Monster descriptions

[Terra-jin]

This is a detailed description I wrote for a new enemy I created with ZDOOM's decorate functions. It's sort of like a manual intended to inform you of every aspect of this new enemy. Please tell me what you think. :)

Former Human Marine

Life: 250
Speed: Fast
Weapon: Chaingun, old combat shotgun, rocket launcher, old plasma rifle & BFG 2704
Damage: 5-15, 20 x 5-15, 20-160 + 128* = 148-288, 5-40 & <unknown>
Rarity: Rare
Type: Possessed
Class A threat


This “demon” is the most terrible of all. It is actually one of our own marines, corrupted while still alive. It is one of the few possessed demons. They do not look any different from our marines, but they do move a little slower, at your walking speed, to be exact. They still carry the weapon they had when they were taken over, making them very, very dangerous. There are five types of Former Marines, each with their own uniform and weapon. Each type is described below.
Since there are five types of Marines, you will want to know exactly how to discern them.

The green Marine uses the chaingun, and can be twice as deadly as a pair of Former Human Commandos. The fast firing rate of the chaingun makes Swiss cheese out of any who are in its line of fire at close range. The green Former Marine is also extremely dangerous when it is far away from you, because you’ll be hit a couple of times before you can aim careful enough; this is called “pellet snipage”. The best way to destroy this type of Marine is to confront them at medium range, and take it out with preferably one shot from the combat shotgun or BFG 9000. A volley of the chaingun itself is less effective because the Marine can fire between the suppression. Another great way to get rid of a green Marine is to lead it into crossfire, which is bound to happen due to their weapons’ wide fire spread, making it a great strategy against them.
The indigo Marine has an old version of a combat shotgun at its disposal. This shotgun fires 20 pellets instead of 40, but it is in every other way equal to the newer combat shotgun, i.e. rate of fire. Unlike the green Marine, the indigo Marine doesn’t fire continuously, allowing you to lure it into traps. Stay out of close range from an indigo Marine, and use heavy weaponry to take it out.
The brown Marine has the trusty rocket launcher, and must be approached with extreme caution, even more so because of the immunity to explosions of the brown Marine. It will take no damage from rocket or barrel explosions. Expect an enormous spray of exploding firepower from this one. Although the rockets are easily avoided, the brown Marine moves very quickly, so don’t lose ground versus this type. If you manage to hide behind objects, wait until it steps into your line of sight and then strike. The best way to deal with those is to fight it with quick coordinated strikes with heavy weaponry. Its firepower makes short work of almost any crossfire aggressors, so do not count on those to finish it off. On the other hand, its firepower will devastate anything in its path, so you could use this type of Marine best for ‘support’.
The next incarnation of the possessed marines is the one with the red uniform. This ‘demon’ is even more dangerous then the brown Marine, and it’s not even the most dangerous of them all. We’ll cover more of the ominous silver Marine later. The red type uses an old variant of the plasma rifle, which expels blue plasma instead of green. The older model fires the plasma projectiles at a slower speed than the new version, allowing you to dodge the plasma slugs more efficiently. The continuous stream of the blue plasma is very dangerous, and, although it does less damage than the Arachnotron’s plasma cannon, the red Marine fires twice as fast. You will want to keep as much distance from these Marines as you can, because once they start firing, there is little refuge. Quickly hide behind walls or other enemies to avoid the plasma.
The most dangerous of the Marines is the silver type. This type carries a previous version of the BFG, the 2704, which is much more dangerous than the 9000 version. It is so dangerous in fact, that that was the reason for the BFG’s remodeling. The BFG 2704 works very differently from the 9000, as the blast field itself is not generated from the gun, but from the explosion itself. This effectively turns the BFG 2704 into an extremely volatile projectile launcher. The blast field is concentrated around the explosion, which means that anything near the initial explosion suffers the full wrath of this horrible weapon. It also means that the user himself is vulnerable to the blast field, which was the main reason for the weapon’s dismissal. Prioritize silver Marines above all else, as there is no hiding from a BFG 2704.

The Former Marines have 250hp life, like your own maximum. They do not have armor. A volley of the chaingun will do the trick, as the Former Marines are susceptible to suppression fire. A short-range blast of the combat shotgun kills them off as well. The rocket launcher is less effective, as you will need at least two hits to take a Former Marine down, and even more with the brown Marine.

All Former Marines leave their respective weapons behind for you to pick up. This means you can use the older versions of the weapons if you wish. You can continue to use the weapon after depleting its ammunition. You can use the old combat shotgun for ammunition conservation purposes, while the old plasma rifle is just amusing to use as a replacement for the new plasma rifle, as the only difference between the two is the plasma color. However, the slower speed of the blue plasma might make the weapon undesirable. Should you get a hold over an intact BFG 2704, we strongly discommend that you use it, unless you absolutely know what you’re doing. The chaingun and rocket launcher used by the Fallen Marines are the same as the standard equipment weapons.

There is one last thing to know about Former Marines. As these men were corrupted while still alive, their spirits still live within their possessed bodies. Sometimes, a struggling spirit will cause the Former Marine to behave unpredictably, mostly in your favor. This could include firing upon other demons without crossfire, or moving incoherently across the battlefield. The possessed show you their last will, to be freed from corruption. They might try to aid you in your attempt to kill them, and you will respect this by putting an end to their corrupted lives. May we have the chance to mourn the Former Marines in times of peace...


I've got such descriptions for all the original monsters as well as many new ones. If you like to read more, I could e-mail you the entire document (some 400kb).

[EDIT]By the way, I wrote this entry for use with a set of rules I created. For instance, the max health you can get with these rules is 250.

Thanks for your time :P

[killer9]

Seems like 4 new enemies to me.

[Mr. NobodX]

5 exactly.

Anyway, this is nice stuff.

[Inferno]

This is quite intresting, I like the idea.

[deathbringer]

The most dangerous of the Marines is the silver type. This type carries a previous version of the BFG, the 2704, which is much more dangerous than the 9000 version. It is so dangerous in fact, that that was the reason for the BFG’s remodeling. The BFG 2704 works very differently from the 9000, as the blast field itself is not generated from the gun, but from the explosion itself. This effectively turns the BFG 2704 into an extremely volatile projectile launcher. The blast field is concentrated around the explosion, which means that anything near the initial explosion suffers the full wrath of this horrible weapon. It also means that the user himself is vulnerable to the blast field, which was the main reason for the weapon’s dismissal. Prioritize silver Marines above all else, as there is no hiding from a BFG 2704.

Er, the BFG 2704 is actually the one from the doom press-release version, which fires a huge spray of green/yellow and red/grey projectiles out in front of it, i suggest giving the weapon the silver marine has a different number, like the BFG 7000 (making it sound like this version was dangerous, the 8000 was a 'test' for the 9000, and the 9000 is the 'production' model, which is why its in the game)