that would likely be advantageous and I think we can probably conclude that the Manhunters speak with the Tyrant before they start their assault on the Children of the Stars – the Tyrant certainly would not care for any survivors who are unable to defend themselves against a meagre mortal like a Manhunter. Weaknesses is, after all, anathema to strength.

These themes are physical strength and “grit” represented through survival and endurance. Along with minor themes based in preparedness (higher level Manhunters will set traps around the arena) and the use of “illegal objects” by employing the terrain as a weapon against the survivors (something the Dung Beetle Knight and Lion God also use), also introducing things such as stakes in the hit location deck and of course the signature Deathpact pistol. Incidentally I've done some digging around in respect of the name Deathpact and as a single word there is a novel & movie called Tropical Deathpact, a Chinese metal band called Deathpact and an EDM producer also called Deathpact (but as they debuted in 2018, it's probably not them). None of these seem to fit the timeline, so unless Barash is a fan of Tropical Deathpact or happens to be an aficionado of chinese technical death metal – it's probably just a coincidence where two cool words that are often used were smooshed together.

So, with all of that preamble, lets look at how the Manhunter behaves when you hit them before moving on to how they act on their turn.

Hit Locations

The Manhunter hit location deck is trying to do something a little unusual for the framework of Kingdom Death in that it is attempting to subvert the usual dynamic of “if you can critically wound a monster, you're safe” dynamic by providing a few hit locations where the it becomes more dangerous; either by forcing another hit location to be drawn and wounded, having the Manhunter retaliate with a basic attack or even having it gain additional damage. However, this sub-theme is not heavily explored and overall the monster is still one you want to critically wound, this is because it will generate additional resources such as Red/Crimson Vials, Leather and even the previously mentioned Manhunter's Hat.

The monster also continues the Holy Lands theme of castration/theft of sexual aspects through one of its most unique Hit Location mechanics. If you critically wound the “Gritty Groin” then that location is archived as its genitalia is destroyed (something that can also happen to the White Lions that Manhunters keep as pets) and the hit lociation is replaced with the “Mangled Groin” hit location card, a hit location that is completely beneficial for the survivors.

This design of a monster shedding away one hit location by archiving it and replacing it with an alternative, now weaker, version of the original hit location is an excellent concept and one that should be revisited in the Wave 4 designs by the APG design team. It helps change the feel of fighting the monster in a way that is far more satisfying and mechanically stronger than the Persistent Injury system.

But, when you get down to it, because of the Manhunter's absolutely brutal normal reactions, you are still rewarded for playing critical builds. Not having to suffer the punishment that the Manhunter's reactions represent is a huge deal. The Manhunter is one of the nastiest reaction based monsters in the game, almost always seeking to injure its attackers through a mixture of direct wounds, survival drains (that survival theme again) and its signature move, the Tombstone. While the severe injuries have bonuses to them that stop the injuries being death (mostly) and they are more likely to end in Knockdown than any other particular injury – they are a frightening and risky concept that means you should be careful who you send in to fight. If your survivor can't critically wound too often, be cautious when attacking with them. You should also be cautious about using builds that rely on a specific fighting art or use two-handed weapons, these can be disabled by severe injuries more often than normal monsters manage.

There are two other notable elements to the Manhunter's reaction design, it is one of the monsters who performs the White Lion's signature move “Grab”; which continues to highlight the links between it, the Holy Lands and their wholesale cultural appropriation of the Silver City's culture (and use of its now devolved inhabitants as pets). There is also a minor whip theme, where there are a couple of locations that get strength bonuses if hit by a whip. This digs back towards the slavery theme we discussed in the previous episode, these awful slavers cannot stand a taste of their own medicine.

Sorry not sorry! But he is after all a Man-hunter.

The final parts of the Hit Location deck to understand and imbue are its 'tool' hit locations and Trap, which represent how the Manhunter becomes more and more proficient with tool use as time passes and also how they become more patient with their set up. The Stake hit location is similar to the Dung Beetle Knight's Century Carapace in that it is a punishment for the attacking survivor that archives itself after resolving. Here you can avoid the scary Bash, Bleed 1 and 4 Damage by rolling 1d10+Evasion and scoring an 8+; which doubles down on a severe weakness the Manhunter has – evasion. There is also the terrifying Man Trap card, which is only present with the L4 Manhunter and it dumps the attacking survivor into a huge, spiked pit via a story event that calls back to King of the Ring 1998.

If you do not spend the requisite 4 survival to avoid this event, you'll land in the pit and suffer a one of many different awful results. This event however is easier for survivors who are Tough and have the Transcended Masochist fighting arts. They gain bonuses and have a better shot than most at rolling the 9-10+ result which in exchange for a shattered jaw (Mike Foley dislocated his jaw during that match, which this references) will give the survivor the incredibly rare Eternal Will secret fighting art.

Absolutely brutal, I can only imagine what this must have been like to see live on television or in person.

This card is a tribute to both Mick Foley and The Undertaker himself, who came back to WWE time after time despite terrible injuries and age making it harder and harder for them. It's a phenomenal little tribute and a super neat fighting art that I love. Darn hard to get though, has to be the L4 Manhunter, you really want to have it happen to a Tough, Transcended Masochist and they need to roll well enough to hit the 9+ result. Still, it's neat and represents exactly the kind of thing Secret Fighting arts should be.

That leaves the trap, the reference just about everyone will get. From the 1932 movie; the Western Code character Nick Grindell's line delivery of:

“I'm getting tired of your meddling. This town ain't big enough for the both of usand I'm going to give you 24 hours to get out. If I see you in Carabinas by this time tomorrow, it's you or me!“

Sadly there are no clips of this scene that I could find without paying for them, so you'll just have to read out the line in a 1930s delivery yourself.

This now famous line named the trap card for the Manhunter while also going down in history by inspiring songs and tributes for years to come. The trap is a straight homage to the old classic western trope of a protagonist throwing all of his assailants away from him before opening fire with his trusty six shooter (or in this case, flintlock pistol). It's one of the weaker traps in the game due to it using an attack profile, but the dramatic impact of the card more than makes up for that.

Now, that is how the Manhunter reacts, let us get onto how they act.

AI Cards and Traits

Tombstones, tombstones, tombstones. Get used to that move, because Manhunters love to do it more than anything else. This is their standard opening move on every single turn. They'll rush towards the closest survivor and if they reach them, they'll grab them and Tombstone everyone in the front two spaces. So naturally, you want your tank to be the closest survivor at the end of the survivors turn every time (and not have anyone standing next to her).

It's basically the replacement for the Butcher's Berserker AI trait card and it is how the Manhunter sits at a similar power level because it gives them access to a second action each turn. It's the same mechanic, but in this case it is a predictable move that gives you a LOT of control over how the Manhunter behaves. You can even ensure that the lower level Manhunter never connects with this because they have a 'short stride' which gives them only 3 space movement

Dirty Fighting

Oh goodness, this card. So this card is the Manhunter's equivalent of Deja Vu in that if you draw it on the first turn you can expect massive damage or even a team wipe. By itself it isn't a very strong card at 1/4+/4 (Speed/Accuracy/Damage). But it gains +1 speed for each destructible terrain tile within the 3 space zone around the Manhunter (that means including diagonals). There are six pillars on the Manhunter Map as a standard, that means if you do not pull the Manhunter away from the centre of the board on the first turn and then concentrate on getting it to either run over the pillars or fight far away from them you could end up with each survivor facing a (7/4+4) attack one after another. This is why you should position your survivors at cardinal positions around the Manhunter equidistant and next to the back space of a pillar. Then the Manhunter will go to Tombstone your tank, running over the pillar and archiving it in the first turn. That reduces a lot of the impact of the worst case scenario.

Left is initial set up, with your tank at the bottom and your support/DPS/Bruisers in the other three positions. Ideally they have range/reach so they can attack on the first turn, if you dont have that, you may want to move the tank one space closer on the first turn, but that risks Dirty Fighting having an extra pillar.

This is what you want to happen, everyone except for the tank is now out of range of the Manhunter if it performs Dirty Trick and only 2 pillars are left in range (because it has archived the one it is standing on in the second image).

With that put to one side, lets take a look at the gun next because it is a core element of how the Manhunter will interact. If the Manhunter is unable to perform its card and instead performs its instinct it will fire its gun into the air, inflicting 1-4 brain damage on all non-deaf survivors. That's not too bad as instincts go, still you want to bare in mind that the gun action will further attack the brain location whenever the gun is discharged.

The gun action attack itself inflicts doomed and has “infinite” range. It's the Manhunter's most accurate attack with a (1/2+2) profile and it also makes the targeted survivor suffer doomed, so you can't dodge this (Block/Deflect/Evasion still work though!) This rarely changes, though it can be affected through a Persistent Injury and modified in the terrifying Endless Barrage (how does the Manhunter reload a flintlock pistol so fast? He has Ash from Evil Dead levels of ammunition and reloading, it's seriously impressive.

The Female Pin-up Manhunter is large enough to be used as an alternative model for the showdown.

The vast majority of the Manhunter's other attacks though suffer from the same weakness as the Butcher, a low base accuracy which never really improves in any significant fashion. Given that by the time the Manhunter turns up you should be able to pack at least 3 evasion on a standard survivor; these attacks will mostly whiff – and that is the main defensive strategy against the Manhunter, you want to simply no-sell/avoid their attacks through evasion/block – items like Rawhide, Monster Grease, Leather Shields, Knuckle Shields and so on are worth their weight in gold for the early game and as time passes you should be able to outpace the Manhunter's scaling fairly easily. It seems terrifying that the Manhunter can go to Level 4, but in truth you should have already beaten scarier L3 monsters by the time it turns up and good management/play will keep you right in the game.

The main cards to watch out for are 'Never Take Me Alive' another classic trope turned into a card, you just do not want this card happening when the monster is badly wounded, keep an eye out for it and turn it into a wound. You're Already Dead is another thing to watch out for, you want to be removing bleed tokens all the way down to 0 because of this card turning those bleeds into poison and absolutely shredding one survivor. (Most of the Manhunter's bleed tokens are dealt out via serious injuries, so it's a very variable thing).

It is probably worth bringing the Whisker Harp if you have one, but the Hunter's Whip is more effective than normal, so that might be the mood control card of choice. Except the Manhunter doesn't have too many moods and while 'You've Already Lost' is not good considering how many ways the Manhunter has to deal severe injuries, you should probably not worry too much about it and concentrate on just killing the monster. He can't hurt you if he's already dead.

And in truth, that's close to everything you need to know about how to handle the Manhunter's showdown. Because of Tombstone's targeting, you know where the Manhunters first attack is going each turn – it will be the closest survivor – so you can ensure that you start the monster's turn with the best possible target for you (evasion, block) closest or tied for closest and move the Manhunter in that direction. Its second attack is a little more unpredictable, it could be a relatively inaccurate melee attack or a more accurate gun action, but because the Manhunter does not have a card like Berserk, you can use AI control like the Rawhide Headband to handle this and ensure that dangerous cards never happen. With the Butcher you sort of had to just weather then and deal with whatever happens, meaning that the Butcher fight always remains chaotic at all stages (Fast Target keeps the HL deck also chaotic). The Manhunter is different, it is vulnerable to AI pruning and control of both its decks.

This means that unlike some nemesis monsters, you may well end up sending your premium survivors into the Manhunter showdown – because it is a bit easier and it helps level them up faster with its Special Showdown existing alongside the actual showdown/hunt for the year. That does make the campaign easier when you know how to handle the Manhunter, but this increase in “easiness” comes with a lot of potential risk – the Manhunter is no Flower Knight, they don't fall over in an explosion of resources, overpowered weapons and broken secret fighting arts. Instead every fight is lean, mean and requires that you pay attention at all times.

Something I am very sure you are all capable of at this stage. Visual Guide for the Manhunter comes next week!