The Cryptids of Stardew Valley

Looking to spook up your game in time for the Halloween season? Consider adding these [i]terrifying [/i]cryptids to your game! This mod won second place in the October 2023 Stardew Valley Discord mod jam!

[color=#8e7cc3][size=4][b]About[/b][/size][/color]
This mod adds eight new creatures to the game through [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/8626]Custom Companions[/url], all based on real life cryptids. Each one has a unique spawn location, time, and (for the ones you can get close to) a portrait. Since these are custom companions, [b][u]you cannot befriend or romance them[/u][/b].

Below is a list of all the cryptids and their encounter conditions (cryptids with real life locations in their names are known by different names in the Stardew universe):
[spoiler][b]Bigfoot
[/b]Location: Tree in the Forest near the Travelling Cart
Time: 2pm-6pm[b]

Mothman
[/b]Location: outside Joja Mart
Time: 10pm-2am[b]

Flatwoods Monster (Backwoods Monster)[/b]
Location: Backwoods
Time: 6pm-8pm
[b]
Fresno Nightcrawlers (Pino Nightcrawlers)[/b]
Location: outside of Lewis's house
Time: 9pm-12am

[b]Jersey Devil (Barrens Devil)[/b]
Location: Railroad
Time: 12am-2am

[b]Loch Ness Monster (Lake Gneiss Monster)[/b]
Location: Mountain Lake
Time: All day

[b]Chupacabra[/b]
Location: Marnie's animal pen
Time: 8pm-10pm

[b]Mongolian Death Worm (Gobtolian Death Worm)[/b]
Location: southern Calico Desert
Time: 6am-11am[/spoiler]
You can track which cryptids you've found with the Cryptid Compendium, a book made with the [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/49525]Parchment[/url] framework. Before you've found a cryptid, it will give you a hint on where it spawns, so you can check back each day until you find it! After finding a cryptid and interacting with it, the book will now have some flavor text based on "real life" information about the cryptid, and a unique image of it.

To obtain the book, become friends with Linus (4 hearts) and interact with any* cryptid. Then go to the Mountain between 7pm and 2am to view the event.

The Chupacabra and Loch Ness Monster spawn in locations that are normally inaccessible to the player so their compendium entries have to be unlocked through events. Cheating with NoClip to talk to them will not work! The event requirements are as follows:
[spoiler][b]Chupacabra[/b]
4 hearts with Marnie
Random 20% chance to receive a letter about a "weird dog" from Marnie each day
Go to the Forest between 8pm and 10pm
Note: Since the conditions to unlock this event aren't tied to the compendium, you can use this as your first cryptid to unlock the book even though you don't 'interact' with it in the normal way :)

[b]Loch Ness Monster[/b]
6 hearts with Linus
Have obtained the Cryptid Compendium
Receive a letter about bait for a cryptid from Linus
Go to the Mountain on a rainy day[/spoiler]

[color=#e69138][size=4][b]Configuration[/b][/size][/color]
It's recommended to use[url=https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/5098] GMCM[/url] to edit this mod's config options. The options are:
[list]
[][b]Seasonal Conditions[/b]: Controls when all cryptids are able to spawn. YearRound or FallOnly. Set to FallOnly by default.[/]
[][b]Spawn Rate[/b]: Controls the probability of any cryptid spawning each day. Can be a number ranging from 1 to 20. The higher the number, the smaller the spawn chance; 1 will always spawn, 5 will spawn 1/5 of the time, 10 is 1/10, and so on. Set to 10 by default.[/]
[]Each cryptid also has a setting to turn their spawn on or off, in case you have a phobia or general dislike of that particular design! All are set to true by default, set to false if you want to remove a particular creature. The Cryptid Compendium will adapt to your configs, so you won't have any impossible-to-obtain book entries if you turn off some of the creatures. You can also enable/disable them at any time and your Compendium progress will not be undone.[/]
[/list]
[color=#8e7cc3][size=4][b]Installation and Removal[/b][/size][/color]
Can be installed like any other mod by downloading and unzipping into your Mods folder. If you'd like to uninstall this mod, the only thing to keep in mind is the Cryptid Compendium, which will become an error item. You can trash it before or after uninstalling. If you'd like to install it again in the future, you will not lose Compendium progress; it will retain the entries you found for cryptids in the past. You won't have to worry about the events replaying either.
[color=#e69138]
[size=4][b]Future Plans[/b][/size][/color]
More cryptids or features for the Compendium, if I feel the urge for it. Maybe a reward for finishing the Compendium? A fun way of learning whether any cryptids have spawned today?

If needed I can also add compatibility to map overhauls like Stardew Valley Expanded and Overgrown Valley. Please leave me a comment if you find cryptids spawning in any weird locations and I can try to fix it in a future update!

[size=4][b][color=#8e7cc3]Mods in Screenshots[/color][/b][/size]
[list]
[][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/28948]Aimon's Witchy Dirt and Grass Recolor[/url][/]
[][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/25720]Bog's Witchy Foliage[/url][/]
[][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/17154]Weird UI[/url][/]
[/list]
[color=#e69138][size=4][b]Credits[/b][/size][/color]
[list]
[][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/profile/Doragoun]Doragoun[/url] for a boost of inspiration for some dialogue[/]
[][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/profile/PeacefulEnd]PeacefulEnd[/url] for creating Parchment, which gave me the motivation to finally finish the 2.0 update[/]
[]The rest of my friends and fellow mod authors for giving great feedback and pointing out my silly mistakes![/*]
[/list]