# Enemy roster designs and primitive prototypes

8 October 2026. Planning artwork and authoring recipes only; no new enemies have been implemented in Unity by this packet.

The user selected Tether Keeper, Lancer, Bulwark and Splinterbeast for the existing pack Advance/cover-grace plan, with simple in-game objects like the crawler for the first playable pass. The follow-up clarification requested one faction board for Riftborn and one for Seraphs, rather than three additional Hollow Knights character sheets. All four roles are shown on each faction board.

## Reference and generated boards

Source style reference: [Frontier Abominations](../../../../ConceptArt/Enemies.png), [crawler](../../../../ConceptArt/HollowKnightCrawler.png), [standing ranged](../../../../ConceptArt/HollowKnightRanged.png). These existing files establish visual direction; their source/licence is not independently verified here and they are not a licence to copy other games' production assets.

- [Hollow Knights roster](roster-expansion-board.png): ivory plates, dark purple body, amber relays/muzzle/generator/seam.
- [Riftborn roster](riftborn-roster.png): charcoal stone plates, cyan crystal forms, violet joints/seams.
- [Scrap Seraphs roster](scrap-seraphs-roster.png): rust-red salvage plates, black mechanical frames, green batteries/optics.
- [Additional Keeper study](tether-keeper.png): optional Hollow Knights front/side/rear/three-quarter study made before the faction-board clarification.

Each roster board has detailed concept targets above simple primitive proxies. Neither row is a current Unity screenshot. The detailed row is future visual direction; the primitive row is the first-pass construction recipe. Images are useful for silhouette/colour, not exact mesh dimensions, collision geometry, animation rigging or proof of playable effects.

## Role silhouettes and construction recipes

| Role | Proposed normal height | Primitive first pass | Readable role cue |
|---|---:|---|---|
| Tether Keeper | 1.8 m | Capsule torso/limbs; cube head/plates; segmented cube crown; two sphere/cylinder relay nodes on attached stalks | Paired lateral relays and exposed source core; two visible support tethers |
| Lancer | 2.1 m | Slim capsule body; narrow cube plates/head; long cylinder forearm barrel; small muzzle marker | Tall narrow silhouette and long straight lance; charge line and brief committed aim |
| Bulwark | 2.2 m | Broad capsule body; large cube shoulder plates; flat cuboid arm shield; small generator hitbox on front | Broad frontal shield, exposed generator, clear unshielded side/back |
| Splinterbeast | 1.1 m parent / 0.55 m child | Horizontal capsule body; four capsule legs; separated cube back plates; central seam/core; two smaller child versions | Low wide crawler family; split seam and visibly smaller descendants |

Visual heights are proposals. Select agent dimensions from actual body capsule/navigation proof rather than scaling the whole gameplay root to fit the artwork. Elite variants preserve the existing large-agent policy. Children need a tested small grounded capsule; four decorative legs do not each become gameplay colliders.

## Authoring and presentation rules

Four shared role behaviours serve all three factions. Faction variants change visual roots, shared materials and cue colours; they do not change protection strength, sniper timing, shield angles, split count, hitboxes or spawn throughput. Host spawn carries faction identity; children inherit it. Existing normal/elite identity stays distinguishable by shape/cues rather than relying on a hue shift alone.

Prototype relays/crystals are attached primitive assemblies. The Riftborn concept contains levitating visual shards; decorative shard placement does not imply flight or a separate agent. Keeper remains grounded. Use rotated cubes for rough crystal proxies rather than acquiring production meshes.

Keep decorative colliders disabled. Preserve separate body/head/Scan anchors and name/health-bar policies. Bulwark generator is a deliberate extra weapon hitbox, not an ordinary body weak spot. Shields do not act as physical shoving walls. Keep mutable gameplay state separate from shared materials/tuning. Use modest pooled effects; no per-enemy hierarchy searches, unbounded split spawning or automatic scene rebuilding.

The generated Scrap Seraph primitive row includes suggested plate seams; first-pass geometry must still be only base Unity objects. The mockups do not require those detailed textures, bevels or final armour meshes.

## Provenance and execution link

Generated with the built-in **image_gen** tool using repository style references. Exact prompts, reference roles and output filenames are saved in [generation-prompts.json](generation-prompts.json). No Meshy job, paid asset purchase or final production model is part of this work. Recheck applicable provenance/licence requirements before production asset use.

Implementation and all unchecked tasks: [Pack AI and Enemy Roster Expansion](../../../superpowers/plans/2026-10-08-pack-ai-and-enemy-roster.md). Its numerical defaults are proposals and its Editor/build/network gates must be completed during execution. Current 8 m/s, 60 degrees/s ordinary tracking bolts remain separate from the planned Lancer precision shot.