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Dungeon Core Riot Quest

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The brief life of Strata the antlion.

Despite having been formed only moments ago Strata was already filled with determined purpose. The core was in need of biomass, and so Strata would hunt! With that goal in mind, they quickly joined their similarly newly formed fellows in an unruly exodus from the core chamber. Venturing into the tunnels beyond in search of prey.

Strata stuck close to the group initially. Doggedly scuttling alongside them, knowing there could be safety in numbers. As they moved further from the core chamber however the tunnels began to open up into myriad branches.

The group began to slowly disperse members slinking off into side passages one by one in search of treasures or prey. Strata soon found a promising branch of their own to explore. The ground grew softer and the soil looser the further one went, making excellent terrain for burrowing.

Strata continued along this new branch; they noticed a few creatures along the way but deemed them too small to be worthwhile prey. None contested their advance. The tunnel eventually opened into a wider chamber. Large swathes of pulverized earth were visible. Alongside crystalline spikes that tapered into wicked points rising from the floor and scattered through the area. Some bore scorch marks and others had been snapped in half. It appeared the chamber had once been the battleground of some sort of earth-aspected creature which explained the loose soil.

Rather than concern themselves with such things, Strata allowed their instincts to guide them. Searching out a soft patch off to the side of the chamber, but away from any large tunnels. They began to move in a circular pattern burrowing through the loosened earth to construct a funnel trap. As they dug, they stumbled onto a lucky find! the partially decaying body of some unfortunate rodent creature. A victim of whatever battle occurred here judging by the way it seems to have been buried alive.

Quickly excavating the corpse Strata began eagerly dragging it back in the direction of the core. In their excitement, they lost track of their surroundings. They did not even realize that the creatures they had sensed on the way in had all fled. The massive form of the spider-snake waiting in ambush remained unnoticed. The tail unseen until it whipped out and crushed Strata against the wall, instantly dispersing the magic that made up their body.
 
Corndog said:
The brief life of Strata the antlion.

Despite having been formed only moments ago Strata was already filled with determined purpose. The core was in need of biomass, and so Strata would hunt! With that goal in mind, they quickly joined their similarly newly formed fellows in an unruly exodus from the core chamber. Venturing into the tunnels beyond in search of prey.

Strata stuck close to the group initially. Doggedly scuttling alongside them, knowing there could be safety in numbers. As they moved further from the core chamber however the tunnels began to open up into myriad branches.

The group began to slowly disperse members slinking off into side passages one by one in search of treasures or prey. Strata soon found a promising branch of their own to explore. The ground grew softer and the soil looser the further one went, making excellent terrain for burrowing.

Strata continued along this new branch; they noticed a few creatures along the way but deemed them too small to be worthwhile prey. None contested their advance. The tunnel eventually opened into a wider chamber. Large swathes of pulverized earth were visible. Alongside crystalline spikes that tapered into wicked points rising from the floor and scattered through the area. Some bore scorch marks and others had been snapped in half. It appeared the chamber had once been the battleground of some sort of earth-aspected creature which explained the loose soil.

Rather than concern themselves with such things, Strata allowed their instincts to guide them. Searching out a soft patch off to the side of the chamber, but away from any large tunnels. They began to move in a circular pattern burrowing through the loosened earth to construct a funnel trap. As they dug, they stumbled onto a lucky find! the partially decaying body of some unfortunate rodent creature. A victim of whatever battle occurred here judging by the way it seems to have been buried alive.

Quickly excavating the corpse Strata began eagerly dragging it back in the direction of the core. In their excitement, they lost track of their surroundings. They did not even realize that the creatures they had sensed on the way in had all fled. The massive form of the spider-snake waiting in ambush remained unnoticed. The tail unseen until it whipped out and crushed Strata against the wall, instantly dispersing the magic that made up their body.
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Rest in peace antlion. Take an omake point for their brave sacrifice.
 
My poor slime :(

Anyway, let's go with another worldbuilding omake...


Article:
[...]
And thus we come to one of the most important parts of one's way towards power and enlightenment. While cultivating an Aspect is certainly the pinnacle one should strive for, it is also of utmost importance that one builds a solid foundation. How then, does one do that?
Let us look into the world: what is the most basic movement we can observe, that is shared by all?
I say it is Breathing.
"What about plants?", people say. "What about magical crystals? Or the Undead?", they ask.
To this I say: your view is to narrow. Are we concerned with the functions of life or of Power? Are we looking into understanding the way animals live or are we seeking to understand how to achieve enlightenment?
In all things that resonante with Power we can find a movement of Breathing: the undulations of a resting Slime, the pulsing in the glow of a Crystal, even the growth cycles of Dungeons.
Over many a delicate experiment it has, in fact, been proven that the natural amount of Power waxes and wanes in a way similar to a breathing rhythm.
What does this, then, mean for our quest towards enlightenment?
If all things accumulating Power do Breath, if even the whole of Nature seems to follow such a pattern - why then, should we dismiss it is trivial?
It is, in fact, the most important piece of a solid foundation: the proper Breathing of Power.
There will be difficulties, for each and every being - or, in fact, thing - Breathes in it's own rhythm. But it is my firm believe that finding your own Rhythm, allowing you to truly Breath, is what will set you apart from the masses, struggling to grasp for Power in whatever way they can.
Lots of ways lead to power - or even Power - and they al come with different benefits and perils.
The Way of the Breath offers, in my humble opinion, the best trade: you might be slower in your advancement, but once you've found your Rhythm, your Breath, you will advance. And as long as you keep your Breath, you will continue to advance.
Now, then, let us examine, what governs how a Rhythm is formed, and what you will have to look for, when you want to Breath...
[...]
Source: Excerpt from: "Breathing. An Examination of First Principals."; the author was branded a heretic by the local rulers, and all his work was confiscated. For security reasons.


Anyway, I guess my next monster is going to follow a similar direction...something like a Scheinriese, maybe? Looks bigger, the further away you are (but is actually still "big", when you're close, just in a smaller space). Will have to think about it some more, I guess...
 
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I still get the player point for the vote, right?

[X][Crow] Scavenge (look for a corpse to eat off of safely. Risks an encounter at low probability.)
[X][Core] Gather power (Gather 1d4 power)
[X][Core] Experiment with your space powers (Dc 79) (2 power, reduces dc on failure)
 
Varder said:
I still get the player point for the vote, right?

[X][Crow] Scavenge (look for a corpse to eat off of safely. Risks an encounter at low probability.)
[X][Core] Gather power (Gather 1d4 power)
[X][Core] Experiment with your space powers (Dc 79) (2 power, reduces dc on failure)
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yeah.

P.s. update will probably come out early next week.
 
[X][Crow] Scavenge (look for a corpse to eat off of safely. Risks an encounter at low probability.)
[X][Core] Gather power (Gather 1d4 power)
[X][Core] Experiment with your space powers (Dc 79) (2 power, reduces dc on failure)
 
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shoutout
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    • forums.sufficientvelocity.com

    Reincarnated as a dungeon, now what?

    You were a hero once. Now you have to find a way to not be slain by one instead. What a time to live, right?
    forums.sufficientvelocity.com forums.sufficientvelocity.com

    Working on an update. will come out this week. In the meantime here's another dungeon core quest that just started. It @ me as a source of inspiration and well hey. If you like this quest, why not give this one a shot!

    update is tentatively scheduled for fri/Saturday.
     
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    • Hmm, do I want to make more dragons? Of course I do! But what element to do next? That has me temporarily decision-paralyzed.

    Edit: Verily, to encourage discussion on the thread, I humbly request that random people shout potential elements at me such that I can get ideas.
     
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    Razzocnor said:
    Hmm, do I want to make more dragons? Of course I do! But what element to do next? That has me temporarily decision-paralyzed.

    Edit: Verily, to encourage discussion on the thread, I humbly request that random people shout potential elements at me such that I can get ideas.
    Click to expand...
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    We have a Madness Dungeon close. You can tryvwith some Mad Dragons
     
    Razzocnor said:
    Hmm, do I want to make more dragons? Of course I do! But what element to do next? That has me temporarily decision-paralyzed.

    Edit: Verily, to encourage discussion on the thread, I humbly request that random people shout potential elements at me such that I can get ideas.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Some elements I have been thinking about are glass, thread, and clay. Could possibly make for some interesting dragons.
     
    Razzocnor said:
    Hmm, do I want to make more dragons? Of course I do! But what element to do next? That has me temporarily decision-paralyzed.

    Edit: Verily, to encourage discussion on the thread, I humbly request that random people shout potential elements at me such that I can get ideas.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Life, plant, earth and growth?
    Maybe blood, bone or crystal?
    Perhaps something like mushroom?
     
    Alright, here we go, more dragons! I'll start with Madness since it was brought up first, and possibly get to the others later.
    Eventually I shall have described enough dragons to be declared the Grand Dragonmaster of the Quest! Or something like that, anyway.

    On the Dragons of Madness

    Madness Dragons are, unsurprisingly, known for generally being much more aggressive and vicious than other dragons, the madness that is their element driving them to attack recklessly and relentlessly (Callousness Dragons are an exception, as shall be explained later). They tend to be ferocious physical combatants, with dangerous breath attacks that can turn their foes against each other. Mental protections are an absolute must if one intends to face a Madness Dragon. While not every subspecies uses direct mental attack, the ones that do are far too dangerous to dare risking neglecting protections. If there is one mercy, it is that the vicious aggressiveness typical of Madness Dragons tends to make them relatively straightforward and predictable, but be wary of the possibility for exceptions.

    Frenzy Dragon
    The most typical representative of the Madness Dragons, the Frenzy Dragon breathes forth a cloud of mist that drives any who inhale it into an uncontrollable rage where they will attack friend and foe alike... or even go after friends first, in the cases of older and more powerful Frenzy Dragons with better control of their madness. Given how dependent they typical delver crew is on teamwork, this is a devastating form of attack... and even if you are protected from the effects of the mist, it can still cloud your vision in a completely mundane sense of the word. Frenzy Dragons are resistant, but not entirely immune to their own mist, resulting in them going into a more controlled frenzy where they tear into their foes with wild abandon. Engaging at long range is recommended.

    Wrath Dragon
    Wrath Dragons are an interesting subspecies, representing an unusual variation where a dragon's breath is actually turned inwards upon itself as a way to increase its own power rather than outward as a weapon. With each inhalation in battle, a Wrath Dragon drives itself to higher and more ferocious levels of raw rage and madness, steadily escalating its power and rendering it incapable of even considering retreat or feeling its wounds. A Wrath Dragon fights every battle to the death, and grows stronger, faster, and more unpredictable with every passing moment. The only real weakness this imparts is the same as one of their strengths; a Wrath Dragon cannot feel its wounds and fights with no intent to protect itself, leaving it vulnerable to bleeding to death from a multitude of lesser cuts, if one dares prolong the battle long enough for that to become relevant.

    Callousness Dragon
    For a time, the Callousness Dragon was thought to not belong to the Madness Dragons at all, but it has since been proven to be an unusual sub-breed. The Callousness Dragon has breath that, depending on one's interpretation, either 'destroys the madness of emotion', or imparts a form of madness that manifests as complete sociopathy. Those affected by its frustratingly invisible breath come to prioritize their own survival above all else and care about nothing else. This is both more insidious and often much more dangerous than the mere crazed rampage of a Frenzy Dragon victim, as those so effected have no qualms whatsoever about actively sacrificing their erstwhile companions for even the slimmest increase in their own chance of survival, and frequently become dangerous criminals should they manage to escape the dungeon so affected. Perhaps far more worrying is that the Callousness Dragon itself shares this outlook, making it far more calculating and cunning than other Madness Dragons, while also appearing to be immune to the maddening effects of other Madness creatures. Be vary wary of unexpected underhanded attacks from these dragons while attacking Madness dungeons, as they have no qualms whatsoever at exploiting this invulnerability and the chaos sown by their kindred for maximum personal benefit, frequently much to the detriment of intruders.

    Wheee!

    Edit; hmm, the Wrath Dragon would probably work better as Rage than Madness. Maybe I'll make as nother and move it when I get to Rage.
     
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    Working on simplifying some of the systems so that the quest is easier to run, so i may be cutting out some stuffs.
     
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    Chapter 5: The first Invader
  • Threadmarks
    • [Crow] Scavenge (look for a corpse to eat off of safely. Risks an encounter at low probability.)
    [Core] Gather power (Gather 1d4 power)
    [Core] Experiment with your space powers (Dc 79) (2 power, reduces dc on failure)
    [X][Player] Collect biomass (rolls on scavenge table. prevents wholly magical from progging)
    -[X] Roll on the Hunt table instead of the scavenge table
    • Corndog
    • WhoTheHeckity
    • Karnax626
    [X][Player] Hunt (look for a battle. Eat meat, gain levels for the crow and gain a bit of power on victory. Lose the creature on failure if no retreat clause is added. Roll for successful escape if it is.)
    • Razzocnor
    • Black.Horus
    • WallFlower
    • Nando
    [X][Player] Scavenges (look for a corpse to eat off of safely. Risks an encounter at low probability.)
    • Void Stalker
    [X][Player] Collect biomass (rolls on scavenge table. prevents wholly magical from progging)
    • CedeTheBees
    [X][Player] Guard the core. (If an invasion happens, this creature will have no delay in defending the core)
    • TheCount
    [X][Crow] Scavenge (look for a corpse to eat off of safely. Risks an encounter at low probability.)
    • kingreaper
    [X][Sigil] Scout (expand the dungeon map, risk an encounter)
    • Sigil
    [X][PlayerLevelUP] (Agility) Boost size by two for two points.
    kingreaper
    [X] (Elsecaller) Banishment Sphinx
    -[X] Medium (2 P)
    -[X] Space (1 P)
    -[X] A winged sphinx infused with spacial magic that will eventually be able to use offensive teleportation against it's enemies to do things like send them away (like back to the beginning of a dungeon) or drop them from great heights.
    Elsecaller
    1 people have voted
    [X] (Abyssien) Emme, the Cruel Slime (3 points)
    -[X] Medium (2 points)
    -[X] Space (6 points. 1 point due to being core element) (must be taken due to being core element)
    -[X] It's a night sky blue slime with some white dots inside and a broken magical wand inside it. He has a potential magic affinity that will surely grow in time. Like the one before him, he also tries to assume an humanoid shape and it's extremely aggressive, but more cautious.
    Abyssius
    Chapter 5: The first Invader
    The breath of the world once more breathes life back into the dungeon core. The core is beginning to become comfortable with this cycle. The core doesn't sleep, but it does get distracted. For example this time, the core had simply been entranced watching the plethora of monster mill about the small room after it "awoke" from overusing its power. The breath breaks the core out of this stupor. Focusing its mind and kicking it into action once more. There is something beyond the raw power that the worlds breathe gives. Though that is irrelevant now, instead you waste no time sucking in as much of the worlds breath as you can, from as far as you can.

    As the core breathes in, a surprising amount of power answers its call. The core wonders whether it is merely a variation of luck or skill that determines how much power it receives from this act. Something to ponder on later for sure. The core then orders its monsters to make themselves useful once more. It watches with satisfaction as the menagerie of beasts sallies forth. Though it notices that a small contingent of spiders and a ferret stay within the chamber. It does not mind this, after all it is not wise to leave yourself unguarded.

    Under the protection of its guard the core resumes its experiments with its space powers. Unfortunately the cores performance is quite poor. Space magic is an ever exacting process. The core feels as though it is like trying to use dragons breath to light a candle. The sheer power required by space magic to warp the fabric of reality is an unwieldy tool to perform the exacting magics the core has in mind. Still, though the core is having difficulties its abnormal powers do allow it to make progress, however small.

    _

    Another day another conquest! You fly out in search of food, combat and glory for the core! if only you could stop running into ice yeti's that would be nice. Through some sort of stroke of luck, non of them notice you thankfully. It seems the ice dungeon they belong to is engaging in some kind of offensive or operation? You see many ice aspect creatures out and about.

    Thankfully that means its also easy for you to find prey. It does not take you very long at all to find an unfortunate wounded ice eater shuffling along. It sees you coming, but it stands little chance against your portals, claws and beak. Wounded as it is. As you feast upon its corpse you feel something change about your body. You feel more solid. The food your eating tastes... more. You hear more sharply, your eyes see more clearly. Everything is just...better.

    And its so intoxicating that you barely notice the strange pain in your chest as you feel something is lost. A while later though, you do notice the cores cry for help.

    _

    The core is shaken out of its fugue of spellcrafting by a slight feeling of pain. The breaking of a connection. One of its monsters has perished. The pang of pain happens again and once more. The core searches out what has happened and finds that two slimes and an antilion has died. One to an ice fairy and the other a Yak garbed in shadow. The antilion dies so a strange creature that seems to be a mix of snake and spider.

    Unpleasant.

    Yet as the core ranges its attention to its other children, not all is so bleak. The portal Raven has successfully hunted on of the ice dungeons creatures in turn. A small kitty the core had spawned utterly annihilates a venomous bat that dared challenge it. Your mantis is ambushed while wandering and kills its ambusher in a single deadly strike. Both of your spawned snakes manage to win their own fights and your phase panther similarly defeats an ice fairy that ambushed it. One of your creatures even expertly evades a madness beast.

    The cores creatures overall, are doing quite well. They are scouting, hunting, scavenging and performing quite well. The deaths still annoy the core, but they can be dealt with as needed. Improvements will be made and the core wi-

    Once more, however, you are struck from your thoughts as the monsters guarding your core suddenly demand you attention.

    Inside you room a wrinkled, malformed and disgusting creature is looking past your creatures at you, hungrily. The Core consults the encyclopedia of knowledge inside of its mind and it informs the core that it is being threatened by a cursed human. They are slow and their defenses weak, but they are tough and hit hard. Certainly too much for the cores current guardians to handle. The core sends out the call for its monsters to return and defend the core as it decides how it should try to stall best.

    [] Do nothing. Let your guardians stall the creature until help arrives. (gaurdians must survive in combat for 3 turns or face quest end.)

    [] Try to use your space powers to stall the abomination. (roll space powers. Failure to meet DC means quest end. Will cost 3 power on success and you will gain space powers.)

    [] Spawn Elsecallers and abyssiens creatures now and have them help stall. (Defenders must survive one round of combat. at the end of the first two rounds else or abyssien will spawn and defend the core. Will use power)
    -[] order of spawn?

    [] Spawn non player monsters to stall the creature until help arrives.
    -[] What do you spawn?

    [] Write-in


    A/N: hope you enjoyed. if you have any feedback feel free to give it. Do you prefer this style of telling what your monsters are doing, where the core only comments on what it sees as stand out moments? Would you prefer "report" style updates a la good seeds quest? Btw i am reworking how stats work to be more streamlined and easy to understand. So some systems will probably get changed this next week.

    pics of all monsters encounter this update
     
  • Threadmarks
    • [X] Spawn Elsecallers and abyssiens creatures now and have them help stall. (Defenders must survive one round of combat. at the end of the first two rounds else or abyssien will spawn and defend the core. Will use power)
    -[X] Elsecaller than abyssien

    Not sure on the order but more creatures to defend seems like a good idea.
     
    DangerKitty said:
    [] Try to use your space powers to stall the abomination. (roll space powers. Failure to meet DC means quest end. Will cost 3 power on success and you will gain space powers.)
    Click to expand...
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    Does this mean that if we fail to use our spatial powers our guardian won't be able to hold the enemies back? Like them being unable to interact with the area where we're messing with space?

    Regardless, since we only have a single swarm as a guardian, and our spacial powers can fail, I'll go with:
    [X] Spawn Elsecallers and abyssiens creatures now and have them help stall. (Defenders must survive one round of combat. at the end of the first two rounds else or abyssien will spawn and defend the core. Will use power)
    -[X] Elsecaller than abyssien

    We're going to need to start spawning npc monsters so we have some permanent guards.
     
    [X] Spawn just Emme and let him stall (Defenders must survive one round of combat, then Abyssius will spawn. This will consume power)
    Since I would consume power by spawning, nothing changes to me and I can help. In this way, Else will spawn with Biomass and without consuming extra power. It's a medium size creature, so should be helpful. I hope.
     
    KSn5Ynoh said:
    Does this mean that if we fail to use our spatial powers our guardian won't be able to hold the enemies back? Like them being unable to interact with the area where we're messing with space?

    Regardless, since we only have a single swarm as a guardian, and our spacial powers can fail, I'll go with:
    [X] Spawn Elsecallers and abyssiens creatures now and have them help stall. (Defenders must survive one round of combat. at the end of the first two rounds else or abyssien will spawn and defend the core. Will use power)
    -[X] Elsecaller than abyssien

    We're going to need to start spawning npc monsters so we have some permanent guards.
    Click to expand...
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    You have a small swarm and a containment ferret to defend currently.

    But yeah the idea is that if you fail the dc you miss and hit your defenders instead because space magic requires such precision and is hard to use. Yeah
     
    [X] Spawn Elsecallers and abyssiens creatures now and have them help stall. (Defenders must survive one round of combat. at the end of the first two rounds else or abyssien will spawn and defend the core. Will use power)
    -[X] Elsecaller than abyssien
     
    [X] Spawn Elsecallers and abyssiens creatures now and have them help stall. (Defenders must survive one round of combat. at the end of the first two rounds else or abyssien will spawn and defend the core. Will use power)
    -[X] Elsecaller than abyssien
     
    Maybe I should have said that before, but if I recall correctly, if we spawn both Else and me, we cannot afford missions next turn. So it would be another turn without upgrades
     
    [X] Spawn Elsecallers and abyssiens creatures now and have them help stall. (Defenders must survive one round of combat. at the end of the first two rounds else or abyssien will spawn and defend the core. Will use power)
    -[X] Elsecaller than abyssien
     
    Abyssius said:
    Maybe I should have said that before, but if I recall correctly, if we spawn both Else and me, we cannot afford missions next turn. So it would be another turn without upgrades
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    We might not be able to do what we want later due to lack of energy, but we could die here. I'd much rather waste energy than risk quest end.
     
    [X] Spawn Elsecallers and abyssiens creatures now and have them help stall. (Defenders must survive one round of combat. at the end of the first two rounds else or abyssien will spawn and defend the core. Will use power)
    -[X] Elsecaller than abyssien
     
    Oh well, it looks like I won't get to use that Biomass.

    [X] Spawn Elsecallers and abyssiens creatures now and have them help stall. (Defenders must survive one round of combat. at the end of the first two rounds else or abyssien will spawn and defend the core. Will use power)
    -[X] Elsecaller than abyssien
     
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