Hitchhikers

"TBA" 
- Explanation for the hitchhiker mechanic
Hitchhikers are a mechanic in Monster Roadtrip. 
There are currently 20 hitchhikers total: 12 in the base game (plus Polly Geist and Scott Howl, who are mechanically similar but always present), 4 post-launch update hitchhikers, and 4 paid DLC hitchhikers.
==Obtaining==
Hitchhikers can be obtained at the Bus Stop during the Rest Stop section at the end of any week, by any player. By default, the game will offer two random available hitchhikers, but if a player visits the Map Board and chooses to call a specific hitchhiker, said hitchhiker will be guaranteed to appear in the Bus Stop in the following week.
Picking up a new hitchhiker will replace any old one, and they will no longer be active. Any NPC characters with a playable counterpart currently active will be unavailable at the Bus Stop or Map Board, unless the customization option "Self Love" has been enabled. Picking up all hitchhikers across various runs will unlock the "Road Kindness" achievement.
== Mechanics==
All hitchhikers have a hitchhiker effect, a unique road event, 4 standard conversations and 1 deep conversation, and 1 date ending. Some are also required to unlock Layers for a destination. Every hitchhiker is mechanically identical with the same features, bar some minor differences for Polly and Scott.
===Hitchhiker Effects===
All hitchhikers feature a unique effect (Polly and Scott's are the same). These are triggered when a hitchhiker is picked up, and after each subsequent conversation with them. These can vary greatly in effect, from radically altering gameplay by switching stats by large quantities and affecting future stat changes, or be purely cosmetic.
Milo Belladonna's hitchhiker effect is required for the "Not Today" achievement. Reaching destinations with their "inconvenient" hitchhiker (whose effect results in a loss of the required stat for the destination) is required for the "Against all Odds" and "Come Hell or High Water" achievements. These are as follows:
* Hype/Knifeland - Liam de Lioncourt
*Magic/Dreamed Dominions - Joy Johnson-Johjima
*Mind/Cryptid Prom - Miranda Vanderbilt
* Money/Merkingdom Feast - Aaravi Mishra
*Soul/City of Vice - Vera Oberlin
*Stamina/Veranotone - Damien LaVey
===Road Events===
Road events will replace the standard road events that appear during a random turn, once per week. They always feature the hitchhiker NPC, but are otherwise similar to any other event. These will be replaced by plotline events, if one is active. Polly and Scott do not feature these since they are always active.
===Conversations===
Each hitchhiker has four standard conversation topics (Polly has eight, Scott has 9). When reusing the Bus Stop during the weekend Rest Stop, the player can choose to talk to the existing hitchhiker, instead of replacing them. (For Polly and Scott, the benches are used instead). Two random topics that have not been seen prior this run will be offered to the player, which they may select freely.
Conversations feature the player character and the hitchhiker talking about the chosen topic, primarily the hitchhiker discussing something about their life. These often reveal lore, usually directly related to the character but often also worldbuilding the Monster Prom universe, and while comedic they are tonally more serious than most events. All player characters have the same dialogue and generic sprites and voice lines, they do not differ in any way beyond appearance.
There is no player initiative or action required during a standard conversation that will affect the gameplay beyond it. After the conversation is completed, the hitchhiker's effect will be activated.
==== Deep Conversations====
Each hitchhiker has one deep conversation (Polly and Scott have two). After one (two for Polly and Scott) standard conversation has been finished with a hitchhiker, initiating another conversation will only offer one option, marked with a heart. Unlike standard conversations, partway through, the conversation will be interrupted by a three choice prompt for the player. Rather than choosing based on stats or simple logic, these prompts require the player to pay attention to hints about what the NPC character wants from the player, and pick the answer that fulfills their desire. Some of these attributes are more obvious than others. On Easy, the prompt is impossible to fail since you get two retries if you choose incorrectly, and on Normal you get one retry. On Hard the first try always counts.
If failed, stats are unaffected but the hitchhiker will leave the game for the rest of the run. After successfully completing a deep conversation, the date ending with this hitchhiker is available. Failing deep conversations unlocks the "Bad Date" and "Very Bad Date" achievements.
===Date Endings===
After completing a deep conversation, the player will be prompted to answer "Is [hitchhiker name]... More than a friend?" Selecting "No" has no further effect, while choosing yes will trigger a date ending. This is locked in for the rest of the run, however, if the hitchhiker is removed from the game or replaced by another, the date will be lost. In addition, if Friend Hugger mode is not selected and the player then meets the conditions for the Loser ending, this will override the date.
The date ending features unique art of both the player and hitchhiker, as well as written dialogue, taking place after the main destination ending and other individual player endings. This is considered unique art in the gallery and a unique Good ending in the statistics.
Only one hitchhiker may be in play at once, however since Polly and Scott are in play at all times, up to three date endings can be achieved (though two must be Polly and Scott every time). Completing date endings unlocks the "Road Fling", "Road Love", and "Road Casanova" achievements.
===Layers===
Destinations have two extra "layers" of art, unlocked after completing a number of runs. One layer is unlocked by completing the related plotline, and the other by arriving while traveling with a certain hitchhiker. These are hinted at by the notes below each destination. The date ending is not required to unlock the layer.
*Hype/Knifeland - Damien
*Magic/Dreamed Dominions - Aaravi
*Mind/Cryptid Prom - Moss Mann
* Money/Merkingdom Feast - Miranda
* Soul/City of Vice - Vera
* Stamina/Veranotone - Liam
==List of Hitchhikers==
List of Hitchhikers
Name 	Type 	Hitchhiker Effect 	Standard Conversation Topics	Deep Conversations and Answers
Correct answers in bold
Polly Geist 	Permanent 	All stat gains and losses are increased by 1, every turn for the following week. 	
*Her interest in cooking
*Being a ghost
*Her search for an apartment
*Her mad skills at chess
*Her Toilet Wine
*Her favourite books
*Her afterparty adventures
*Party Etiquette	
*Kinks
** You'll be a sexy general...
** You'll be the chef...
**Wait, you've roleplayed before!...
*Her projects
**There's this sexy, brooding, cynical...
**An intimacy coordinator that's so good...
**The gods gift everyone powerful magic...
Scott Howl 	Permanent 	All stat gains and losses are increased by 1, every turn for the following week. 	
*His interest in the night sky
*His search for an apartment
*His big beautiful muscles
*His habit of jogging
*His grandma
*His friends
*Scott Snacks!
*His sports team
*His love for chasing cars	
* Workout
**An anime workout!...
** You can help by spotting Scott...
**Lifting a whole tree!
*Sports
**COMPETITIVE MUSICAL CHAIRS:...
**FOOTBALL 2: It's like Football...
**BUTTBALL: There has been football...
Damien LaVey 	Base game 	Gain hype and lose stamina, every turn for the following week. 	
*His goals this year
*Hell!
*His secret weakness
* His scars	
*His plans for the future 
**Best trait: passionate about...
**Past Jobs: Prince of Hell...
**Languages: Native-level speaker...
Liam de Lioncourt 	Base game 	Gain mind and lose hype, every turn for the following week. 	
*His time in the Coven
*His time in the Dark Side
* His passion for yaoi
*Mastering his art	
* His plans for the future
**Liam has always flown alone...
**Become something Liam has never been:...
** Bring poetry into the future...
Vera Oberlin 	Base game 	Gain money and lose soul, every turn for the following week. 	
*Her Dream House
*Her life of crime
*Her snakes
*Her many goals	
*How she manages to do all she does
**There's no shame in delegating...
**Spreadsheets out of control?...
**The problem isn't you, but other people...
Miranda Vanderbilt 	Base game 	Gain stamina and lose mind, every turn for the following week. 	
*Her sister, Bellanda
*Her sister, Amanda
*Her sister, Laudanda
*The treacherous airpeople	
*What she's done this summer 
**Film a TV comedy where Miranda...
** No more public executions!...
**A 20-foot statue of Miranda, but...
Aaravi Mishra 	Base game 	Gain magic and lose money, every turn for the following week. 	
*Slayers
*Being Cursed
*The Food Truck
*Managing her Inventory	
*Her Recent Achievements
**Secretariat, a celebrity racehorse who...
** Bisbaal, the Battle Boar!...
**Bigotes, the regular-sized rabbit...
Calculester Hewlett-Packard	Base game 	Gain your lowest stat and lose your highest stat, every turn for the following week. 	
*Getting used to the organic lifestyle
*His hobbies
*If he has any new goals
*His dreams and fears	
*His Struggles
**Channel the AI's angst into a passion!...
** Program a new Law of Robotics into...
**Enforce some ironic punishment:...
Joy Johnson-Johjima 	Base game 	Gain soul and lose magic, every turn for the following week. 	
*Grace, from the Coven
*Moving from one realm to another
*Her Studies in Magic
* The Coven and its origins	
*The Coven's Future
**Mary Sue, the super-cool girl...
**Lourenço, the accountant...
**Wonder Wallace, stage magician...
Milo Belladonna 	Base game 	If any stat reaches 0 during the following week, it will be immediately set to 1, one time. 	
*Their gig as a Reaper
*The Downsides of Fame
* The Upsides of Fame
*Their Brand	
*Their Collabs
**A book project with a publishing...
**Take the next logical step...
**Italy wants Milo to star in a documentary series...
Moss Mann 	Base game 	Gain a random stat and lose a random stat, every turn for the following week. 	
* Cryptids
*Cryptid Academy
*His PhD thesis
*His love for Gossip	
*His Academic Research
**"Utterly convincing": a study on how...
**"Not my Avril Lavigne": examining...
**"Who cares if they fucked or not": the importance...
Stu 	Base game 	All stat gains and losses are decreased by 1, every turn for the following week. 	
*Where he lives
*His Hobbies
*His Blog
* His Job	
* His Projects
**"Folding Hard, Flying High": the craft...
**"A Wild Goose Chase": the story of...
**"All Things Decompose": a journey...
Valerie Oberlin 	Base game 	The stat gain is increased next time you trade trinkets with Noodles at a Rest Stop. 	
*The Items she sells
*Her Shop Business
* Where does she get the items she sells
*Her life beyond the shop	
*Her Future
**Fiction is a window into potential...
**If you don't know what to do, a good...
**Strip yourself from all expectations: get a backpack...
Zoe 	Base game 	Two random stats are immediately swapped. 	
*Her Fandoms
*Her OCs
*Old Deities and such
*Life as a Mortal	
*Her AUs
** "DivOTPrce": a crossover story in which...
** "Twice the Tuesdays": imagine a world in which...
** "Liam Prom": what if this was the Monster Prom...
Amira Rashid 	Paid DLC 	Gain your highest stat and lose your lowest stat, every turn for the following week. 	
*Video games
*Dares
*Her hobbies
*School adventures	
*Her goals
**Master something foreign to you:...
**Coach a group of charming rascals...
** Headbutt a wall...
Oz 	Paid DLC 	Gain three random stats and lose three random stats, every turn for the following week. 	
*Dating
*Surviving school
*His phobias
*School adventures	
*His projects for the future
** You know what's always cool?...
**Go risqué with a stunning new look:...
**You need your own catchy catchphrase!
Vicky Schmidt 	Paid DLC 	All stat gains and losses will be lower than usual, and then increase every turn for the following week.	
*Afterlife
*Who is Vicky Schmidt?
*Her Passions
*School Adventures	
*Her Interests
**Taxidermy as a shortcut to...
** Ethics in AI development.
**Building miniature models of...
Brian Yu 	Paid DLC 	Plays a unique song for the following week. Does not affect gameplay. 	
*His Family
*His ambitions
*What's on Brian's head?
*Surviving School	
*His Plans for the Future
**Easy: 10,000 one-dollar burgers.
**Bet everything on red...
**A goose
Adrien 	Post-launch update 	Gain a lot of your lowest stat and lose a small amount of all others, immediately. 	
*The Merkingdom
*The Crown's enemies
*Where he studied
*Being a merknight	
*Changing the Merkingdom
**The people won't listen to dissidents...
** Don't overcomplicate it: go guillotine.
**You can't change the Merkingdom...
Hope Halko 	Post-launch update 	Lose magic and gain a random one of money, mind, or hype, every turn for the following week. 	
*Competitive Tarot
*The whole Damien thing
*The Coven
*Magic	
*Preparing for the Future
**Your iconic shoes, so she can learn to...
**Never trust anyone to be as cool as you...
**A bag of fortune cookies with mysterious...
Finn 	Post-launch update 	Repeats the stat change from your last location turn of the previous week. 	
*Office Life
*The Merkingdom
*His job
*His hobbies	
*His Boss
**Put on a wig and marry Mr. Pappas.
**Fart cushion on Mr. Pappas' throne. A classic.
**Start a rumor that there's a wildcat loose...
Washing Machine Dahlia 	Post-launch update, secret unlock (Meta-Cabin)	All stats are immediately swapped, randomly. 	
*Missing socks
*Being a washing machine
*Mixing clothes
*Her favorite setting	
*Her New Journey
**It's Damien no more...
**A heavily-condimented hot dog.
**YOU!...
==Gallery==
File:Monster Roadtrip - All Conversations - May 2023|Gameplay recording of all conversations
File:Bus stop.jpg|An example bus stop interaction
File:Conversation.jpeg|An example conversation
File:Deep conversation.jpg|An example deep conversation
File:Conversation background.png|The conversation background
File:Date ending.jpg|An example date ending
File:Date background.png|Date ending background
Category:Monster Roadtrip
Category:Gameplay