Runeborn
The Runeborn is a group of monsters consisting of the Demon family, Golem family, Lady family, Gargoyle family, Mara family, and Homunculus family. All runeborn monsters will become Harmunculi when purified with holy water.
Runeborn monsters are commonly sat at the top of the food chain, having no predators—not even Dragons—but unique diets that are sometimes difficult to fulfill. They also tend to come with passive, dungeon-wide effects; Demons boost a defensive stat, Golems can boost the attack temporarily when tapped with a pickaxe, and Ladies decrease a hero's motivation. Maras and members of the Homunculus family do not come with these passive effects. Because of their high strength relative to regular monsters, they make strong early-game contenders, but become weaker as the game progresses.
Runeborn monsters
The runeborn are summoned through 4-point star-shaped "runes", which are obtained by digging all around a Level 3 Nutrient or Mana block before digging said block itself.
Runeborn monsters are significantly stronger than Level 1 monsters, making them very useful early-game beatsticks. For a practical example, in What Did I Do To Deserve This, My Lord!? 2, they are central to defeating the early stages of Overlord Castle. However, as the game progresses, they tend to take a backseat, wherein their latent abilities become more useful.
The Demon family focuses on passively increasing the defensive prowess of Badman's army, they lack much offensive utility, with their slaps being poor and the demons themselves having lengthy sleeping animations. The Golem family is slightly stronger offensively and can use their roaring ability to increase the attacking stats of the dungeon. Finally, Ladies can cap or stall the increase of a hero's motivation, making them less likely to use Skills. All of these abilities are incredibly useful depending on the dungeon structure, making them useful to build around.
However, Runeborn monsters are incompatible with other members of their respective families. For example, a Blob will always attack a Talos, but will never attack an Ash Lady. One exception exists, that being the Mara attacking members of the Demon family. Ergo, it's ideal to structure a respective dungeon stratum around one member of a runeborn monster's family; alternatively, one can make it nigh-impossible for a monster to find its way to the other, such as through looping pathways.
Runes
Tapping a rune spawns the runeborn monster for that dirt stratum. This operates as follows;
| Stratum | Associated family |
|---|---|
| 1 | Demon family |
| 2 | Golem family |
| 3 | Lady family |
| 4 | Cycles through the above in order. |
If a Level 3 block is packed with a lot of nutrients or mana, the rune will "level up", so to speak, summoning a stronger version of the monster. For example, while a Wookiemon can be spawned from a basic Level 3 nutrient block, more nutrients can produce an Idle Wookiemon, and increased mana can summon Diabro or even Brahzuzu.
Upon creation, runes will affix themselves to the ground, and not attack heroes. However, they will absorb airborne nutrients and mana. While nutrients cannot be manipulated after a rune has spawned, mana can, as they can also absorb Spirits that come close. If a hero steps on a rune, their MP will be depleted, cancelling out with the rune's. Thus, a rune on its own can be used to wear a hero down, but the mechanic can be inconvenient when trying to spawn a high-mana monster like a Majin. In the case a block has no nutrients or mana, however, a Mara Rune is created, allowing a Mara to be spawned.
Homunchulus Runes are spawned through The Snacker Whacker for 15 Dig Power and cannot be created by other means. They don't have any nutrients or mana to begin with and this cannot be increased or decreased, meaning they can only spawn Homunchulus no matter what. Homunchulus Runes cannot absorb Spirits.
Runeborn monsters function like normal monsters in the puzzle games, with their runes removed. In Yu-Nama: The Puzzle, the Crystal Lady (erroneous - should be the Ash Lady) occupies Level 3 blocks, while Wookiemon and the Golem occupy Level 4. This trend continues into other puzzle titles, where all Ladies occupy Level 3, and all Demons and Golems occupy Level 4, with the addition of the Mara and some non-runeborn monsters, like the Mandrake family.
In No Heroes Allowed: No Puzzles Either!, out of all Level 4 blocks, the Mara is tied with the Supremanoid for having the highest Attack, making it the optimal choice, with Level 4 blocks lacking any special abilities.
Yūsha no Kuse ni Konamaiki da DASH! adds various additional breeds to the runeborn, giving them special abilities and mutation-related breeds for the first time, such as the Baru as an alternative to the Wookiemon.
In No Heroes Allowed! VR
Runeborn monsters
Runeborn monsters were reworked compared to their previous appearances, no longer having passive abilities and instead focusing on offensive utility. Additionally, the Gargoyle family replaces the Lady family.
The Demon family now uses the Sleep Sphere ability, which puts heroes to sleep, increasing in potency as the demon levels up. The Gargoyle centralises around its Magic Circle, acting as a lookout. Finally, the Golem uses its roar to stun heroes instead of increasing the power of the army.
Magic Circles
Runes are replaced by Magic Circles in No Heroes Allowed! VR, which are obtained with a Monster Mixing-like system. By sucking up monsters with the N.E.Z, they can be combined into a single runeborn monster instead, each with set quotas based on the cumulative Horde Power of the monsters being held. A similar system exists for members of the Mimic family.
| Horde Power requirement | Runeborn monster |
|---|---|
| 50 | Wookiemon |
| 80 | Gargoyle |
| 110 | Golem |
| 400 | Mara |
Once summoned, a runeborn monster can be upgraded into stronger forms by sucking it up and combining it with more monsters. For example, a Wookiemon can be converted into an Idle Wookiemon, then a Diabro, then a Brahzuzu. It is impossible to reach the Horde Power requirement for a Mara with standard monsters; it must be obtained by combining multiple runeborn monsters instead.
Shaking the N.E.Z to make a Wookiemon Circle.
Tutorial image showing the progression towards an Idle Wookiemon.
| Land monsters |
|---|
| Moss family - Insect family - Lizardman family - Spirit family - Lilith family - Dragon family |
| Aquatic monsters |
| Aquachnid family - Hurtle family - Thunderhead family - Lorelei family - Whale family |
| Runeborn monsters |
| Demon family - Golem family - Lady family - Gargoyle family - Mara family - Homunculus family |
| Other monsters |
| Mimic family - Skeleman family - Mandrake family - Humanoid family |