Monster Master
The Monster Master (魔物使い Mamono Tsukai) is a recurring vocation first introduced in Dragon Quest VI. The vocation allows players to walk on the wild side with the finer details varying between titles, but it has also consistently focused on taming and making allies of monsters defeated in battle.
The profession is notable for frequently having its name changed even in the Japanese originals: it was changed to 魔物マスター (Mamono Masutā) in the Nintendo DS remake and it's subsequent ports, became 魔物ハンター (Mamono Hantā) in the seventh game, まもの使い (Mamono Tsukai) in the tenth game, まものマスター (Mamono Masutā) in both Stars and Walk. In all Monsters titles the vocation is called the モンスターマスター (Monsutā Masutā). Not counting the alternate kanji and katakana spellings, this leaves the vocation with three distinct Japanese names.
In English the name was changed to Monster Masher for the seventh game to match the alteration in the original script but has since returned to being referred to as the Monster Master in peripheral media and spinoff titles, with three unusual exceptions. In the Terry's Wonderland event in Tact young Terry introduces himself as being a Monster Scout, the Hero of the fifth game has the title of Legendary Monster Wrangler in Tact, and in Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince the vocation is referred to as Monster Wrangler despite the Japanese name of モンスターマスター being consistently translated as Monster Master prior.
Description
The M.M. suffers considerable reductions to their strength, resilience, HP, and MP in all versions of VI, befitting a starting vocation characters are not meant to spend too much time in. Various breath skills are learned through the profession, in addition to the Puff! spell upon mastery.
With the job's upgrade to an advanced vocation in VII, the reductions to the mentioned stats are much less harsh, and enjoys a substantial boost to wisdom on top of a minor raise to agility and style. The Sony PlayStation version keeps the breath skills from before, but the Nintendo 3DS remake adds several support spells to give the vocation more utility.
In X, the M.M. is much more physically robust than before, boasting the third highest strength and fourth highest HP of all vocations. This is balanced by having a pitiful agility and having the bar-none worst MP available. The breath abilities are put aside in favor of skills that support their monster ally.
Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake
It is confirmed that the Monster Master vocation will be added in the HD-2D Remake edition of the game. Their stats are unknown, they use a mixture of monster abilities and healing.
Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride
While the Hero of Dragon Quest V has attributes and spells more akin to a physically stronger Priest, he is referred to in peripheral media as the legendary monster tamer and is the first protagonist in the series' history to be able to recruit monsters.
Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation
In the original version of VI, having a master in the party activates the chance that a monster will join you upon its defeat, however this function was dropped in the Nintendo DS remake in lieu of Slime Buddies. Monster Master is one of the prerequisites for the Ranger vocation (along with Merchant and Thief).
Stat Changes
| Statistics | Change |
| Battles to Master | 165 |
| Strength | -15% |
| Agility | Null |
| Resilience | -20% |
| Wisdom | Null |
| Style | Null |
| Max HP | -20% |
| Max MP | -30% |
| Trait | Low chance for a randomly selected enemy to be asleep during the first round |
Abilities
| Level | Title | Learns | Battles Needed | Target | Info | MP |
| 1 | Slime Master | N/A | 1 | - | ||
| 2 | Beast Master | Sweet Breath | 18 | Enemy group | A fragrant sigh that lulls a group of enemies to sleep. | 0 |
| 3 | Zombie Master | Poison Breath | 33 | One group | Poisons a group of enemies. | 0 |
| 4 | Nature Master | Tongue Bashing | 58 | One enemy | A punishing lick to reduce the enemy's defence. | 0 |
| 5 | Demon Master | Cool Breath | 77 | All enemies | A chilly breath attack. | 0 |
| 6 | Troll Master | Flame Breath | 93 | All enemies | A fiercely fiery breath attack. | 0 |
| 7 | Material Master | Burning Breath | 125 | One group | Paralyses the enemy with a torrid sigh. | 0 |
| 8 | Dragon Master | Puff! | 165 | Self | Transform into a fire-breathing dragon. | 18 |
Monster Recruitment
| Rank | Recruitable Monsters |
|---|---|
| 1 | Slime (1/2), Feralball (1/8), Lips (1/64) |
| 2 | Mud Mannequin (1/64), Walking Corpse (1/32), Healslime (1/16), Slimeknight (1/4) |
| 3 | Lesser demon (1/4), Sluggernaut(1/4), Gustbluster (1/64) |
| 4 | Rockbomb (1/32), Dreamaera (1/32), Battering ram (1/16) |
| 5 | King slime (1/64), Boss troll (1/16) |
| 6 | Liquid metal slime (1/256) |
| 7 | Overkilling machine (1/64) |
| 8 | High djinks (1/256) |
Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past
In VII the vocation will instead give players a greater chance to send defeated monsters off to the Haven, a wildlife preserve of sorts where monsters can interact with the party as NPCs. To become a Master, characters need to master the Thief and Shepherd vocations.
Appearance-wise, the costume of the Master looks the same for both genders, with a green cape, a purple sash tied about the waist like a belt and magenta pants, but the Hero is shirtless and has yellow gloves and boots.
Stat Changes
| Statistics | Change |
| Battles to Master | 165 (PS1) / 143 (3DS) |
| Strength | Null |
| Agility | +10% |
| Resilience | Null |
| Wisdom | +20% |
| Style | +5% |
| Max HP | -5% |
| Max MP | -5% |
| Mastery Bonus | +15 Bonus to Resilience |
PS1 Abilities
| Level | Title | Learns | Battles Needed | Target | Info | MP |
| 1 | Pet Owner | PoisonGas | 1 | One Group | Has a chance to poison one group of enemies | 0 |
| Tamer | One Group | Increases the chance of taming one group of enemies | 0 | |||
| 2 | Groomer | Nothing | 18 | |||
| 3 | Ranch Hand | SleepAir | 33 | One Group | Has a chance of putting one group of enemies to sleep | 0 |
| 4 | Tracker | FrigidAir | 58 | All Enemies | Causes ~15HP in ice damage | 0 |
| 5 | Hunter | PalsyAir | 77 | One Group | Has a chance of cause paralysis to one group of enemies | 0 |
| 6 | Handler | BlazeAir | 93 | All Enemies | Causes ~40HP in fire damage | 0 |
| 7 | Trainer | PoisonFog | 125 | One Group | Severely poisons one group of enemies, causing them to lose 1/6 of their HP every round | 0 |
| 8 | Beast Lord | BeDragon | 165 | Self | Turns the caster into an uncontrollable dragon | 18 |
3DS Abilities
| Level | Title | Learns | Battles Needed | Target | Info | MP |
| 1 | Slime Stalker | Poison Breath | 1 | One Group | Poisons a group of enemies. | 0 |
| Animal Magnetism | One Group | Makes it more likely that monsters will come make friends with you. | 0 | |||
| 2 | Animal Assailer | Kabuff | 14 | All Allies | Raises the defence of all party members. | 3 |
| Sweet Breath | One Group | A fragrant sigh that lulls a group of enemies to sleep. | 0 | |||
| 3 | Zombie Zapper | Insulatle | 12 | All Allies | Protects the party from fire and ice attacks. | 3 |
| Fire Breath | One Group | A fiery breath attack. | 0 | |||
| Cool Breath | One Group | A chilly breath attack. | 0 | |||
| 4 | Metal Mauler | Magic Barrier | 20 | All Allies | Forms a fortification that impedes the efficacy of enemy spells. | 3 |
| Burning Breath | One Group | Paralyzes the enemy with a torrid sigh. | 0 | |||
| 5 | Demon Defeater | Kasap | 20 | One Group | Reduces the defence of a group of enemies. | 4 |
| Flame Breath | One Group | A fiercely fiery breath attack. | 0 | |||
| 6 | Troll Trouncer | Puff! | 12 | Self | Transforms the caster into a fire-breathing dragon. | 18 |
| Venom Mist | One Group | Envenomates a group of enemies. | 0 | |||
| 7 | Dragon Destroyer | Inferno | 25 | All Enemies | A ferociously fiery breath attack. | 0 |
| Chilly Breath | All Enemies | A frigidly chilly breath attack. | 0 | |||
| 8 | Master Masher | Scorch | 40 | All Enemies | A scorching inferno of burning breath. | 0 |
Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies
The monster master was originally planned to be a playable vocation in IX, but this was scrapped at some point in development. The conceptual art depicts a boy wearing an outfit consisting entirely of animal hides and holding a gnarled staff.
Dragon Quest X
The M.M. wields Claws, Whips, and Axes in battle, and possesses the exclusive skill tree of Monster Mastery (rough translation). This skill set focuses on:
- Improving the chance for a slain monster to join the party
- Kawaigaru (かわいがる)--Raising the monster's non-HP/MP stats by 20% for thirty seconds
- Breathtaking Bash--Sealing an enemy's breath attacks
- HP Link (HPリンク)--Sharing HP with a monster (prevents death until user's HP is exhausted)
- MP Link (リンク)--Sharing MP with a monster (user MP acts as a reserve for monsters)
- Emonoyobi (エモノ呼び)--Summons a monster of the same family as the target for an extra ally
Monsters series
Generally speaking, the protagonist of every game in the Monsters sub series is an M.M. Certain titles will place more emphasis on this profession than others, such as treating it as a societal class in it's own right.
Dragon Quest of the Stars
The Monster Master utilizes breath attacks and enjoys excellent HP growth, but has mediocre growth in all other stats.
Dragon Quest Walk
Monster Masters were added in a March 2022 update as part of the game's 2.5 year anniversary. Unlike the other advanced vocations, a character is able to become a Monster Master after befriending more than 35 types of monsters. Their weapons of choice are Wands, Spears, Claws, and Whips.
Dragon Quest Monsters+
The basis of the manga is the exploration of what it really means to be a master of monsters, focusing on the bonds a tamer makes with their companions and how this strengthens the beasts will to fight. The vocation is treated as a proper societal class with its own distinct role and expectations within a community.
See Also
Trivia
- The name "Monster Master" is a title used for both the Hero in Dragon Quest V and Psaro in Dragon Quest IV.
- The vocation's VII design is a combination of the baggy pants and prominent red and black colours worn in X, and a plain set of the green tattered rags that could be equipped by several monster recruits in V and VI.
Gallery
Milly detailing the capabilities of the vocation in the official guidebook for VI
Milly taming a metal slime in the V-Jump guide for VI, an impossibility in every version of the game
Maribel as a Monster Masher
Concept art of the M.M. for IX. The vocation was scrapped in development and repurposed for X
- X human monster master default.png
Human stock art of the vocation in X
Terry referring to himself as a scout in Tact
The Hero of V being dubbed the Legendary Monster Wrangler in Tact
The collector's edition of the HD-2D remake of III, leaking the addition of the vocation prior to release
