Hazel

Details

Full Name	Hazel Muntz
Aliases	"Bagel", "Faux Bunny", "Bruiser Lass"
Title	Brass-clad Backliner Steamworks Extraordinaire
Occupation	Freelancer Hunter, Armorer
Affiliation	Kytheran Steamworks (Member, Crafter) Riftwalker's Guild (Member, Journeyman)
Age	29
Height	160cm
Weight	68kg
Likes	Explosions, steam machines, large monsters, steaks, red bean moon cake
Dislikes	Broken stuff, small monsters, living plants, watered down alcoholic drinks
Featured In	Scarlet Record

A risk-taking daredevil, well-known for her radiant smile, outgoing characteristics, and her massive tools of the trade.

The “Bruiser Lass” of the Guild, age 29. Hailed from Kythera, realm of the machine and clockworks, she is a craftswoman by trade and a bruiser at heart. She becomes a freelancer for The Guild moments after she leaves her home realm, making a name for herself while keeping on improving her crafts.

Introduction

Hazel is a seasoned freelancer and gun-for-hire with a personality as striking as her looks. A journeyman member of the Guild known for adorning herself with brass equipment to reflect her Kytheran pride and heritage.

An experienced explorer and brilliant inventor, recognized for crafting her tools of combat, albeit mostly due to the result of many lucky accidents. Though skilled in many weapons of war, her ‘gun-lance’, a cross between a traditional lance and a low-caliber cannon, has become her true tool of the trade.

Earning the nickname ‘Bruiser Lass’ by her peers for her inhuman strength and her penchant for picking fights with Riftborn creatures nearly ten times her size, she quickly drew the attention of the Guild’s top brass. In an attempt to keep her from harm’s way, the Guild would assign Hazel to a commission request from the Archivists, ultimately leading her to Ruby and Beryl.

Background

Origin

Coming from the lineage of inventors, her parents are kinda unknown, and she spent most of her childhood with her grandfather, who led the renowned Steamworks Union. At the age of 22, she opened a workshop within the Union, focusing on prosthetics and large-scale equipment, which were Kythera’s biggest businesses at that time. When she reached the age of 26, however, she accidentally fell into an anomalous spot in the form of a tear in reality, causing her to be stranded in The Rift. After a fateful encounter with an unknown Riftwalker, she was brought into the Riftwalker Guild. Seeing a bigger prospect in the Guild, she decided to join, but she had to return to her workshop first.

Her departure from the workshop was sudden, and her grandfather even persuaded her not to leave the Union. However, she had decided to embark on a journey out of the world (literally). She didn’t know that moments after she departed from Kythera, a tragic event would befall the Union, causing all the members to vanish from existence.

Prior to Scarlet Record¹

Hazel slowly gained her reputation as a ‘feisty, daredevil and somewhat reckless’ Guild member and had a few obstacles coming her way. She was proficient with her marksmanship, but at one point, her trusty rifle was broken when she traversed a dangerous area within The Way. During that time, she decided to use a bow and arrows as a means of fending off Lurkers, but Guild-made bows proved flimsy for her grip, causing each one to snap in half whenever she tried to draw an arrow.

One day, she stumbled upon an unnamed vault where old-time technology was once stored; that’s where she found the blueprint of what would become her gunlance. The design came from an unknown Guild, focusing on combat against large monsters. The materials required, however, were nowhere to be found; she improvised by using what was left of her rifle and a few Kytheran Ore she brought from her workshop. The first iteration came out literally as a rifle with a large bayonet stuck onto the business end of it, and didn’t last long after a few fights against Lurkers. The second prototype was much sturdier, although its size and integrity had to be compromised.

On the fateful day of her promotion, she was tasked to accompany a Scribe into a sacred site, Numidium. Little did she know that this job would be the life-changing one…

Characteristics

Hazel is often seen as a strong, brave lady who rarely thinks before jumping into peril. This kind of recklessness has become her main characteristic as well, as she would jump head-first into battles (and gets decimated most of the time).

Hazel also possesses characteristics akin to an extroverted person, often showing up as the “party starter” or someone who lifts the mood of her surroundings. She also has a tendency to “make the first move,” something that for some people may come out as obnoxious.

While “reckless and brash” may describe her well, she has a knack for delicate work, although she openly stated that she hates working with small, detailed parts. Proven by her craft that often incorporates intricate engravings, she has commendable attention to detail.

Most of the time, she can be viewed as a big eater as well. Due to her strength, her body asks for an absurdly high daily caloric intake. She could finish a huge platter by herself in a short amount of time and still ask for a second platter.

Capabilities

As the hunter, Hazel is responsible for keeping her partners safe while dealing with hazards that The Rift may have thrown at her. Thanks to her impressive combat capabilities, experience, and gadgets she has perfected over the years, she can keep dangers at bay without breaking a sweat.

As a Kytheran, Hazel possesses heightened strength and endurance despite her small stature. It’s both a blessing and a curse, as she has to adjust her strength to many things in the new world she is in. Her knack for crafting tools and weapons carried over from her early days in Steamworks Union. Her crafts are mostly made out of brass (as she deems it more favorable to her style and properties) and usually involve steam and heat. She often incorporates engravings identical to common Kytheran architectural style.

Equipment

Proto Commission Lance /II (Gunlance): Practically an oversized gun with a fixed bayonet, the gunlance is Hazel’s iconic primary weapon. With it, she attacks her opponents with slow but precise thrust attacks. However, the true power of her gunlance lies in its auxiliary module, allowing her to bombard a small area in front of her with a volley of shells that can bypass enemies’ thick armor.
Steamworks Crest Greatshield (Greatshield): An oversized kite shield with Kytheran engravings at the front side. Hazel paired the gunlance with this shield which is reinforced with a kinetic absorber slotted at both sides. It allows Hazel to absorb shocks and strong forces that normally cannot be blocked. While extremely sturdy, the absorber can temporarily wear out, degrading the shield to a mere giant sheet of metal.
Steampack Regulator MkII “Primrose” (Exoskeleton Module): A body augmentation suite built for working in harsh environments, such as The Rift. Most of the time, Hazel only wears parts of it instead of the entire suit: the right side of the pauldron, the left side of the leg guard, and the steam-powered backpack module which doubles as weapon racks.
Multi-lens Work Goggles (Headgear): Built with precision work in mind, this headgear is equipped with multiple lenses latched on a rotating slider at the wearer’s right side, each offering various degrees of magnification and sight modes. While mostly worn for decorative purposes, Hazel would use its main feature on certain occasions, such as when she had to take a shot from across the platform with a shoddy rifle back in her early days as a Guild member.

Gallery

Footnotes

The game ↩