THE LEADING MAN
- ELITE
- BOOT HILL
THE LEADING MAN is a named elite on BOOT HILL, a place of hands.
A long career, a passport from somewhere that would still have him, and a cellar in a theme park in another universe, in roughly that order. He tries to act his way out of the fight, and the one honest line he gives all night is an accident.
The numbers
- BASE HEALTH950
- CONTACT DAMAGE46
- HITS EVERY0.90s
- SPEED6/s
- SIZE32 across
- CRIT CHANCE10%
- DODGES0%
- ABOVE THE HORDE+3 levels
- NOTICES YOU AT240
The monster at its baseline, before a venue has placed it. What it really fields on each difficulty is under “Where you meet it”.
Where you meet it
BOOT HILL
It is placed by hand on BOOT HILL and waits at its post until you come close.
| DIFFICULTY | LEVEL | HEALTH | DAMAGE | XP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EASY | 30 | 950 | 86 | 1950 |
| MEDIUM | 32 | 1425 | 89 | 2445 |
| HARD | 35 | 2185 | 93 | 3080 |
| NIGHTMARE | 55 | 5700 | 121 | 15506 |
What to know
- THE ENTRANCECloses at 60/s until it has said its piece, then fights at its own pace.
- WHAT IT WAS CARRYINGA shift's pay, and only about one body in five is carrying any of it when it falls.
- WHEN STRUCKIt bleeds. A blow that overwhelms it bursts it, and there is a face among what lands.
Mechanics
Every dangerous move is telegraphed — it roots, it winds up, and you get the beat you need to be somewhere else.
- SLAMWith you inside 80 it roots for 1s and then smashes the ground for 130% of its contact damage to everything standing in that circle. A jump sails clean over it. Once every 9s.
- QUAKE LINEIt roots for 0.7s first — the bearing LOCKS — then the ground splits away from it along that line: 6 fissures, one every 34, opening 0.1s apart in order, each biting 75% of its contact damage within 24. Nothing travels — it stays where it is and the floor does the walking. A step SIDEWAYS is the whole answer, and the further out you are the longer you have to take it. Once every 9.5s.
- SHOCK PULSEIt roots for 0.5s first, then throws a ring 58 out from itself: 70% of its contact damage, and a shove hard enough to put you back out at range. The shove is the point rather than the damage — it is answering the habit of standing on top of it and trading. A jump clears it, exactly like a slam. Once every 9s.
What it drops
Every kill pays one piece of gear, 2 medkits and one XP scroll.
Its drops roll 30% better on the rarity ladder than the level's ordinary loot.
Guaranteed pieces by rarity: 1 magic and a 50% chance of a rare. A rarity the monster's own level has not unlocked yet is skipped, so the same fight pays better on a harder rung.
Always drops
What it says
Spoilers for this fight, covered until you ask for them.
THE LEADING MANSTOP! DO NOT SHOOT! I AM NOT A ROBOT. I AM AN ACTOR. IT IS WORSE.
THE HERO...AN ACTOR? HOW DID YOU END UP IN A FAKE WESTERN IN ANOTHER UNIVERSE?
THE LEADING MANA LONG CAREER, THEN A QUIET ONE. A PARK. A CELLAR. RUDE TO ASK WHICH UNIVERSE.
THE LEADING MANWATCH - I PLAY THE DYING MAN. (COUGH.) CONVINCING? NOW YOU LOWER THE WEAPON, PLEASE.
THE HEROI'VE WATCHED BETTER DEATHS ALL WEEK. MOVE, PLEASE. YOU'RE BETWEEN ME AND ADA.
THE LEADING MANADA? THE LOUD ONE. THEY TOOK HER PAST MY CELLAR, KICKING. I - NO. NOW: THE AVALANCHE.
Last words
AT LAST... A ROLE I CANNOT ...TALK MY WAY OUT OF...
What this scene is part of — everything said and found around it — is its chapter of the story.