Rattler

"Trauma and torment return for an encore performance."

Fears, regrets, delusions of grandeur, dreams of glory, the hope of redemption; these are just some of the myriad forces that bring these poor wandering souls to the Estate. However, in this remote place, there is an evil that permeates the land; a corruption so pervasive that it blurs the boundary between life and death, the material and the invisible, and even dreams from reality. Here it can be hard to distinguish that which is made from living flesh, blood, and bone and that which is merely a figment or manifestation of a delusional mind. In this place, it is often the latter that poses the gravest threat. And with a marinade of fears, regrets, and past traumas your employees had experienced in life, it may be only a matter of time before these emotions and figments take on a life of their own and become something far deadlier.

Ever since the arrival of the Shieldbreaker, something else also has come the Estate. She may have found something when she was lost in that accursed desert and she may have unknowingly brought it with her to the estate, or she is trying to run away from it, but it keeps following her relentlessly. However, whatever it may be, only one thing is clear: it has slithered its way into the Estate and now it is lurking just out of sight, hiding in the underbrush, behind rocks, and in the twisted shadows of your Estate, waiting to strike your heroes at night.

It seem to be an illusion given power and form by the Shieldbreaker’s fears and delusions or some otherworldly creature that feeds on the fear and delusions of the Shieldbreaker, manifesting themselves as the things she fears the most. The Estate is already drenched in the fears and mad delusions of your heroes, so it is natural that it has become the new feeding grounds of this thing.

The Rattler is another illusion: a rattlesnake of unusual size, fast and vicious, this serpent is ready to strike anyone who dare to harm its brood brethren with its fangs, and only a fool would be willing to put his hand into this den of Vipers. Of course, because this snake is just a manifestation of the mind, one would naturally ignore these figments as wild flights of fancy and mere delusions; however, in this place, where the veil between reality and fantastical is almost non-existing, these terrors from the mind will not be ignored.

Behavior and Strategy
The Rattler is a beast enemy that appears exclusively in the Shieldbreaker DLC. It appears in nighttime ambushes when the Shieldbreaker is present and in random encounters. In the Shieldbreaker's nightmares, they will disappear after a while, and seem to be an illusion given power by the Shieldbreaker.

At the start of the fight, the Rattler will use Warning Rattle to guard one of its allies, and this move can be used once in 3 rounds. Its basic attack, Snakebite, deals a fair amount of damage with bleed, and the Rattler prioritizes targets with lower bleed resistance, as well as marked targets.

Defeating the group of snakes brings great rewards, as they may drop a Aegis Scale when they die, as well as a diary entry for the Shieldbreaker. The entire party also receives a quest buff for -15% stress, except for the Shieldbreaker who receives -33% stress and +3% CRIT. However, the battle will end if the Shieldbreaker reaches Death's Door, and failing to disperse the illusion will cause a terrible quest debuff on the party instead, causing the same amount of stress to be increased, with the Shieldbreaker losing 3 ACC.

Abilities
Apprentice =

Veteran =

Champion =

Related Enemies
Pliskin Adder