Creature: Mementos

A Ronkan word, memento is the term used to refer to the creatures used extensively by trainers. More specifically, the term is the proper name for creatures that were specifically bred by the first trainers.

Background

Mementos began originally as normal, wild animals, native to the plains of Sarteri. However, when the halflings were under attack by prophet moths, they needed to arm their children with something less prone to friendly-fire than firearms. As such, a training method was developed, and the reins of wild animals were put into childrens' hands.

Time passed, and the children moved on from attempting to tame and teach these creatures - but not all did. Rather than take up the call of the gunslinger, some of the halflings devised breeding methods, as well as more advanced training techniques. They improved upon the gnomish methods, and clarified the creatures' connections to the Blue.

Within several decades, the creatures were no longer recognizable as natives to the region. Instead, they had been turned into a classification of animal known as mementos.

Today

In the modern world, these creatures are raised in Sarteri and Chaliraz on small ranches, where one or two halflings tend to them, continuing to breed the same creatures their people have been breeding for centuries. It is tradition for those who take up the path of the trainer to be gifted with one of these creatures, as they are unusually powerful and fierce for their size - such is the power of selective breeding.

Since the fall of the Ronkan Empire, some of the ranches in southern Sarteri became abandoned, and the mementos bred there managed to either die or free themselves; as such, it is not uncommon to hear local rumors in Sarteri of some massive memento or other terrorizing the countryside. While some of these lost species have been recovered, local rumors are often simply hearsay - though it is unknown exactly how many memento species are lost to the wilds of Sarteri.

In addition to these, there are those mementos that are trapped in the Blue - their owners having died either violently or in seclusion, whose meme crystals lie who knows where. These lost creatures are not entirely aware, but are trapped in the stasis that is the world memory. It is thought that, should an opportunity present itself, these creatures may be capable of forcing their way out of the Blue, should someone untrained attempt to access the memories of the world in the manner of an akashic.

Not all trainers come across their mementos honestly. It is not even necessarily a requirement for a trainer that they use a memento.

Breeding

In the early years of the trainer profession, many different creatures were used in breeding and cross-breeding to achieve the desired results. As such, while not all of the memento species can interbreed, there are several distinct groups of mementos that can breed together. The results are not often desireable; however, there are several commonly-used species that were the result of unusual pairings.

Oftentimes, young trainers are advised to avoid breeding altogether, as knowing how to breed mementos requires years of intense, personal experience with the mementos, as well as a (in modern times) firm grounding in genetics. However, some teachers encourage experimentation.

Mechanics

Mementos - those bred specifically by trainers - are treated differently than normal creatures a trainer encounters and captures. They are bred to grow quite quickly, and mature much faster than many of the creatures found in the wilds of Trinity.

Mechanically, mementos are treated each as an individual race; each race then has an associated class, much like the monster race classes from Savage Species. However, there are also monster race prestige classes: a wide variety of mementos do not reach a fully-matured state until they have become more experienced. Mementos who meet the requirement for a monster race prestige class are not required to take levels in it.

Techniques

The class abilities from the memento race classes are not just class features - they are also abilities a member of the trainer class can learn, and then teach to other creatures (not just mementos). Whenever the memento learns a new Technique, the trainer also gains access to it (even if the Technique is then forgotten - see below).

A memento can know a number of Techniques equal to its Intelligence score. When a memento would learn a new Technique (noted in the description of the ability), the memento's trainer must choose what ability is forgotten.

Should a Technique require a saving throw, all mementos set the saving throw DCs for their Techniques as follows: 10 + Charisma modifier (minimum +0) + 1/2 HD.

Unless otherwise specified, all Techniques are standard actions.

Technique Points

All Techniques use a number of Technique Points, or TPs. The amount of TPs used by an ability is equal to the level at which it was gained; Techniques a creature learns early in life are easier to use than those learned later.

A memento has a number of Technique Points equal to double its level.

The Mementos

A list of the mementos in Trinity follows. Each of the more common memento species has come to be known by a common name, which is Lynaen in origin; breeders, however, will usually refer to the species by its proper name, to ensure that everyone involved in the conversation knows precisely which specie of memento is being discussed.

• Lon'thal (Memento Quietus)
• Ori'chal (Memento Ferrum)
• Bal'trin (Memento Arbustum)
• Elar'in (Memento Varietas)
• Pyn'phal (Memento Toxicum)
• Nyl'sadi (Memento Volatilis)
• Al'alarin (Memento Altilis)
• Tyr'calas (Memento Muris)
• Qui'syln (Memento Rostrum)
• Can'dori (Memento Canis)
• San'crye (Memento Loricatus)
• Val'tyri (Memento Caudanovem)
• Lin'alra (Memento Velox)

The following list is a list of more rare mementos, creatures that are either anomalies or lost breeds.

• Atra'crescens (Memento Umbra)